Presentation of applicant

FORUM SOLIDARNEGO ROZWOJU

Why to act?

• Poland is member of the European Union since 2004

• It is a country with a large potential

• It is a state with historical tradition of mobilisation and activism

• Changes of both 1989 and 2004 are not benefitial for ordinairy citizens as individuals and society as a whole – they do not bring security of welfare that would be expected

Political context• Until 2007 – every general election brought a radical change in

power• 2007 – was a year when radical right-wing PiS (Law and Justice,

belonging to UEN) was replaced by Civic Platform (calling themselves « conservative-liberals », in fact belonging to EPP)

• Left wing parties remain the third – having in a coalition 13% by elections and decreasing in their support to 4% last spring

Labour market

Employment

Social security

Public services

Poverty and purchasing power

• Every fourth child in Poland (Report of the European Commission) lives in poverty or on the level of poverty.

Time to act?

• Lack of trust in politicians or politics• Trade unions divided into two pillars – one

on the right (discredited politically) and one of the left (still requiring modernisation)

• No strong civil society• Think-tanks formed and dominated by

right and centre political options• Strong Catholic Church

Forum of Solidar Development

FORUM SOLIDARNEGO ROZWOJU

Brief history

• Established as an association (NGO) in December 2007/January 2008

• First General Assembly took place on 25th February 2008 gathering intelectuals, lawyers, journalists, trade unionists.

• First public event in conjunction with study visit of Solidar on 4th – 6th June 2008 in Warsaw, Poland

Goals

• Socialy and economically just development of Poland and European Union

• Pro-social politics and creating the approach of solidarity and tolerance in society

• Ensuring the social security and access to both employment and education at every stage of life

• Sustainable and just distribution of profits of economic growth

• Improvement of the working conditions and accessibility to all the forms of state’s care provision

• Ensuring equal access to public services and working towards improvement of their quality

Plans for the future

• Affiliation by Solidar in the Social Pillar• 5-6 conferences in year 2008/2009 with

participation of intelectuals, politicians, trade unionists, social activists, journalists, students on:

a) Healthcare in Poland and Europeb) Pension system – threats of even lower onesc) Labour rights in Poland and in Europed) Social Europe and the new member statese) Democratic Europef) Migration for work

Why desire affiliation?

• To contribute in building Social Europe• To strenghten Polish civil society’s participation in European

NGO world• To enhance link between European activism and Polish

reality• To provide knowledge and experiences from Poland and

exchange the views on them with members from other countries

• To promote goals of SOLIDAR and Forum in Poland

Thank you for your support!

FORUM SOLIDARNEGO ROZWOJU