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Aleksander Smolar - Practising politics and protecting my family (69/201)

111 views · Published 18 December 2018 · 1:51 · Indexed 29 September 2026

Channel: Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2018 · News & Politics

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To listen to more of Aleksander Smolar’s stories, go to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwlxPLurqAOCrabBgGrqLA7

Aleksander Smolar (b. 1940) is a Polish writer, political activist and adviser, vice-president of the Institute for Human Sciences and president of the Stefan Batory Foundation. [Listener: Vitek Tracz]

TRANSCRIPT: It’s also a place where I can practice international politics in a modest way, for instance, the development of relations with neighbouring countries in the East above all, popularising the European Union. Then there were internal matters that were fascinating, especially now when things have become more difficult, harder; an institution like the Foundation is very useful for the upholding of the culture of democracy, democratic debate, for supporting all kinds of democratic organisations which often can no longer count on receiving public money. So in other words, I always had a sense of why this organisation existed. Today, it’s got an even greater purpose. Other than that, I took on the role of adviser in various institutions or else I wrote trying in a modest way, with more or less success, to influence the public debate on international and national politics through my published articles. It was limited, of course, because it’s not a position that gives a great deal of opportunity to influence, to say nothing of making decisions but at least it gave me the feeling that I was taking part. At the same time, primarily I was protecting the unity of my family, and my son as well as my daughter to say nothing of my wife who has remained in Paris; we were all of us in Paris.

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