Crowdfund secures independence of the ESC

Last week, the Polish ministry of culture announced that it would be cutting the annual funding of the internationally acclaimed European Solidarity Centre (ESC) in Gdansk by 3 million złoty (€700,000) unless certain conditions were met – the Minister of Culture, Piotr Gliński, had previously criticized the Centre for failing to be ‘inclusive’. The ESC refused the conditions, which it saw as an attempt at political interference, in particular in connection with the Centre’s programme for the 30-year anniversary of 1989 this year. Instead, the ESC launched a crowdfunding campaign, which by Monday had collected more than the amount necessary to continue its programme as planned.

The 27th Eurozine conference Mobilizing for the commons was held at the ESC in 2016. The ESC, which was co-founded by the late Paweł Adamowicz, funds the Eurozine partner journal New Eastern Europe. Eurozine will continue to follow developments with interest and concern.

Photo source: Facebook crowdfunding