Poland commemorates restoration of independence

Polish Ambassador to Kuwait H.E. Paweł Lechowicz hosted a concert to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the restoration of his country’s independence. Highlight of the concert, held at the embassy on 8 November, was a piano recital by Polish pianist Piotr Podemski, a popular pianist who is a teacher in Kuwait’s PAAET (The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training). The evening also saw winners of the music competition organized by the Polish Embassy, perform melodious renditions of compositions by Fryderyk Chopin and other Polish composers.

As part of the celebrations, an art exhibition was held featuring children’s artwork on the subject of Poland regaining its independence. Prior to the main event, the polish embassy held auditions for the music competition to promote Polish music among kids and young people in Kuwait on 3 November. Forty young musicians from various music schools participated in the competition with individual performances of Polish musical pieces before a large audience and distinguished judges.

The top three winners were Yamen Tarek Mohd (Kuwait Music Academy), Abdulrahman Adnan Al-Ibrahim (Musicology Center), and Piotr Rutkowski & Roderick Simanjuntak (Kuwait English School). National Independence Day on 11 November 2018 marks the centenary of restoration of Poland’s sovereignty in 1918 after 123 years of partition under German Austrian and Russian Empires. The Polish democracy is one of the oldest in the world with roots of Polish democratic, libertarian and parliamentary traditions dating back to the fifteenth century.

The chain of events sparked by demonstrations led by the Solidarity movement led to the fall of the Polish People’s Republic, which was formed after World War II, and the creation of a sovereign, democratic Polish state in 1989. In the nearly three decades since then, a modern Poland has evolved witnessing free, democratic parliamentary and presidential elections, a new constitution, economic prosperity, memberships of NATO and the EU. The country has experienced remarkable growth and advancement to become a leader in various industries, including in digitization, financial tech, food production and business outsourcing among others.