“You are the ambassadors of the new agreement”. A reunion for former trainees of the International Parliament Traineeships Programme

“We would like you to enjoy your stay here. We also want to give you the opportunity to really benefit from the traineeship so we try to make sure that the traineeships cater to your individual plans for your future careers”, says Tadeusz Aziewicz, the Deputy to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (RP), during the first reunion for former trainees of the International Parliament Traineeships Programme of the Chancellery of the Sejm. The meeting of former and current trainees was held today in the Polish Cultural Centre in Vilnius.

“The traineeships programme was established in order to shape new elites which will be involved in a strengthening of a cooperation between Poland and Lithuania. Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Lithuania Jarosław Czubiński greeted everybody and said to them that during and after the traineeships, it was they who were new ambassadors of the new agreement”

“You have the opportunity to see for yourselves how Polish country functions in real life. You can also observe how the legislative process looks like; who deputies, who were chosen by the nation, really are; how they work and how they understand issues connected with patriotism and building a country. Because you meet with your peers from other countries, you constitute a group by which our nations will be governed in the future. I sincerely hope you will because your traineeship results are very good. Summits exists so that they can be reached”, adds the ambassador.

The Vice Chair of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Algirdas Sysas also has taken part in the event .

“In the course of history we were connected and we were apart. Presently, we are members of the same union therefore our common issues are even more important. I hope that knowledge and skills which you have gained during those traineeships are going to be used by you well in Lithuania, and if the need be, in Poland and Europe”, says Lithuanian politician.

The deputy to the Sejm Tadeusz Aziewicz has been involved in the traineeships programme almost from the beginning as the chair of the selection committee and as the supervisor of trainees.

“We would like you to enjoy your stay here. We also want to give you the opportunity to really benefit from the traineeship so we try to make sure that the traineeships cater to your individual plans for your future careers” I think that it has been that way. Thanks to social media, I can check what my trainees have been doing. They have been promoted; they have been travelling around the world; they have been pursuing opportunities arising from being a member of the European Union and that is our aim”, says Azewicz.

“Direct contacts with young people from Lithuania are a very inspiring source of knowledge about the real situation in Lithuania, about problems that Lithuanians have to face and about the influence of various point of view on the development of Lithuania. Young people from Poland and Lithuania are very similar. They are a generation of young Europeans who are more and more confident and their contribution to our common European heritage has been increasing. Mutual contacts result in a new quality; new added value”, points out the deputy to the Sejm.

Adam Podgórski the Deputy Head of Chancellery of the Sejm RP also has given a speech.

“Former trainees were pioneers of the traineeships programme a couple years ago. They probably felt anxiety connected with new cultural and professional experience. I hope that you look upon your stay in Poland and the work in Polish Sejm with satisfaction”, says Podgórski.

He also has read out loud a letter from the Marshal of the Sejm Radosław Sikorski addressed to former and current trainees.

“The basis of the traineeships is acquaintance with the basics of parliamentary knowledge. This knowledge is not acquired from books or websites but it is gained during a few months long traineeship which required commitment, creativity and openness. (…) During the programme you not only learn and get to know each other but also you are able to build good neighbourly relations, which are free from stereotypes, historical and generational prejudice. (…) These traineeships symbolise a bridge of cordial connections between Lithuanian and Polish nations”, writes Sikorski.

This year trainee Ieva Masiliūnaitė talks from a perspective of a participant about benefits that can be gained from this programme.

“We all are young people and graduates of various faculties. We have a perfect opportunity to see the Sejm’s work in close-up. This is the opportunity to change the surroundings, to gain new experience and to try your hand at something new. We can also use our stay in Poland in order to do research, take part in conferences and meet with scientists. The cultural aspect of the stay, namely trips, visiting museums and art galleries, meeting new people, discussions and sharing our experience with others is also very important”, enumerates Ieva Masiliūnaitė.

A former trainee from 2010 Tatiana Czepukojć currently works in the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania as the Deputy Chairman Jarosław Narkiewicz ‘s assistant.

“The traineeship inspired me to make changes in my life and to pursue my dreams. Before I was not brave enough to do so. I was not expecting to get a job in Lithuanian Seimas but I am happy that I can use my acquired knowledge of protocols and international relations every day”, says Tatiana Czepukojć in the interview with zw.lt.

The Director of the Legal Office and Personnel Office of the Chancellery of the Sejm (Biuro Prawne i Spraw Pracowniczych Kancelarii Sejmu RP, BPSP) Michał Talago-Sławoj, Grażyna Kramarczyk the Deputy Director of BPSP, and Andrzej Zakrzewski a professor at University of Warsaw were also present at the meeting. Professor Andrzej Zakrzewski delivered a lecture on history and present state of Polish-Lithuanian relations.