#WEASA2021 started!!! Day 1

We are truly thrilled to start the 9th edition of WEASA today!!!

We have been preparing for this for many months and happy to see that the participants and partners are as excited as we are!

The Vice-Rector of College of Europe in Natolin Mrs Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka honoured us with her presence by delivering engaging opening remarks devoted to our lovely participants of #WEASA2021.

One particular quote from the Vice-Rector that is worth mentioning here is that she encouraged the participants to use WEASA as the “perfect ground for building networks and new connections.” 

The Polish American Freedom Foundation was represented by Ms Agnieszka Mazur who stressed the importance of bringing these issues to the audiences in the Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans; while Ms Corinna Horst from the German Marshall Fund highlighted the need to focus on cross-regional cooperation and that WEASA is the perfect platform for building such ties.

From our side we would add that this is what makes WAESA very special, as the best of the best gather under the common umbrella we call WEASA; and as we like to say within our team: “there is life after WEASA”: it includes the opportunities and Alumni projects that have been designed by and for our valuable alumni members.

Thanks to the amazing facilitation skills of the Program Designer of WEASA 2021 Lukasz Krol we managed to reveal our enormously talented participants! And yet the most exciting parts are yet to come!

The afternoon session was actually an introduction to the modern technological world and the very constructive critical approach towards Western Liberalism. The session was led by Brian Whitmore – a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He spoke on the reasons of the crisis of Western Liberalism and shed some light by arguing: “It is because we have stopped believing in the western story … and started to believe in a wrong story”.

Another key take away from the session was on geopolitical consequences: “Russia tears down the house, while China tries to renovate the house”.

The participants were actively involved in Q&A sessions related to Georgia and Ukraine and Russia’s actions against the democracies in those countries. Specifically n Ukraine, he introduced some important food for thought, warning: “If we lose the battle for democracy in Ukraine, we may even lose the battle for democracy in the world!”

This is the summary for Day 1! We will keep posting and sharing our news with you.

Cheers!
The WEASA Team