On 9 April 2025, the European Parliament in Brussels hosted a unique event - the debate "ToGetHer in Europe. Perspective of Polish Women", a debate which our University had the honour to co-organise. The event's chief host was the Vice-President of the European Parliament and the Chair of the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity, Ewa Kopacz.
The debate kicked off with speeches by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, EP Vice-President Ewa Kopacz, EP Secretary-General Alessandro Chiocchetti, Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka and the Polish Ambassador to the EU, Agnieszka Bartol.
The discussion, devoted to women's participation in public space, was followed by presentations by associates of the AMU Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, the AMU Faculty of Educational Studies, the AMU Physical Education and Sports Centre and the AMU Research Centre for Public Engagement of Women, presenting the successes, barriers and limitations of women's equal access to science, education, politics, the labour market and sport.
Two panels - Women in Science and the Labour Market and Women in Politics, sport and Education - moderated by Prof. Iwetta Andruszkiewicz and MP Małgorzata Niemczyk, featured Prof. Robert Kmieciak, Prof. Grażyna Strnad, Prof. Iwetta Andruszkiewicz, Dr Eliza Kania, Prof. Beata Pająk-Patkowska, Dr Grażyna Barabasz and MA Łukasz Stypa.
The event is a continuation of a series of conferences initiated by the AMU Research Centre for Public Engagement of Women in the Parliament of the Republic of Poland by female parliamentarians and the academic community of our University. It was attended by representatives of the Polish government, Polish and European female parliamentarians, academic staff of Polish and foreign universities, representatives of local government organisations and community activists.
In January 2025, Poland assumed the Presidency of the European Union Council. One of its priorities is women's rights and gender equality. The debate in the European Parliament was organised in conjunction with these activities and under the patronage of the Polish Presidency in the European Union Council.
Photographs provided by the European Parliament, authors Denis Lomme and Aleksandra Górska.
