The first All-Ukrainian Methodological Congress of Polish Language Teachers “Language. Education. Community” has begun its work in Truskavets. The official opening took place on 27 October in the resort town in Lviv region, with the participation of the Ministers of Education of Ukraine and Poland.
Among the distinguished guests were the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Andrii Butenko, the Minister of National Education of the Republic of Poland Barbara Nowacka, as well as the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine, Piotr Łukasiewicz. They addressed the large audience of Polish language teachers with words of welcome.
Representatives of local authorities also joined the participants of the congress: Deputy Head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Kuliepin, Deputy Head of the Drohobych District Military Administration Oleh Pylyptsiv, Mayor of Truskavets Andrii Kulchynskyi, Director of the Department of Education and Science of the Lviv Regional State Administration Oleh Paska and other officials.
During the opening, medals of the Commission of National Education of the Republic of Poland were presented to teachers and lecturers of the Polish language and Polish studies disciplines who work in Saturday schools, general secondary and higher education institutions. Among the nearly two dozen awardees was Truskavets resident Yevheniia Dombrovska, Chair of the Board of the Raimund Jarosz Polish Cultural and Educational Centre in Truskavets and lecturer at the Roman Savytskyi Truskavets School of Arts.
The All-Ukrainian Methodological Congress for Polish language teachers aims to enhance teachers’ professional qualifications, improve methods of teaching the Polish language, literature and culture, and develop Polish-language education in Ukraine. It is organised by the Drohobych Methodological Centre for Teaching Polish Language and Culture, together with partner educational and civic organisations – the “Freedom and Democracy” Foundation (Fundacja Wolność i Demokracja) and the Institute for the Development of the Polish Language (Instytut Rozwoju Języka Polskiego).
One of the key objectives of the congress is a professional discussion of the current state, challenges and prospects of teaching Polish and teaching in Polish within the Ukrainian education system. Ukraine and Poland are regarded as strategic partners, and support for national minorities is an important element of this partnership.
According to the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Andrii Butenko, 107,000 pupils in Ukraine are currently studying Polish as a second foreign language, and over the past two years general education schools have received 35,000 Polish language textbooks. He also recalled the adoption of the Law of Ukraine No. 5008-IX “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Ensuring the Educational Rights of Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine and Persons Belonging to National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine” of 12.10.2026, which strengthens guarantees for schools with national minority languages of instruction.
Under the new provisions, educational institutions with national minority languages of instruction, including Polish, may not be closed, reprofiled or merged without the consent of the school administration, local authorities and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The document also provides for other mechanisms to protect the educational rights of members of national communities – Poles, Romanians, Bulgarians, Greeks and others.
The congress “Language. Education. Community”, which will run in Truskavets from 26 to 30 October, has become a meeting platform for Polish language teachers from various regions of Ukraine. The event is of image-building significance both for the state and for Truskavets, demonstrating the development of good-neighbourly Ukrainian-Polish relations and Ukraine’s European course in the field of protecting the rights of national minorities.