The Economic Forum 2020: Europe After Pandemic: Solidarity, Liberty, Community?

The most important guests: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya – Leader of the Belarusian Opposition, Jadwiga Emilewicz – Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Economic Development, Piotr Gliński – Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Jacek Sasin – Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State Assets, Tadeusz Kościński – Minister of Finance, Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski – Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development, Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak – Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, Prof. Zbigniew Rau - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marlena Maląg – Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Marek Zagórski – Minister of Digital Affairs, Wojciech Murdzek - Minister of Science and Higher Education, Markus Mackel – Former Vicepresident of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO, Daniel Obajtek – President, PKN ORLEN S.A., Jerzy Kwieciński – President, PGNiG S.A., Tomasz Zdzikot – President, Poczta Polska, Paweł Jan Majewski – President, LOTOS S.A., Włodzimierz Wlaźlak – President, Lidl Poland, Paweł Rowiński – Vicepresident, Polish Academy of Sciences. The Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland was represented by the Deputy Head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Paweł Mucha.

Altogether, around 1,600 guests from Poland and abroad arrived in Karpacz. More than 230 accredited journalists reported on the ongoing discussions. The participants of the conference could choose from more than 200 events, which were divided into 17 main topics. The most significant document, presented during the conference, was “The Warsaw School of Economics Report on the Economic Forum 2020”.

As every year, the awards of the Economic Forum aroused enormous emotions. Mr. Daniel Obajtek, the Head of PKN Orlen, was awarded the title “Person of the Year”, whilst “Związek Harcerstwa Rzeczpospolitej” received the title “Non-Govenmental Organization of the Year”. The title “Company of the Year” was awarded to the Polish Oil and Gas Company (in Polish: Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo, abbreviated as PGiNG). The leader of the Belarussian opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, received a Special Award of the Economic Forum. Another prize, the Award of the Warsaw School of Economics, was given to Mr. Zbigniew Jagiełło, the President of the Management Board of PKO Bank Polski.

The main partner of the Economic Forum is the Małopolska Voivodeship. The institutional partners include: The Sejm, The Chancellery of the Prime Minister, The Ministry of Digital Affairs and more than 30 other institutions from Poland and abroad. The 45 institutional partners include e.g. PGiNG, PKN ORLEN S.A., Polski Fundusz Rozwoju, Lidl, Maspex, KGHM, Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych, Samsung and Personnel Service S.A. The main media partners are “Rzeczpospolita” and “Życie Regionów”.

The Economic Forum has been organized for almost 30 years. Its goal is to build a friendly environment for political and economic cooperation among the member states of the European Union and their neighbors. The Forum is organized by the Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies.