Polish Canadian Association
of Calgary
3015 - 15th Street N.E,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
T2E 7L8
tel: (403) 291-3757,
fax: (403) 291-3009

e-mail: rockies@polandintherockies.com

Poland in the Rockies is an 11-day international educational program bringing together university students, young professionals and distinguished speakers from Canada, the United States, Great Britain and Poland for an immersion in “things Polish.”

Set in the beautiful Rocky Mountain town of Canmore, Alberta from July 17-28, 2008, Poland in the Rockies is an intensive, intellectually stimulating program covering history and culture, discussing contemporary issues and the Polish heritage, making new friends, and creating links with the world-wide Polish community.

Formal lectures, films, and discussions, together with opportunities for one-on-one conversations with speakers during communal meals, hikes, sightseeing, campfires and hikes create a unique learning experience.

The participants range from recent immigrants to 4th generation descendents of immigrants; ethnically Polish or part Polish or not Polish at all; fluent in Polish, limited Polish or speaking no Polish at all. But whatever their background, they are drawn together in a discovery of a rich cultural heritage: literature and art both classical and avant-garde, a democratic tradition based on freedom and respect for the individual, and a history of multi-cultural harmony. They are drawn together by the common experience of immigration and the political, social and economic crises that brought their forbears to America. Knowledge breaks down barriers among themselves, while also creating a deeper understanding of their country of origin.

Our objective is to stimulate an interest among English-speaking Americans and Canadians in the Polish narrative; to create a network of well-informed and dynamic friends of Poland; and to encourage Polish Americans and Polish Canadians to integrate their identity into the mainstream of North American life.

Organized on a not-for-profit basis, by the Polish Canadian Association of Calgary in partnership with the Canadian Foundation for Polish Studies in Montreal, Poland in the Rockies has the support of many Polonia organizations, professional groups, businesses and individual Canadians and Americans. Their financial contributions, as Sponsors or as Friends of Poland in the Rockies, are a reflection of their belief that a symposium of such high standards is much needed.

Scholarships are granted on the basis of a student’s curriculum vitae, letters of reference, and the essay explaining the motivation for attending. A full scholarship includes tuition, accommodation (11 nights), three meals per day, transportation costs in Alberta, and group excursions. It does notinclude the cost of return airfare to Calgary.

Speakers for 2008

John J. Bukowczyk, Professor of History and Director of the Canadian Studies Program at Wayne State University in Detroit and also a past president of the Polish American Historical Association; author of And My Children Did Not Know Me: A History of the Polish-Americans and editor of Polish Americans and Their History: Community, Culture, and Politics, general editor of the Ohio University Press Polish and Polish-American Studies Series, and editor of the Journal of American Ethnic History, published by the Immigration and Ethnic History Society.

Bill Johnston, Director of the Polish Studies Center at Indiana University and Associate Professor of comparative literature and second language studies. A leading translators of Polish literature in North America, his work includes Juliusz Slowacki’s Balladina, Witold Gombrowicz’s Bacacay, Krzysztof Kamil Baczynski’s White Magic and Other Poems, and Stefan Zeromski’s The Faithful River.

Wanda Koscia, Producer/Director specialising in history and current affairs for the BBC. For over two decades she worked extensively across the former Soviet bloc on a number of major television series, including: The Struggles for Poland (1985), The Other Europe (1988), The Hand of Stalin. Leningrad (1989), The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1990), Death of Yugoslavia (1995), Tourists of the Revolution (1998). In 2005 she made “Battle for Warsaw”, a film about the Warsaw Uprising (featuring an interview with her own mother who was a participant aged 16). During the 1980s she was active in the Solidarity support group on London.

Lynn Lubamersky, Associate Professor of History at Boise State University. Concentrating on social and family history in Central Europe, she has published several articles on noblewomen's access to political power in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the eighteenth century. Her most recent article, "Inheritance, Custom, and Economic Power among Polish Noblewomen: The Case of Barbara Radziwiłłowa," was published in Germany in Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa- Forschung.

John Micgiel is the associate director of the Harriman Institute, the director of the East Central European Center and executive director of the Institute for the Study of Europe, and adjunct professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University. His books include Coercion and the Establishment of Communist Rule in Poland, 1944-1947, In the Shadow of the Second Republic and Frenzy and Ferocity: The Stalinist Judicial System in Poland, 1944-1947, and has been editor of a number of collective works on East Central Europe.

Edward Mozejko, fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Professor Emeritus of the University of Alberta, is the author of over 200 publications including books, articles and reviews on Slavic literature, comparative literature and studies of Milosz, Konwicki, Aksenov and Yovkov, among others.

Andrzej Rabczenko, Minister-Counselor at the Polish Embassy in Washington responsible for scientific, educational and technological affairs, has worked for the Polish government establishing links between American and Polish educational and scientific institutions, organizing a successful initiative to gain recognition for Polish medical schools by the US Ministry of Education, facilitating a network of Polish studies in the US, and promoting collaboration with and investments by American businesses.

Jacek Rostowski, Minister of Finance. Prior to his appointment to the cabinet of the current government of Poland, Mr. Rostowski was a professor of Economics at the Central European University in Budapest, has published many books and articles about the macroeconomic aspects of creating the market economy in the CEE and FSU countries. During 1989-1991 and 1998-2002 he was advisor to the Polish finance Minister, Leszek Balcerowicz.

Eli Rubenstein is the national director of the March of the Living (Canada) and Director of Education of the March of Remembrance and Hope.

Piotr Wrobel, who holds the Konstanty Reynert Chair of Polish Studies at the University of Toronto, has authored or co-authored over 50 scholarly articles and nine books including The Historical Dictionary of Poland and Nation and History: Polish Historians from the Enlightenment to the Second World War.

Wanda Urbanska, author, journalist, and currently the producer/host of the nationally syndicated PBS television series Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska. In 2006, Ms Urbanska was awarded the Amicus Poloniae Award for her work promoting development and cooperation between Poland and America.

Class with Professor Norman Davies

Information about how to apply, and how to make tax-exempt contributions to support

Poland in the Rockies, is available on www.polandintherockies.com.

Comments from participants in Poland in the Rockies

Poland in the Rockies hit on exactly the right formula. Norman Davies. I must say that Poland in the Rockies reawakened my zeal for involvement in matters of Polonia. Mariusz Borowicz, Chicago

Stimulating days, sleepless nights, Newsweek’s senior editor, a Globe and Mail journalist, history, literature, politics, art scholars and 33 students: The seminar was not only an intellectual journey, but an opportunity to accept my dual identity by discovering people who share similar experiences and interests. Kinia Adamczyk, Montreal

If a program like this had been offered at the time when I was a student, I’m sure I would have jumped at the opportunity. Andrew Nagorski, Newsweek

I’ve never been a part of a group that was so welcoming and generous. I loved the fact that we all embraced our differences and were happy to be together. Marta Bladek, CUNY

I truly feel a duty to pay something back to the organization that has given me so much… In a way, PitR belongs to all of us… and we need to help make the next conference happen. Bart Bonikowski, Princeton

What a privilege it was to have attended Poland in the Rockies. The last weeks have really been among the most important in my life… being immersed in all things Polish. Eric Bednarski, Halifax

Thanks to you and your outstanding dedication to the Polish youth in North America and Europe. You have ignited a spark in each every one of the PitR students to do the same. Kamil Mroz, Ottawa

Now I must take what I learned and the way that I’ve changed and apply it to everyday life… On this 62nd anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, I wish you all the courage and perseverance to pursue your brightest of futures. Karolina Piotrowska, Vancouver

I’ve been to many conferences; this is the first that will stay with me forever. Stan Oziewicz, Globe & Mail

I just wanted to thank you for everything... I learned a lot about my roots, but it was always also fun and the atmosphere was from the very beginning so nice and welcoming. Katarina Karsten, Germany

Thanks to Tony and Irene for starting up this family and I’m sure we will continue the tradition for years and decades to come. Anna Lech, Ottawa

Poland in the Rockies was an amazing experience. It validated my Polish-Canadianness, it opened my eyes to how much I have yet to learn and know about Poland, and it has most of all encouraged me to seek out more information and people involved in the community. Kasia Wisniewska, Montreal

I didn't like that last day of saying goodbye at all. I do want to see everyone again and that we are not just friends but colleagues. We have so much to offer each other so lets work together and keep connected. I have a lot of ideas for the forum and group we should start: PitR level 2. David Husar, San Francisco

Participating in Poland in the Rockies provided me with an opportunity to meet a new generation of Polonia, one with a completely new way of doing things. This was a unique experience for me-I have never attended a seminar where young people gathered to learn about Poland in a modern critical way…The young people I met made a very favourable impression on me; they were thoughtful, critical, seeking information,--It was obviously a well chosen group of young people with a bright future….They were well prepared to reject ant-Polish stereotypes and to stand up to anyone belittling Poles or any other ethnic group. Krzysztof Zanussi