Sztetl Mszana Dolna at the NIW-CRSO national conference ‘Strong organisations – resilient society’

We train to work more effectively and efficiently – Conference of the National Institute of Freedom in Warsaw and the Centre for Civil Society Development “Strong organisations – resilient society”

On 17-18 November 2025, Marek Rekucki, Vice-President of our Sztetl Mszana Dolna Foundation, took part in the annual NIW-CRSO conference.

Three hundred non-governmental organisations from across the country were selected to participate in the event, each represented by one person.

Among these 300 non-governmental organisations, we were the only ones dealing with the protection of Jewish heritage, memory and dialogue.

Representatives of public administration, the Polish government and NGOs discussed the main theme of this year's edition: the role of strong civil society organisations in building a resilient society. Such a large turnout and diversity of participants showed how great the need is for dialogue and cooperation for the development of the civil sector.

The topics discussed included:
- building credibility and trust to the organisation,
- challenges related to communication and communicating the mission,
- inter-institutional cooperation,
- designing activities that are resistant to change and crises.

A debate was held on ‘From individual action to social resilience – the power of small communities in practice’. A lecture entitled ‘Lessons from the forest – stories that build social resilience’ was given by Prof. Marcin Napiórkowski, Director of the Museum of Polish History.

The conference was attended by, among others, Adriana Porowska, Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Vice-Chair of the Public Benefit Committee; Magdalena Roguska, Secretary of State in the Ministry of the Interior and Administration; Cezary Tomczyk, Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defence, Zbigniew Muszyński, Director of the Government Security Centre, and Michał Braun, Director of the National Institute of Freedom – Centre for the Development of Civil Society.

We are proud that the activities of our small foundation proved so important to the conference organisers that we were invited to participate in this important nationwide event.