The City of Gdańsk Hosts the 2022 ICORN General Assembly under the Theme ‘Solidarity’

After three long years without in-person gatherings, ICORN and the City of Gdańsk look forward to welcoming up to 300 ICORN residents, coordinators, city officials, partners, supporters, and other guests for its General Assembly between June 8 and 10, 2022.

The ICORN General Assembly is the opportunity for the membership to jointly decide the direction ICORN will take in the future. It is also a crucial event which serves to strengthen relationships as well as share information and practices between all major stakeholders of the network. Over the three days and under the theme of ‘Solidarity’, the 2022 General Assembly participants will engage in a diverse program, including discussions and workshops on issues such as the protection and promotion of writers and artists at risk, psychosocial well-being, digital security, and country-specific reports. As ever, there will be a balance of events tailored to the needs of specific groups within ICORN, such as an optional training course for new ICORN city coordinators. Undoubtedly, the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine and its consequences will also influence the General Assembly’s program in multifaceted ways.              

The ICORN 2022 General Assembly’s theme of ‘Solidarity’ is inspired by the official host, the City of Gdańsk and its history as the birthplace of the ‘Solidarity’ movement’ which irrevocably changed Europe in the 1980s. The movement’s leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former President of Poland, Lech Wałęsa, will give the opening keynote speech. Gdańsk’s long tradition of supporting writers and artists and protecting human rights is also apparent in the institutions partnering to make the ICORN 2022 General Assembly possible. First is the European Solidarity Centre which will be the main venue of the event. The European Poet of Freedom Literary Festival will be happening in parallel and is opening all its events to ICORN General Assembly participants, including its Gala on Friday, June 10. The Gdańsk City Gallery, a self-governing cultural institution founded in 2009, is an important partner for ICORN and coordinates ICORN residencies in the Polish city. Finally, Visit Gdańsk is the official tourist brand of the host city and is supporting many aspects of the ICORN General Assembly’s organisation and logistics.

For more information about the event please follow updates on this website, and/or email us at event(at)icorn.org

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