The Polish path to freedom

Adam Michnik was renowned as a leading member of the Polish opposition movement under communism, and is today one of the country's most important public figures. He is the founding editor of Gazeta Wyborcza, the leading independent newspaper in Poland, a former dissident, and one of the most influential figures in Polish public life.

The lecture entitled ‘The Polish Path to Freedom’, will draw on his vast first-hand experience of political crises, conflict and reform in post-war Poland to address such topics as the development of Polish civil society, the importance of cooperation between workers, intellectuals and the church, and the role of compromise and non-violent struggle.

Dr Emma Widdis of the Department of Slavonic Studies said: “The University is committed to the value of language-based study, and to the place of in-depth cultural and historical knowledge as a vital part of any understanding of contemporary political and social contexts.

“Our mission now is to ensure that our expertise includes the complex region of central and Eastern Europe in which Poland occupies such an important place.”

Poland's rising geo-political and cultural influence calls for a renewed commitment to serious academic study of the country. The University seeks to build on its interdisciplinary research relating to Poland, and establish a vibrant Polish Studies programme as a permanent aspect of a Cambridge education.

A historian, essayist, and political commentator, Michnik is the recipient of laureate of many awards, including a Knight of the Legion of Honour and European of the Year. Michnik is in England marking the publication of his book, In Search of Lost Meaning: The New Eastern Europe (published by University of California Press).

The lecture, hosted by The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, takes place on Thursday, 26 May 2011, at 5:00 pm, in the Winstanley Lecture Theatre at Trinity College, Cambridge.