The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) led a delegation of its 2024 Europe and Eurasia McCain Global Leaders (MGL) to Warsaw and Krakow, Poland for the regional cohort’s Changemaker Tour. The global leaders refined their understanding of Poland’s national and regional security priorities and discussed how to protect the free press and counter hate and extremism in their own countries by meeting with government and policy-oriented practitioners, and community leaders.
The five participating leaders, who are part of the 22 total members of the 2024 cohort, included Founder and Executive Director of the ‘Ayn Rand Center Armenia’ Gor Badalyan from Armenia, Head of Basic Army Training in the Kosovo Security Force Captain Jeta Berisha from Kosovo, Director of the Atlantik-Brücke New Bridge Program Alina Burkholder from Germany, Chief Executive Officer of Ventures Beyond Borders Johannes Lang from Austria, and Thomson Reuters Foundation AI Consultant Daria Minsky from Belarus. The 2024 Europe and Eurasia Cohort members were also joined by McCain Global Leader Global Advisory Council Member and Former Special Envoy for Global Youth at the U.S. Department of State, Abby Finkenauer.
In Warsaw, the MGLs visited the Sejm—the lower house of Poland’s bicameral legislative body—and met with government officials in the Foreign Affairs Committee to learn how lawmakers collaborate to maintain Poland’s foreign and economic relations and the Polish Border Guard to discuss Poland’s security policies and immigration priorities and strategies. The delegation also met with a variety of civil society organizations and think tanks in Warsaw such as the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), the Institute of Public Affairs (ISP), the Community of Democracies headquarters, and Respublica and Visegrad Insight.
“The Changemaker Tour in Poland offered the McCain Global Leaders an immersive experience with a country that is on the front lines of defending democratic values in Europe,” said McCain Institute Assistant Director of Global Leadership Initiatives Scott Nemeth. “From engaging with policymakers and NGOs in Warsaw to a solemn visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum, the cohort deepened its understanding of the region’s historical and current struggles to uphold democracy and human rights. At a time when continued support for Ukraine is vital to preserving European stability, Poland’s leadership offers an example of resilience and commitment to democratic principles.”
The delegation also participated in a cultural learning experience to learn from Poland’s history through a visit to the Warsaw Rising Museum which highlights the struggle of the Polish underground state in its resistance against Nazi Germany. In Krakow, MGLs met with the Jewish Association of Czulent to discuss the ongoing work to counteract antisemitism and hate speech, before visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. The Changemaker Tour concluded with a visit to the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Krakow to discuss German-Polish relations.
“As a German, the Changemaker Tour to Poland challenged me to confront the parts of history that are often left out of national narratives and stirred questions about responsibility across generations,” said 2024 McCain Global Leader Alina Burkholder. “The experience reminded me that remembrance is not just about the past but about the moral and civic courage demanded of all of us today.
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Learn more about the McCain Institute’s McCain Global Leaders Program here.