The Green Zone Foundation, with the support of the Green European Foundation (European Parliament funding) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Warsaw, organised the first Green Summer University, in Bialowieza from 23 – 26 July 2015, entitled:

“How to Green Poland?”.

We came together to learn and discuss important dimensions of green policy – not only ecology, but also social policy and human rights – in Poland, taking into account the European and global context. Participants had the opportunity to see the links between these issues and the environment. We discussed the concept of sustainable development on the basis of concrete responses to the economic, social and political challenges of our time. We debated foreign policy and the positioning of the Greens in the EU against the New Left. The summer school was furthermore an opportunity to further develop national and international Green networking and cooperation.

An additional aim of the Summer University was to provide participants (current or potential Greens, opinion leaders, supporters and activists from friendly organisations and communities) with practical skills, as well as to prepare or reinforce several campaigns, including climate change, the Paris Climate Summit, the European citizens’ initiative ‘Stop TTIP’, Smog Alert. We also had sensitisation activities on the natural world through direct contact with the wildlife of the last original forest in Europe, accompanied by local guides.

The first Green Summer University was a great success and was very positively received by the participants.

We will repeat the experience in 2016 at another location.