Forum for Dialogue Network

Forum for Dialogue is the oldest Polish non-profit dedicated to fostering Polish/Jewish dialogue. We identify and connect people from Poland and abroad for whom Jewish history and heritage matter. We bring together people committed to writing a new chapter in Polish/Jewish history. We call this community the Forum for Dialogue Network.

Forum is an amazing and important organization … No one has done more in post-war Poland to foster better understanding about what happened and how to prevent it from happening again through real and meaningful human connections and dialogue.

Rabbi Steve Leder, Senior Rabbi at Willshire Boulevard Temple, Los Angeles, USA

Through our dedication to building genuine people-to-people connections across languages, geographies, and memories, we overcome decades of pain and miscommunication about the complexity of Jewish history in Poland, and foster relations resilient to the recurring domestic and international political turmoil. We have built around us an extensive network of people who believe in honest and ethical research of Polish/Jewish history, understand the value of remembering and commemorating the past with empathy, and share a spirit of honesty and mutual respect.

The means of achieving those goals are multiple and thus our Network must be diverse. It includes Polish activists bringing back Jewish memory in small towns all over the country, as well as local and international benefactors whose contributions allow us to grow the Network and serve its needs.

Regardless of the type and degree of their involvement, the benefactors, activists, and other friends and allies, all identify with the mission of the Forum, and understand that only mutual reinforcement will bring on real change.

Our focus now is on growing that network in Poland and abroad. We envision the following strategic actions as the future for the Forum for Dialogue Network:

• Building an ever-growing, multidisciplinary, and robust community of people who care about Polish/Jewish relations, and fostering mutual trust and understanding between Network members of diverse cultural, educational, and national backgrounds and experiences.

• Establishing meaningful local and international connections between Jews from Poland and abroad with non-Jewish Poles, activists and benefactors, members of the Forum for Dialogue Network. We provide the space for them to meet, develop, and interact, but leave the decision on how and when to act to them.

• Creating and supporting life-long learning opportunities for all members of the Forum for Dialogue Network via study visits, educational trips, seminars, workshops, and conferences, as well as online sessions and educational materials. Our international and local partnerships with institutions ensure the quality and breadth of our educational offer.

• Increasing financial support for initiatives that align with Forum’s mission and values. We believe that the activists in the Network understand the challenges they face in their communities and are best positioned to take effective action to bring lasting change on the local level.

• Expanding the Forum for Dialogue Network in Poland and abroad by identifying and admitting new people to join our endeavor. We want to ensure the sustainability, impact, and reach of our collective efforts. We welcome both new activists dedicated to Polish/Jewish history and heritage and benefactors who share our mission and choose to financially support our goals.