The latest club meeting of the Center for Intercultural Education Association this year took place on March 3, 2025. The main theme of the meeting was Esperanto. The choice of this topic was prompted by the anniversary of the passing of Halina Komar, the founder of our association, as well as the completion of Esperanto studies and the defense of a diploma thesis by Lidia Helena Komar at the Interlinguistic Studies program at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
During the meeting, we reminisced about Halina and had a conversation with Lidia, who is the granddaughter of the late Halina Komar.
Lidia’s interest in the Esperanto language and its ideals was inspired by her grandmother Halina’s dedication. She participated in many events and initiatives organized by Halina. She became fluent in Esperanto and completed the methodological training program “Instruista Trejnado” as part of the international “Erasmus+” project.
Along with other participants of the interlinguistic studies program (who came from the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, China, France, and Poland), Lidia took a comprehensive exam in September 2024. The exam covered Esperanto language skills, Esperanto culture, and the history of the Esperanto movement. Additionally, an integral part of the exam involved teaching a self-prepared Esperanto lesson before an examination committee.
The supervisor for diploma theses in the field of methodology was Katalin Kovats, a Hungarian educator living in the Netherlands, a distinguished expert in Esperanto education, the founder of the Edukado.net portal, and the director of examinations at the Universal Esperanto Association (UEA). Lidia wrote her thesis titled “Halina Komar kaj ŝia socia agado” (“Halina Komar and Her Social Activities Through Esperanto”). The topic was suggested by Katalin Kovats, who knew Halina Komar well and had attended several of our events in Nowy Sącz.
The thesis was reviewed by Barbara Pietrzak, a well-known promoter of Esperanto, a Polish Esperantist, and a radio journalist who runs Pola Ret Radio. In previous years, she was a board member of the UEA and is a member of the Akademio de Esperanto. Until 2024, the director of the External Postgraduate Interlinguistic Studies and the Department of Ugro-Finnic Philology at Adam Mickiewicz University was Professor Ilona Koutny, a Hungarian linguist residing in Poland.
Unfortunately, 2024 brought unfavorable developments for Esperanto in our country. After 26 years, the Esperanto Interlinguistic Studies program at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań was discontinued, and the Esperanto culture festival “Arkones” was held for the last time.
We sincerely thank Lidia for her participation in the meeting and wish her success in using her Esperanto language skills and teaching qualifications for the benefit of the Esperanto movement.
Transl. Admin+AI
