News

From 16^th to 19^th of April 2024, the city of Bielsko-Biała was visited by the participants of the European Youth Congress, organised by: the University of Bielsko-Biala, the City Hall of Bielsko-Biała, the Youth City Council of Bielsko-Biała and the Beskidian Library.

The Congress’s scope of topics covered the issues of wellbeing, citizen involvement and place of youth in the contemporary world. The participants were chiefly the youth from the partner cities of Bielsko-Biała from Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, but also guests from Malta.

The programme of the Congress started at the headquarters of the Beskidian Library, where the integration workshops took their place, followed by a meeting of the Meet my culture cycle, presenting the specificity of Polish culture and aspects of the regional culture around Bielsko-Biała. The participants of the Congress took also a sightseeing tour in the city centre and were taken to the Szyndzielnia mountain, where another workshops were held for them, in a picturesque PTTK tourist lodge located there. In the evening, the participants could integrate downhill, in the hotel complex, at the common table and by the fire in which they could prepare sausages or other snacks. The ending accent of the day was vivid and interactive presentation of the local folklore and party in a Highlander-brigand style.

The key event of the Congress was the debate organised in the Auditorium Maximum of the University of Bielsko-Biala, composed of three discussion panels. The first one concerned the topic of youth in Europe and among the panellist were the young people who shared their first-hand experiences on that subject. The second panel was focused on the problem of the citizen responsibility crisis and was a speech and questions and answers session given by dr Jan Olbrycht, a Member of the European Parliament. The third and last panel concerned the issue of wellbeing and a place of values in the contemporary world. In this part, the panellists were the invited experts and a group representing the BB ESK 2029 project – supporting Bielsko-Biała to being proclaimed the European Capital of Culture in 2029. During the lunch break between the panels, the participants had a chance to taste a local culinary speciality: kanapka cieszyńska (a Cieszyn sandwich).

The participants of the Congress could also take a glimpse on the cultural life of Bielsko-Biała. The organisers took them to the Cavatina Hall for a concert of the Cavatina Orchestra of Bielsko-Biała and Camerata Silesia, being a part of the Sacrum in Musica festival.

The Congress ended with a morning summary session in the Szyndzielnia Hotel. The European Youth Congress was a success for both the organisers and the participants. We hope that it will help to raise the level of co-operation between the partner cities, as well as between the institutions within the city. We await the future editions.