Over 600 participants, including volunteers from all over Poland. This year’s National Freedom Institute - Centre for Civil Society Development (IVY focal point in Poland) conference was about them and for them. The programme featured inspiring lectures, debates, panel discussions and workshops involving representatives of the government and recognised experts from the third sector.
The NIW-CRSO annual conference began on 8 September and lasted two days. It was a unique event not only because of the record number of participants, but also because it formed the centrepiece of the celebrations for the International Year of Volunteering (IVY 2026) in Poland. It is worth recalling that this year was designated by the United Nations General Assembly to draw the international community’s attention to the crucial role of volunteering in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and building resilient and engaged societies. Importantly, this year’s conference was also combined with the Volunteering Forum. And it was precisely volunteering that formed the core of the event’s theme. The event was held under the slogan: ‘Volunteering builds an active society’.
The conference was opened by: Adriana Porowska, Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and Vice-Chair of the Committee for Public Benefit, and Michał Braun, Director of the National Freedom Institute for – Centre for Civil Society Development.
‘First and foremost, thank you for deciding to come here and be with us. Thank you also for all the discussions during this conference,’ said Adriana Porowska as she welcomed the participants.
‘Volunteering builds an active society. Active, as opposed to passive. It is a society in which people take responsibility for their surroundings. By ‘society’, I mean a genuine community of people who trust one another and are able to work together. Now, in the International Year of Volunteering for Sustainable Development, we have a special opportunity to get involved in working for the benefit of others,” emphasised Director Michał Braun during his speech.
One of the highlights of the first day of the conference was the main debate entitled ‘A strong state, active citizens. On the future of civil society within the framework of work on the “Civil Society Development Strategy”’. It was chaired by Krzysztof Nakonieczny, a journalist with Telewizja Polska.
– The most important thing is to prevent indifference. Indifference is pure evil. You are people who love others. If people understand one another, they are able – as Sister Chmielewska says – to make a little room on the bench of life and sometimes give a little more to those in need,” said Adriana Porowska, Secretary of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and Vice-Chair of the Committee for Public Benefit, during the debate.
– The key to building resilience is cooperation. Together, not separately; let us unite, not divide – added Adam Nowak, Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
“Today, when we talk about national resilience, nobody thinks solely that we can sort everything out through investment in infrastructure, professionalisation and better preparation of the emergency services (…) Today, we are making it very clear that one of the crucial pillars, without which we cannot move forward, is a society that knows how to prepare, how to react and what to do. And this is also the role of non-governmental organisations today – to support the emergency services that respond to crises, but above all to prepare citizens and raise public awareness that day-to-day involvement, active participation and support for non-governmental organisations are simply a civic duty,” emphasised Magdalena Roguska, Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.
– It is important to remember that we must move from local to global action – there is no other way – said Żaneta Cwalina-Śliwowska, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism.
– I believe that non-governmental organisations must have a sense of independence and know that, regardless of which political party is in power, they can operate efficiently and wisely, just as they have done for years – added Izabela Ziętka, Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Education.
The programme for the first day of the conference also featured an extremely interesting lecture by Prof. Cezary Obracht-Prondzyński from the University of Gdańsk and the Kashubian Institute. His talk, entitled ‘Being with the Other: On the Dilemmas of the Engaged Citizen’, was met with long, thunderous applause. The participants listened to him with great interest.
– Without social and ethical renewal, democracy will struggle to survive. It needs commitment, because only action is the true test of intentions. But we also need a transformative imagination that will allow us, for example, to recognise the vast resources at our disposal. It is a sea, a boundless expanse of positives – people, ideas, actions, initiatives, projects, organisations, events (…) It is a vast amount of social energy, boundless. It is amongst us. Often, when we fall into this ethical catatonia, we become blind and deaf to what is happening around us, of which we ourselves are often the perpetrators. It is a vast treasure trove that is often right at our fingertips, and it is something that can and must be the foundation of hopefulness, which is the opposite of hopelessness,’ said Prof. Cezary Obracht-Prondzyński.
The first day of the conference also featured numerous panel discussions. ‘Volunteering for all – how to build accessible, safe and inclusive engagement for sustainable development?’, ‘How to engage Generation Z and Generation Alpha in volunteering?’, “Volunteering in the light of research – findings, trends, challenges”, “Experiences in developing volunteering in local authorities, good practices”, “Safe volunteering for young people – how to implement regulations and establish good practices?” – these are just some of them.
On the first day of the conference, the National Contact Point for the ‘Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values’ programme – CERV – was officially launched.
At the opening of the second day of the annual conference, participants were able to hear a letter from Radosław Sikorski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. It was read out by Ignacy Niemczycki, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This was followed by a debate entitled ‘Volunteering as a local response to global challenges’, moderated by Piotr Bukowski, a journalist with Telewizja Polska. Participants discussed, amongst other things, the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 in the resolution ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. heca.europa.eu/pl/sustainable-development-goals
– Those involved in volunteering help us to translate the rather ambitious, not necessarily straightforward objectives of the 2030 Agenda into everyday language, as well as into day-to-day actions. In this sense, volunteers act as a bridge between the level of public policy and the day-to-day implementation of specific actions,’ emphasised Ignacy Niemczycki, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
– Our commitment is very important, as we seek to engage and involve all stakeholders, not just the public administration – which is natural, as we rely on public policies – because individual ministries, each with their own remit and objectives, can implement appropriate policies in their respective areas. However, the most important thing is the involvement of non-governmental organisations, the business sector and ordinary people. This is so that each of us can answer for ourselves what sustainable development means to us, because we must remember that this is a huge challenge,” said Aneta Piątkowska, Director of the Department of Sustainable Economy at the Ministry of Development and Technology, during the debate.
– This year, UNV introduced a volunteering indicator to measure and track what volunteers do and what their contribution is to government activities (…) We know that people are keen to volunteer, and we can see that. Whenever a crisis strikes, volunteers are the first on the scene and stay there until the very end; they are the last to leave,’ said Zarina Mirabdullayeva, IVY 2026 Regional Coordinator for Europe and Central Asia, The United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV)
– We reflect on the meaning and objectives of our work. And even if these are local initiatives, they form part of a broader picture of the changes we wish to bring about – explained Michał Braun, Director of NIW-CRSO.
– Each of the 17 goals is a wonderful plan for the preservation and development of the planet and its people in very important contexts. Business and entrepreneurship are vital activities that are constantly being pursued with the 17 goals in mind – added Paweł Łukasiak, Chairman of the Board of the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland.
The programme for the second day of the conference also featured discussion panels and workshops. These included, amongst others: ‘Cultivating memory as the foundation of community’ and ‘The EEA Civil Society Fund – best practices’. A meeting of the Organising Committee for the Celebration of the International Year of Volunteering IVY 2026 was also held, as were expert consultations on a strategy for the development of philanthropy.
Around 600 people attended the conference. Among them were representatives of non-governmental organisations from across Poland, who spoke very highly of the event.
– All the panels, presentations and workshops are very interesting. You can learn a great deal from them. You can also make lots of new contacts and exchange experiences and best practices.
– I’m delighted to be here. It’s wonderful that we can come together in such large numbers. There’s time here to listen to fascinating talks and gain knowledge. The conference is also an opportunity to socialise and meet people with big hearts.”
– The NIW Conference is an opportunity to meet people from the social sector across Poland – from small local organisations to larger ones – and to discuss issues that are important to us.
– It’s a brilliant event. The theme is volunteering, as this is the International Year of Volunteering, and it’s great that we can talk about it here. And it’s certainly one of the most interesting NGO events in Poland this year, and definitely the biggest.
– The conference is an intensive two days – networking, discussions, and meetings with people from all over Poland. There’s a great atmosphere; it’s lovely to meet the people who make our work possible and with whom we can work.
– Being here, amongst so many members of organisations, is something incredible. For me, it’s a fantastic event that brings organisations together. We’re keen to take part in the panel discussions; this year, many of them are dedicated to volunteering, because that’s what underpins our work.
– Meetings like this are very much needed. The huge number of people here shows just how important it is to be able to meet at least once a year to talk, showcase our work and make new contacts.
And for those who couldn’t make it to Warsaw, an online broadcast was available. Selected highlights from both days of the conference can be viewed on the NIW-CRSO YouTube channel and on Facebook – complete with sign language interpretation.:
https://www.facebook.com/narodowyinstytutwolnosci/videos/28215774841376…
https://www.facebook.com/narodowyinstytutwolnosci/videos/16266656556616…
https://www.facebook.com/narodowyinstytutwolnosci/videos/40608795842191…

The conference was supported by the following media partners: Telewizja Polska, Polish Radio’s Channel One, PolskaPress, the naszemiasto.pl website, and the ngo.pl and esgtrends.pl websites.