In Siedlce, this year, from July 20th to July 23rd, the 40th Congress of the Polish Esperanto Association took place. It was exceptionally well-attended, and it was further honored by the presence of Zbigniew Antoni Kruszewski, the 90-year-old grandson of Antoni Grabowski, who was granted honorary membership in the PEA.
CEM (Central Esperanto Meeting) was represented by three Esperantists. Event took place in the halls and the building of the library at the Siedlce University of Natural and Humanistic Sciences. As usual, there were interesting lectures, such as the one by Radio Maciej Jaskot’s editor, titled “Let’s Take Care of Our Language.” The connections with Siedlce by Ady Sikorska-Fighiera were presented by Roman Dobrzyński, who also has family ties to the area.
Esperantists in Siedlce celebrated the 115th anniversary of their Esperanto movement together with all the participants. There was communal singing with Halina Różanek and a white and green jubilee cake.
Blind poet Halina Kuropatnicka Salamon from Wrocław read her poems, and Kaŝi and Wojtek Ławnikiewicz performed in both Polish and Esperanto. With local guides, we explored the most important places and monuments in Siedlce, learning about Princess Aleksandra Ogińska, who was important for the city. Not only the city but also the surrounding areas were presented in an interesting way by a history and photography enthusiast and the vice-director of the Regional Museum in Siedlce, Sławomir Kordaczuk.
On the last day, John Magessa from Tanzania spoke in an incredibly interesting way about Aruŝa, the city at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, where the next World Esperanto Congress will take place. Świętosław Fortuna, on the other hand, invited everyone to the next PEA congress in Kalisz next year.
Bożena Kocyk
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