This year, another series of the Jagiellonian Lectures was organised in London by the Centre of Political Thought and Jagiellonian University Polish Research Centre in London. The event is part of the Polish Parliamentarism and Democratic Traditions project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The aim of the project is to popularise knowledge about Polish history and significance in the process of democratisation of Central-Eastern Europe. The 25th anniversary of the Polish Round Table Agreement proved to be a great occasion to emphasise the Polish contribution to the events taking place in Europe in the years 1989–1990 and Poland's democratic traditions which date back to the 15th century.

In spite of this, Poland is still very often classified as a "new democracy," which is not surprising, considering that it is mostly perceived in the context of World War II and communism. The key to changing this image lies in educating the international general public about Polish democratic and parliamentary traditions.

The was comprised of 2 lectures and 2 panel discussions:

• Polish Freedom and Democratic Traditions in Anglo-Saxon Perspective (lecture by Prof. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz)
• Polish Perspectives on Freedom of Movement (lecture by Prof. Anne White)

• Democratic Transitions yesterday and today in Eastern Europe: nation, parties and civil society (panel discussion featuring Prof. Aleks Szczerbiak, George Gomori and Dr Tom Davies)

• Poland and Ukraine: Passages to Democracy (panel discussion featuring Dr Harald Wydra and Dr Rory Finnin)

For more information, please visit democracy.pl.

Based on original text by Dr hab. Arkady Rzegocki, prof. UJ.