Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited Kraków on 17–18 November to take part in the Open Eyes Economy Summit.
During the visit, she held meetings with the city’s president, Aleksander Miszalski, and the chairman of the city council, Jakub Kosek. According to Tsikhanouskaya’s Office, the talks focused on the main problems and needs of Belarusians living in Kraków: legalisation, obtaining documents, and issues of integration and access to municipal services.
“The discussion addressed the possibility of creating Belarusian-language versions of city websites, support for Belarusian cultural events, and allocating an additional space for the activities of Belarusian communities.
They also separately discussed installing commemorative plaques at sites linked to shared Belarusian-Polish history and supporting Belarusian sports and educational initiatives — for example, the amateur football club Polesie United and representatives of the Fairplay project, which promotes human rights through sports. The parties agreed to establish ongoing dialogue between the city authorities and Belarusian organisations,” the Office added.
A proposal was made to hold joint events in support of the imprisoned journalist and Sakharov Prize laureate Andrzej Poczobut.
Tsikhanouskaya expressed gratitude to the Kraków authorities for supporting Belarusians after 2020. The city has become an important relocation hub for Belarusian IT companies and civic initiatives. It is estimated that 10,000–15,000 Belarusians may be living in Kraków.
Tsikhanouskaya also met with activists and leaders of Belarusian organisations, as well as initiators of cultural and educational projects.