In 2022, the SGH Warsaw School of Economics joined the European University of Social Sciences CIVICA. The European Commission granted CIVICA financial resources for joint activities in 2022-2026. SGH is responsible for Work Package 9: “CIVICA Community and Identity” as part of these activities. One of the most significant events organized by SGH within this work package is the CIVICA Sport & Culture Festival. The size of this event is reflected by the number of participants, which is 250 people from CIVICA universities. We have planned the arrival of over 20 students from each of the nine partner universities and the participation of at least twice as many from our Alma Mater. The festival has been organised by dozens of people for many months already.
One of the biggest challenges CIVICA universities faced was setting the event date. Due to differences in individual universities’ academic calendars, finding a perfect date for everyone was impossible. Dialogue, compromise, mutual respect, scientific discourse and democratic understanding of the decision-making process - the values that CIVICA is committed to and proud of have been perfectly exercised in practice, which resulted in the selection of the date for June 14-16 this year. On the one hand, even such an important event cannot interfere with the student’s education. On the other hand, weather conditions are of paramount importance. As SGH, we wanted to give everyone a chance to get to know Warsaw and Poland at the best and nicest time possible, remembering that for many people, it will be their first contact with our country. Everyone agreed that the turn of spring and summer is not only the least risky time in terms of weather, but also the period when the Masovian flora and fauna look beautiful. In June, many people have holidays in mind, and such an event will certainly give everyone a taste of active recreation combined with learning about the rich Polish culture, both historical and contemporary.
As the name suggests, the CIVICA Sport & Culture Festival includes cultural, leisure and sports events. As SGH, we would like to show off our rich history by guiding foreign guests around the historic SGH campus and presenting facts from the history of the university, Warsaw, and Poland, which is important for our national heritage and academic traditions. The hallmarks of SGH are certainly the Choir and the Folk Song and Dance Ensemble. Their performances will be strong points of the entire festival, increasing our recognition and pride in our cultural achievements. One of the primary criteria for choosing the traditional form of the festival was the possibility of integrating the academic community. One of the best opportunities for integration is provided by joint recreational and sports activities. We are pleased to announce that a large part of the CIVICA Sport & Culture Festival will occur at Zegrze Lake and include water-related attractions. For people more familiar with the secrets of sailing, a sailing regatta will be organized as a water game. A boat cruise is planned for the remaining participants. Of course, there will be additional attractions like workshops and training. The highlight of the festival on Saturday evening is a common bonfire. Eating, singing, and having fun with hundreds of people from different parts of Europe - the only limits seem to be the students’ imagination and the length of the night. It will be one of the shortest nights of the year because only a few days will separate us from the summer solstice holiday, commonly known as Kupala Night or Midsummer Night.
We are already receiving information that the offer we have prepared is met with interest from a much larger group of people than we had planned. Unfortunately, for logistical reasons, we are forced to limit the number of participants to a quarter of a thousand, considering the need to conduct internal elections of delegates to the CIVICA Sport & Culture Festival at universities. We also hope that the success of this project, which none of the CIVICA members doubts, will enable the cyclical organization of such events in the future.
DR HAB. MICHAŁ BERNARDELLI, prof. SGH, Head of the Centre of Physical Education and Sports, Deputy Dean for Graduate Studies, Probabilistic Methods Unit, SGH Collegium of Economic Analysis
