From February 28 to March 13, an extraordinary exhibition about Poland's relations with Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway awaits the residents of Katowice at Kwiatowy Square. What can be seen at the exhibition, and why has it come to Katowice?
Starting February 28, residents of Katowice can visit a new outdoor exhibition at the Kwiatowy Square. The exhibition, titled "We've known each other for a long time and we have it in writing. Poland's relations with Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein in the light of the Polish State Archives collections" is dedicated to Poland's relations with the donor states of the EEA and Norway Grants.
A Journey Through Time…
The exhibition is a journey through time, combining history with the present.
On one hand, visitors will learn about fascinating stories from the history of our relations. The State Archives have explored their collections and found interesting documents from several dozen, and even several hundred years ago. The Polish expedition to Spitsbergen in 1934, the journey of Daniel Vetter, a resident of Poland, to Iceland in 1613, and the connections of the Liechtenstein family with Silesia are just three examples of the intertwined fates of Poland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
The exhibition will also feature information about projects implemented in recent years thanks to the EEA and Norway Grants. The projects have been selected to thematically relate to the documents found by the State Archives. For example, alongside scans of documents about the Polish expedition to Spitsbergen in 1934, there is information about the iAREA project, in which Polish and Norwegian scientists studied how soot, mineral dust, and volcanic ash affect the climate in the European Arctic.
The juxtaposition of past events and contemporary projects shows that Poland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway have known each other for a long time and, as the exhibition title suggests, have it in writing
…and Space
Katowice is the first city where the exhibition can be seen. The exhibitom will be hosted in the capital of the Silesian Voivodeship from February 28 to March 13.
The exhibition is mobile. Later, it can also be visited in Kraków, Warsaw, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Wrocław.
The exhibition is organized by the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy and the Polish State Archives. The exhibition is part of the promotion of the EEA and Norway Grants for Poland.
More information in Polish about the exhibition can be found at https://www.eog.gov.pl/wystawa (only in Polish).
About the EEA and Norway Grants
The EEA and Norway Grants are funds granted to Poland and several other EU countries by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
The third edition of the EEA and Norway Grants is coming to an end in Poland. As part of it, Poland received 809.3 million euros, the most of all beneficiary states. These funds are for the development of towns, entrepreneurship, scientific research, culture, and education, among other things.
Negotiations for the next, fourth edition are also underway. The amount for Poland is already known. Poland will once again be the largest beneficiary of the EEA and Norway Grants. Our country will receive almost 925 million euros. The negotiations concern the allocation of this amount to specific objectives.
The agreements concluding these negotiations between Poland and Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway (the so-called Memoranda of Understanding) for the fourth edition are to be signed in the first half of 2025.
More information about the EEA and Norway Grants for Poland can be found in the Aims and principles tab.