The District Museum in Nowy Sącz, together with the Center for Intercultural Education, organized the exhibition “Esperanto Beyond Time and Space.” The exhibition will last for three months and is located in the town hall building of the Galician Town. It was officially opened on November 7, 2025.
Panels in Esperanto and Polish, illustrating the life and achievements of Ludwik Zamenhof and providing many interesting facts about the Esperanto movement in Poland and abroad, were originally prepared in 2017 for the 100th anniversary of Zamenhof’s birth. That year was declared by UNESCO as the Year of Zamenhof (alongside Tadeusz Kościuszko), following a proposal from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and indirectly from Polish Esperantists.
During that time, several years of efforts to include Esperanto on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Poland were finalized. One of the panels depicts the moment when the decision was handed over to Halina Komar and Kazimierz Krzyżak by the Deputy Minister of Culture.
Alongside the panels, a brochure featuring the same photos was published. The publishers were the Ministry of Culture, the Polish Embassy in Seoul, and the Center for Intercultural Education. The embassy in South Korea was involved because the World Esperanto Congress took place in Seoul in 2017, with over 1,000 participants from dozens of countries. The brochure was published in Esperanto and English to reach the widest possible non-Polish-speaking audience.
The opening ceremony program included an official welcome by the deputy director of the museum, a greeting from the president of the Center for Intercultural Education, and thanks to the museum staff for enabling the presentation of Esperanto achievements to a broader audience.
Special thanks go to Alicja Skalska, Maria Baran, Jarosław Szewczyk, and Marian Kocyk for their contributions to organizing the exhibition.
After watching a simulated greeting by Zamenhof himself (using Artificial Intelligence), we sang the Esperanto anthem accompanied by Alicja Skalska on the accordion.
Next, we listened to a lecture by Maria Baran titled “115 Years of Esperanto in Nowy Sącz”.
We learned many details about the activities of the local branch of the Polish Esperanto Association in Nowy Sącz, as well as the work of the Center for Intercultural Education, which has existed since 2012 as an independent non-governmental organization with a broader range of interests. In addition to Esperanto courses, we have added English language courses.
Finally, we raised a toast to the successful initiative and enjoyed a white-and-green cake – the colors of Esperanto. Guests could also view various types of Esperanto-language publications displayed in showcases.
Bożena Kocyk
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