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January 12-14, 2023, Friday, Saturday, Sunday – these are three days of celebrations that will commemorate the 5th anniversary of the death of President Paweł Adamowicz. The main point will be a meeting at the commemorative plaque located near the Golden Gate – on Saturday, January 13 at 7 p.m. For this ceremony, the City prepared national flags and flags of Gdańsk for the participants. An hour later, a verbal and musical spectacle with the participation of renowned artists will take place in St. Mary’s Basilica – admission is free.

Let’s be together on the 5th anniversary of Paweł Adamowicz’s death

The planned forms of commemoration of the late president were discussed during a press conference at the European Solidarity Center.

– It’s probably hard for many of us to believe, but in 2 weeks it will be 5 years since the tragic events that took place during the finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity at Targ Węglowy. Their result was the death of President Paweł Adamowicz. We invite all those who want to remember and commemorate the president to be together. I think that probably each of us remembers the uniting of people. When we were first waiting for news whether the president would be saved and then, when at the European Solidarity Center, crowds were saying goodbye to the president before taking him to his final resting place. Back then, we wanted to be together everywhere and the events we have prepared this year, together with various communities, are for everyone – said Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, mayor of Gdańsk.

She added that the reality around us still shows that the hate is not over, but is still taking its toll.

– I encourage us, on this anniversary, to reflect and consider what each of us can do to counteract hate speech and being an enemy of other people – emphasized the mayor of Gdańsk.

PROGRAM OF EVENTS DEDICATED TO PRESIDENT ADAMOWICZ:
January 12 (Friday)
11.00 / Carillon concert / tower of the church of St. Catherine
12.00 / Patron’s Day / University Secondary School of Paweł Adamowicz
18.00 / promotion of Antoni Pawlak’s book titled “Empty office. Paweł Adamowicz: president, boss, friend” / ECS library

January 13 (Saturday)
12/05 / Carillon concert / tower of the Main Town Hall
16.00 / Announcement of the winner of the Award. President Adamowicz / IKM, Kunszt Wodny. Broadcast on www.gdansk.pl
7.00 p.m. / Rally with the participation of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Aleksandra Dulkiewicz – laying flowers at the commemorative plaque / square between the Torture House and the Golden Gate. Broadcast on www.gdansk.pl
7.30 p.m. / interfaith prayer in St. Mary’s Basilica. Broadcast on www.gdansk.pl
20.00 / verbal and musical spectacle with the participation of Polish performers in St. Mary’s Basilica. Broadcast on www.gdansk.pl

January 14 (Sunday)
12.00 / Holy Mass for the late Paweł Adamowicz / St. Mary’s Basilica. Broadcast on www.gdansk.pl
1.30 p.m. / unveiling of Paweł Adamowicz’s bench / Granary Island
17.00 / evening for a friend / ECS winter garden. Broadcast on www.gdansk.pl

How will the Patron’s Day be celebrated by the University Secondary School? Paweł Adamowicz?

On Friday, January 12, at 12.00 University Secondary School named after Paweł Adamowicza, at ul. Traugutta 92, will celebrate Patron’s Day.

The event program includes a debate entitled: “A modern school in a modern city.” It will be attended by: President Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, prof. Cezary Obracht-Prondzyński and Wojciech Rzehak. It is intended to be an exchange of views between an experienced local government official, sociologist and teacher with the views of the young generation of high school students.

– This year has passed 5 years since President Paweł Adamowicz met with the headmaster of one of the schools in Scotland, which he described in his book “Gdańsk as a Community”, and I think it was the moment when in the president’s mind there was an idea to establish a slightly different school in Gdańsk than the ones that had operated so far. Unfortunately, the president did not live to see the school established – said Waldemar Kotowski, principal of the University Secondary School. Paweł Adamowicz.

The Secondary School at the University of Gdańsk was established in 2019. The school, drawing on the thoughts of the late The president’s office is also a place of openness and dialogue. While implementing the idea of universityhood, it also aspires to be a place for the exchange of ideas.

– Every year we celebrate the School Patron’s Day, but this year for the first time our celebrations were included in the municipal celebrations. For this reason, we want to initiate annual debates and conversations that are important for students and the entire society. We think that this is consistent with the president’s ideas about modern education in Gdańsk, added Waldemar Kotowski.

ULO, named after Paweł Adamowicz, is today the only secondary school in Poland run in close partnership with three universities: the University of Gdańsk, the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Medical University of Gdańsk, and the managing body is the Pozytyczne Inicjatywy Foundation.

Promotion of the book by spokesman Paweł Adamowicz

On Friday, January 12, at At 6.00 p.m. in the ECS library there will be a promotion of Antoni Pawlak’s book entitled “Empty office. Paweł Adamowicz: president, boss, friend. The conversation with the author will be led by: Dorota Karaś and Marek Sterlingow. During the meeting, fragments of the book were planned to be read. It will be sold on site.

Who will be the winner of the Award this year? President Adamowicz?

On Saturday, January 13, at At 4.00 p.m. the winner of the Award will be announced at the Institute of City Culture. President Adamowicz.

– The death of Paweł Adamowicz was a great drama and tragedy, not only for us, for the family, but also for the inhabitants of Gdańsk and many Poles. But in the hearts of some people, apart from grief and sadness, the idea was born to create something more. We did not want this tragedy to be remembered as drama and sadness, we wanted to turn it into something that would give hope for promoting goodness and good practices, as well as attitudes that will prevent hate speech from reaping such harvests in the future. That is why the initiative of the Paweł Adamowicz Award was established – said Magdalena Adamowicz, MEP, widow of the president.

This year it will be awarded for the third time. The award is for those who are brave in promoting attitudes fighting for truth, fighting against xenophobia, hate speech and promoting equality, freedom and tolerance.

The establishment of the Award is a joint initiative of ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network), the European Committee of the Regions and the City of Gdańsk.

The nominees in this edition were:

Nathalie Appere – Mayor of Rennes – for her commitment, personal conviction and pioneering leadership as the first female Mayor of Rennes since 2014.
Alla Myronova – Mayor of the commune of Inhulka/Ukraine – for fighting for the independence of Ukraine and working towards the development of the commune.
Anna Dąbrowska – President of the Homo Faber Association – The Homo Faber Association is an organization whose main mission is to promote human rights under the slogan: “Human rights: small steps, big changes”. This foundation brings together experts from various fields who use their experience and commitment to introduce positive changes in society. Their goal is for every resident of Lublin to enjoy full rights regardless of origin, orientation or beliefs.
Association for Local Democracy in Zavidovici (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – since the 1990s, the Association has been providing assistance and working to regain economic dignity and social autonomy for thousands of people who have been victims of conflicts or persecution around the world.
National Federation of Roma Women’s Associations Kamira – Kamira is the national federation of Roma women’s associations and works for freedom, solidarity and equality of Roma. Its main goals are to promote social inclusion while promoting the preservation of Roma customs and traditions.

Rally and laying flowers at the commemorative plaque

As every year, on January 13, in the evening there will be a ceremony at the plaque commemorating the site of the attack, which is located between Torture House and the Golden Gate.

At 7 p.m., a rally will begin with the participation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, Donald Tusk, and the President of Gdańsk, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, and flowers will be laid at the commemorative plaque. Broadcast on www.gdansk.pl.

– Short memories of the president and laying of flowers are planned there. Then we will go together to St. Mary’s Basilica. All this to the sounds played on the carillon, which we remember so well from that time: The Sound of Silence. Then there will be an interdenominational prayer at the grave and a verbal and musical spectacle, which is also intended to make us reflect, because in addition to the artistic performances, fragments of various speeches by President Paweł Adamowicz will be quoted, which have not lost their relevance, said Aleksandra Dulkiewicz.

An artistic event with the participation of Polish performers

A verbal and musical spectacle dedicated to the memory of President Paweł Adamowicz on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of his death, will take place on January 13 at 20.00 in St. Mary’s Basilica.

– While preparing to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the death of President Adamowicz, the idea of organizing a unique concert was born. Unique, because with artists who have a pro-social character. The first artists who have already confirmed their participation are Bovska, Ewelina Flinta, Marek Piekarczyk, and Tadeusz Seibert – said Jacek Bendykowski, president of the Gdańsk Foundation.

Admission to the event is free. For safety reasons, the number of places in St. Mary’s Basilica will be limited. All interested parties are asked to arrive early.

Holy Mass for the late Paweł Adamowicz

Holy Mass for the late Paweł Adamowicz will be celebrated on Sunday, January 14, at 12.00 in St. Mary’s Basilica.

An evening for a friend

Five years ago, Paweł Adamowicz died prematurely and in tragic circumstances. How did that January change us? Have we learned anything? What lessons do we learn from this event for the future? These topics will be discussed at the round table during the Evening for a Friend, which will take place on Sunday, January 14, at 5 p.m. in the ECS winter garden.

– In 2019, the European Solidarity Center hosted almost 60,000 people. Gdańsk’s inhabitants, Pomeranians, Poles and migrants said goodbye to President Paweł Adamowicz. Some were in absolute silence, others were reflecting and trying to share it. We witnessed many social actions. Someone brought hot coffee and hot tea, someone else brought sandwiches. City services parked buses so that those who had been standing for several hours could warm up. It was an incredible night and day. It was an incredible farewell. But it was also a great reflection on whether January 2019 will change us? Did the declarations we made to ourselves then, some publicly, others in the privacy of our homes, others very intimately, change anything in ourselves and in society? This year’s Evening for a Friend will be about just that, said Magdalena Mistat, deputy director of ECS.

People who publicly reported on the events of January 2019 were invited to the conversation.

This will include Estera Flieger, journalist, editor-in-chief of the magazine, but also of the NGO.pl portal. Dr. Anna Materska-Sosnowska, political scientist, creator of the Social Leadership Program at the Paweł Adamowicz Civic Study, was also invited. The invitation of the European Solidarity Center was also accepted by Bogusław Chrabota, political scientist, essayist, editor-in-chief of “Rzeczpospolita”. The conversation will be moderated by Piotr Jacoń.

Gdańsk carillons to Paweł Adamowicz

On January 12, at 11.00 in the tower of the church of St. Catherine and January 13, at On May 12, carillon concerts dedicated to Paweł Adamowicz will be held on the tower of the Main Town Hall, as every year.

The president was a great advocate of restoring the Gdańsk carillon culture and the founder of the bell in the church of St. Catherine in Gdańsk. The songs will be performed by Monika Kaźmierczak, a city carillonist, and Paweł Hulisz from Tubicinatores Gedanenses.

You can listen to live concerts near the towers of St. Catherine and the Main Town Hall and online on the Facebook profile of the Gdańsk carillons.

(City Hall in Gdańsk / Mayor’s Office / Press Department)