Poland in New Zealand

This year's edition, an initiative launched in 2020, was attended by 18 members of the local Polish communities – representatives from all over the country: Auckland, Tuaranga, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington. The meeting was also attended by the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland for the North Island, Bogusław Nowak. The Christmas lunch was an excellent opportunity to summarize the past year and discuss priorities and goals for 2024.

Ambassador Grzegorz Kowal presented the main areas of the Embassy’s activities and acknowledged Polish organizations for their cooperation in promoting Poland across different areas. He also emphasized that 2023 was the year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Poland and New Zealand. Consul Maksymilian Zych spoke about the last year’s main consular activities and the organization of the parliamentary elections and referendum 2023. Ms. Zofia Halwic presented a summary of the cultural projects, of which the vast majority were cost-free and implemented thanks to very good cooperation with the local institutions. Mrs. Anna Włodarczyk, as a team member directly responsible for collaboration with the Polish diaspora, summarized and thanked everyone for their wonderful cooperation in the implementation of all projects in 2023, the number of which almost doubled compared to the previous year.

The second part of the meeting was devoted to summarizing the activities of the individual organizations. It’s worth mentioning that the group was joined by newly appointed presidents: Polish Ex-Servicemen's Association in New Zealand, Mr. Tadeusz Wypych, POLANZ (Polish New Zealand Business Association), Mr. Piotr Biegański, and the Polish Association in Auckland, Mrs. Nina Tomaszyk. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Leszek Lendnal, President of the newly created committee organizing  PolArt 2025 Wellington festival. The gathering provided a great opportunity to exchange experiences, ideas and plans between all participants.

During a meeting, Ambassador Grzegorz Kowal, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs appointed also Mr. Bogusław Nowak for a new, 5-years term of office.