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
We completed our educational activities in June. This does not mean that CEM’s activities have been suspended for the summer. In July, important events took place for the organization and the Esperanto community.
An important event for us was a gathering to celebrate Jola Kieres’ 80th birthday – our Esperanto Language Teacher. Jola is a great promoter of the Esperanto language and has been serving as the president of the Esperantists Club at the Municipal Center for Culture for several decades. She was also one of the founders of the Association and currently holds the position of Vice President of CEM’s board. Jola leads the Senior Doctor’s Club at the Nowy Sącz branch of the District Medical Chamber. She is an active student at SUTW and enthusiastically performs with the theater group “Gwiazdeczki.” She travels the world.
We all admire her intellectual and physical activity. Above all, we can say and write that Jola is a wonderful person, a wonderful friend. She has created an incomparable Esperanto family in our Association, which gathered in large numbers (30 people!) at the jubilee meeting. There were wishes, flowers, toasts, and songs. The Polish language intertwined with Esperanto. The several-hour meeting took place in a very joyful and family atmosphere.
We wish our jubilarian many happy years in good health and with the same sense of humor as before. Jolu, may you live for a 100 years!
Additionally, in July, the 40th Polish Esperanto Congress took place in Siedlce. A CEM delegation consisting of Bożena Kocyk, Jolanta Kieres, and Marian Kocyk participated in the congress.
In Turin, Italy, on July 29th, the 108th World Esperanto Congress began and will last until August 5th. A 16-member group from CEM attended the congress. CEM.
