Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker EU funds were used to provide laptop computers to thousands of schoolchildren who would otherwise have struggled to continue their education when schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic ‘The remote school initiative has enabled our children to learn at home without any obstacles The EU-funded ‘Remote School’ initiative was launched in spring 2020 More than EUR 82 million was made available putting schools in Poland in a better position to provide digital education At least 23 000 schools and more than 335 000 pupils benefited The funds were used to purchase computer hardware Equipment was donated to schools in several areas of Poland and lent to students and teachers to enable them to teach and learn remotely a small town in north-eastern Poland with a sizeable Lithuanian minority local authorities used the funding to distribute laptops and tablets Mobile networks were set up so that children could connect to the internet the municipality was prepared to cut the budgets of other planned projects to buy computers for pupils from lower-income families This was avoided because of the help provided through the initiative the municipality used the funding to purchase 36 laptops for pupils Schools in Poland were closed for several periods due to COVID-19 containment measures Funding via the ‘Remote School’ initiative was made available from March 2020 until June 2021 Preference was given to children from large families that may not have had the equipment needed for online access and to those unable to afford a computer ‘Remote School’ helped cover the costs of providing internet access for schools and children and it helped  introduce remote education procedures Help was provided to teachers who lacked the equipment they needed to organise lessons The  purchased equipment will continue to serve Polish students and teachers as Europe improves digital education for all its citizens Total investment for the project “Remote School – support of the National Education Network in the remote education system” is EUR 82 110 951 with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 82 110 951 through the “Digital Poland” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period ministerstwo obsługujące ministra właściwego ds Centrum Projektów Polska Cyfrowa (Digital Projects Centre Poland) highly relevant issue briefs and reports that break new ground with a focus on advancing debates by integrating foundational research and analysis with concrete policy solutions the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox New Atlanticist is where top experts and policymakers at the Atlantic Council and beyond offer exclusive insight on the most pressing global challenges—and the United States’ role in addressing them alongside its allies and partners A weekly column by Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe Inflection Points focuses on the global challenges facing the United States and how to best address them UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders and activists from Ukraine and the global community MENASource offers the latest news from across the Middle East and independent analysis from fellows and staff Econographics provides an in-depth look at trends in the global economy utilizing state-of-the-art data visualization tools Capture by hostile forces of Suwalki or bordering Lithuanian territory would cut off the three Baltic States from other NATO countries Analysts have likened Suwalki to the Cold War era’s Fulda Gap in Germany where NATO planned and prepared for hypothetical Soviet attacks In addition to the region’s problematic geography and militarized environment due to neighbouring Kaliningrad and Belarus the Suwalki Gap is different and potentially an even more vulnerable target because the Kremlin could exploit the region’s historic ethnic tensions The territory dubbed the Suwalki Gap (“przesmyk Suwalski” in Polish) is a north-eastern Polish territory bordering Lithuania in the north-east The nearly 64 miles wide land strip in the Sejny district is also so called “Suwalki corridor” or by the Lithuanians referred to as the “Suwalki triangle” (based on the three towns of Punsk which remains among Russia’s closest and most loyal political and military allies has been in discussions to house a large Russian air base while the town of Suwalki also includes some 500 Lithuanians Warsaw sought to regain this territory due to the sizable numbers of Polish speakers Lithuanian and Polish troops clashed in the Sejny Uprising of 1919 and the Battle of the Niemen River of 1920 after which the two countries signed the Treaty of Suwalki recognizing Punsk Vilnius – the historical capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – was also agreed to be part of Lithuania but in two days it was captured by Polish troops and remained occupied until 1939 along with perception that Warsaw pursued polonization policies in the Suwalki triangle resulted in tensions between the two countries that continued to reverberate until present day Russian Influence in SuwalkiIn addition to the local Polish-Lithuanian tensions, there is also a potential dimension of Russian influence in Suwalki. While Russia has long sought to engage Russian speakers and even other ethnic minorities in the former Soviet republics through various youth military camps and militarized tournaments Moscow has also seen some success in attracting the participation of Polish citizens the International Strikeball Tournament “Put’ k Pobede” (Road to Victory) has been taking place in Russia since 2010 and drawn participants from Poland in 2014 The event enacting real-life scenarios of potential Russian military conflicts is organized by the Spetsnaz Rus ‒ a Russian organization active since 2005 and composed of Veterans of Spetsnaz (Special Forces) and Participants of Military Operations Association a fight was simulated between the Syrian government (supported by Russian troops) and rebels (supported by the US) In light of territorial conflicts and separatism that have rocked the post-Soviet states of Ukraine and Moldova it is also a worrying sign that Lithuanian radicals from time to time put claims in social media arguing for Lithuania to regain the Suwalki triangle from Poland While conflict between the two countries is highly unlikely it is not out of the realm of possibility that ethnic tensions in Suwalki could be used to stir up local separatism that radical calls could be made for the region’s incorporation into Kaliningrad (as pro-Russia radicals have suggested in the case of Lithuanian port city of Klaipeda) or that historic mistrust between Poland and Lithuania could impact the cooperation or perceptions of their populations (though less likely their governments and military that are bound by NATO agreements) in the face of a Russian attack the Suwalki Gap will remain a troublesome land strip for NATO due to the military build-up on its borders and Moscow’s ambitions in the post-Soviet space This is further complicated by the historical and ethnic tensions of the region that still remain salient and could potentially be further enflamed NATO would be wise to assess not only the military elements but also these broader historical and cultural fault-lines in the region and Ukrainian military brigade in 2017 will be a positive step in mitigating the regional risks and encouraging Warsaw and Vilnius to build mutual understanding to finally transcend the question of minorities and historical mistrust but much could be done with the support of the United States and NATO Image: The geo-strategic area around Suwalki Poland has a rich and complex history (graphic: Google) Sign up to receive expert analysis from our community on the most important global issues © 2025 Atlantic CouncilAll rights reserved If refreshing the page doesn't resolve the issue you could try clearing the sites browser cache We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Peter Zajaczkowski created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories Made with love by funeralOne reports that their private customers’ card payment data suggests that Lithuanians spend less on shopping in Poland The number and value of payments made in Poland over the first half of this year fell by around a fifth Citadele Bank economist Aleksandras Izgorodinas argues that it is linked to the rising expectations of Lithuanian consumers and increased purchasing power People are no longer doing it in Poland but in Lithuania,” he tells LRT RADIO The rising exchange rate of the Polish zloty against the euro is also a factor we have the recovery of the purchasing power of the population the strengthening of the zloty against the euro both of which have reduced the willingness of the population to go shopping in Poland,” Izgorodinas notes only concerns card payments – the bank has no way of knowing how much shoppers spend in cash “When we look at card spending and analyse the number of transactions made both indicators have fallen by 20 percent in a year We cannot capture cash transactions,” he says Lithuanian shoppers usually go to Poland to buy food and durable goods “It's no secret that the most important thing Lithuanian citizens buy in Poland is food when we had a big inflation shock in Lithuania and a drop in purchasing power,” says the economist also notes that the flow of shoppers from the neighbouring country has decreased we don’t feel it that much because it is a small tow People from Marijampolė or Kaunas usually go to Suwałki to shop attracts Lithuanians with its lower food prices,” he tells LRT RADIO “Those who come to Suwałki also tend to buy food the exchange rate of the zloty is quite high and things have slowly changed so it is no longer so beneficial to shop here,” he adds says that Lithuanian shoppers account for only about 3 percent of retail in Poland’s border area people in Suwałki or in the Podlaskie Voivodeship are talking about the smaller flows of Lithuanian shoppers the media are reporting on it because it is important for the local population “According to the Polish statistics agency retail figures for the first quarter of this year are positive Last year was a good year for Polish retailers with businesses along the border the drop in Lithuanian traffic is not noticeable,” says Vaičiūnas Liškauskas believes product quality is also a factor: “In Lithuania And if the purchasing power of the Lithuanian population is higher it is natural that they do not go on a long journey.” Pope Francis has appointed Jan Romeo Pawłowski titular archbishop of Sejny and until now secretary for Pontifical Representatives Announcing the news to personnel of the Secretariat of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin also introduced Archbishop Luciano Russo who was named as the new secretary for Pontifical Representatives last September by the Pope Archbishop Pawłowski was born in Biskupiec He joined the Holy See diplomatic service in July 1991 and he later worked with Pontifical Representatives in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) Benedict XVI appointed him titular archbishop of Sejny and apostolic nuncio to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon Pawłowski received episcopal ordination on April 30 at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs church in Bydgoszcz Pope Francis named him delegate for Pontifical Representatives and in December 2020 he confirmed him in the role with the title of secretary for Pontifical Representatives Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here Sign up for our weekly email newsletter to never miss a story A synagogue in the Jewish shtetl of Sejny. Creative Commons photo by Emmanuel Dyan. and make us reach our desired destination for life and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us The Traveler’s Prayer — also known as the Wayfarer’s Prayer or Tefilat Haderech in Hebrew — is an invocation said at the onset of a journey Customary to recite when one embarks on a long trip the prayer is a request for safety and protection but also that the traveler would be a blessing to those they meet in the course of their voyage Daniel Herszberg, a 30-year-old doctoral student from Australia, said the prayer is a common one among Jewish travelers, and the “beautiful text” traveled with him as he visited all 197 countries around the globe over the last 10 years As he finished his feat after setting foot in Tonga in March 2023, Herszberg became the 145th most travelled person in the world. Along the way, he also amassed 79,000 Instagram followers at @dhersz He also became an unofficial student of humanity treasuring the opportunity to learn more about the world’s religions and connect with Jewish communities scattered across the globe cemeteries and Sabbath services in hospitable homes Herszberg not only discovered cherished archives and legacies but connected with locals who shared their stories — both lived and long forgotten he was the first person to have visited Jewish heritage sites in decades It’s a responsibility the 30-year-old global citizen is quite philosophical about whether in terms of what it means for the diaspora as a whole or who he is as a modern Jewish traveler “No matter how far you travel,” Herszberg said “you always return to where you began — home.” his South African-born mother took him to visit his great-grandmother in Canada That was his first trip abroad, and it was not too long after that Herszberg became fascinated with the idea of travel. He told The Sydney Morning Herald that ever since he was a little kid with the flags of the world hanging in his bedroom he was hooked on the idea of visiting other countries As a student at Yeshiva College in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda and a law and arts student at the city’s Monash University Herszberg used every opportunity he could to go abroad Money made on holiday jobs funded his early travels and education grants gave him the opportunity to study overseas in China and the United Kingdom Herszberg quit his job and started to travel full time hoping to become the youngest Australian to visit all the world’s countries COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions put a wrench in his plans and he was only able to get going again after lockdowns were lifted Herszberg said seeing the world from another perspective and stepping out of his comfort zone far outshines any accolades or titles The opportunity to grow in his experience and knowledge of other religions was a specific blessing of the trip “I’d never even been inside a church until some of my travels in my early 20s,” Herszberg said “and there was so much I didn’t know or understand he sought out opportunities to visit more churches and other holy sites —  temples “So much of this trip was about pushing myself beyond various frontiers,” he said “and transcending the barriers that we put up in ourselves because of our religious that initial fascination turned into a certain familiarity Whereas early on he noticed more of the differences between Christianity Islam or Buddhism and the Jewish faith with which he was familiar Herszberg slowly began to appreciate the similarities they shared As time progressed and he was invited into peoples’ places of prayer or witnessed a ritual or ceremony Herszberg began to see how each religion channeled something of shared human desires “There’s a moment when you’re in a particular place or taking part in an experience when you can feel there’s something the air — a higher element that the people around you are seeking after While Herszberg does not consider himself religious the concept of communitas — or shared intimacy — resonated with him as he connected with Jewish people and stories around the world Whether he was visiting a synagogue in Damascus Syria; a “mikveh” — ritual bath — in Cairo Herszberg always had a sense that these were his people “I didn’t exactly have a sense of spirituality as I went to these places but there was always an element of collective belonging,” he said Herszberg said he almost experienced the “end of the diaspora” in a way “The Jewish people have always been scattered and been defined by dispersion,” he said “but the more I traveled and the more people and stories I got to know the more I saw how these scattered communities are connected That they know each other — both literary and in a sense of shared identity.” Herszberg said he found the worldwide Jewish community to be pretty small “Every country I visited — if I was there on a Friday — someone would invite me to a Shabbat dinner,” he said in the course of the evening’s conversation Herszberg said he would find someone both parties knew Herszberg said that whether he was in Uzbekistan or Ghana where a seemingly random man came up to him and invited him to his house for dinner the conversation soon turned into a roundtable on the various relations they held in common ‘How is this happening in Iran?’” Herszberg said “Those kinds of experiences make the worldwide diaspora feel like a very real and personal community.” was not only one of new connections and relationships gained It was also one of confronting loss and coming to terms with the present absences of Jewish communities destroyed or driven out in the past Whether confronted with piles of human ash at concentration camps in Central Europe or walking through neighborhoods that used to be defined by everyday Jewish life Herszberg wrestled with the tensions between loss and legacy he felt the weight of tragedies like the Holocaust or the large-scale displacement of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa from the 1940s to the 1970s Herszberg said he felt a sense of haunting familiarity as he walked through suburbs in Warsaw Herszberg could almost hear the heaviness of the past crying out the forgotten sounds of synagogues and schools kosher shops and Jewish cemeteries still reverberating in the walls around him as he visited these sites of lost Jewish heritage — sometimes being the first Jew to return after some 50 years — Herszberg said he also encountered stories of co-existence and tolerance he spoke endearingly of an Arab caretaker he met at an old synagogue in Cairo his father and grandfather had been the synagogue’s custodians he started singing all the Jewish songs back to me,” Herszberg said “and then he reenacted blowing the “shofar ”— a ram’s horn used as a musical instrument in Jewish religious rituals.” the custodian took Herszberg through the old neighborhood pointing at apartments and naming people who used to live there “It brought the whole place back to life,” said Herszberg “and told a different story than the one we might have been used to hearing.” These moments led Herszberg into what he called a continuous renegotiation with the very meaning of the cliché saying about “finding one’s place in the world.” The things he learned and the memories he carries with him still Over time, Jewish travellers have set out to explore the world and share their story with others. Elisa Uusimäki of Aarhus University in Denmark said the very idea of movement and travel is central to Judaism’s broader social memory. In a special issue of the Association for Jewish Studies’ magazine Uusimäki wrote that narratives about the patriarchs and their families moving from Mesopotamia to Canaan to Egypt or the Babylonian exile are central to global Jewish identities They also illuminate and challenge contemporary notions of what it means to travel. Anthropologist and author Ruth Behar — who was born in Havana, Cuba to a mixed Ashke­­nazi-Sephardic fam­i­ly — wrote in her book “Traveling Heavy: A Memoir in between Journeys,” that while travelers go elsewhere out of free will they need to be distinguished from immigrants Unfortunately, most Jewish journeys fall into the latter categories, Behar wrote, but some travel tales have been told by Jewish authors over the years. One particularly famous traveler who recorded his experiences was Benjamin of Tudela who traveled through western Asia almost a century before Marco Polo completed the same trip on his way to becoming a household name Another was Israel Joseph Benjamin — known by his pen name Benjamin II in deference to the Benjamin above Benjamin had always wanted to go in search of Israel’s so-called “lost tribes.” And so he set out from his home town in Fălticeni he recorded impressions of his travel in Hebrew Then there is Glückel of Hameln, a Jewish woman from Hamburg, Germany who lived between 1646 and 1724. Traveling for business, Glückel recorded her encounters with pirates and bandits in Yiddish for family and friends to read These were eventually published for the public in 1896 Scholar Elka Weber notes that these Jewish travel writers used their memoirs as an extended form of self-definition Traveling from the familiar environs of home to lands foreign and far away offered the opportunity for them to consider themselves in relation to the places and people they encountered — much like Herszberg The immersive nature of these travelers’ encounters with the language prayer and celebrations of others — whether Jewish or not — created paradoxical feelings By taking those who sojourned abroad out of our comfort zone and into unknown land that can also feel so curiously familiar travel blends the learned and the personal which caters to Jewish travelers’ needs on the Caribbean island but it was not until last summer that he connected his journeys with his Jewishness Wexler’s great-grandparents left Germany in the 1920s and the idea of the Holocaust always felt like an educational experience or collective memorial to him “I ended up learning things I had not known While he is not trying to visit every country on earth, he said Herszberg’s journey — and his own experiences in Germany — have already inspired additional trips. On a winter trip with family to the island of Curaçao, Wexler went to Mikvé Israel-Emanuel in Willemstad it’s the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the Americas Wexler plans on taking his kids to Morocco to learn about the Jewish community there Wexler said the further and farther he goes I am learning something more about the world but I’ve heard it said ‘the best journeys bring you home,’ and I’m finding that the more I travel Ken Chitwood is a religion nerd, writer and scholar of global Islam and American religion based in Germany. He is currently doing post-doc research at the Free University of Berlin at the Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies and is a journalist fellow in the University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture. Follow Ken on Twitter @kchitwood. Religion Unplugged is part of The Media Project and a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News.EIN: 83-0461425Site design by Peter Freeby Privacy Policy It is one of the most prestigious awards in Poland It is awarded to honour the work of today's "bridge builders" who break deep-rooted stereotypes and build bridges between nations and religions The Borderland Award ceremony took place on Friday in the Polish town of Sejny with a large Lithuanian community The professor was awarded the prize for her practice of the ethos of the marginalized The Borderland Foundation is located in a small town of Sejny on the Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian border The foundation revitalized the Jewish quarter in the very centre of the town and has its studios for art and education programs in a former Hebrew gymnasium yeshiva and synagogue. "Building bridges between nations is a continuous process and engagement of the locals in collaboration The work toward cultural understanding cannot end with a few declarations and organizing a nice festival; this is not enough," Krzysztof Czyżewski Born in 1928 in Lithuania's second-largest city of Kaunas Veisaitė initiated many cultural exchange projects and published over 200 publications in the Lithuanian and foreign press Lithuanian poet and essayist Tomas Venclova historian and publicist Bohdan Osadchiuk and Italian writer Claudio Magris are among awarded borderlanders Science and Sport Ministry says work on the new Lithuanian school in Suwałki started last year The Lithuanian consulate in Sejny found suitable premises The ministry allocated 525,000 euros to acquire the building and provided another 1 million euros this year to renovate and adapt it for school A Lithuanian kindergarten was opened in the Polish town in 2020 and is now attended by around 40 children Its founder is the Bishop Antanas Baranauskas Foundation Lithuanian House There are also four Lithuanian formal education schools in Poland: the private Žiburys Lithuanian school in Sejny with 104 students the March 11th Lyceum in Punsk with 103 students which uses both Lithuanian and Polish as languages of instruction and a basic school in Widugiery with 22 students There are also three institutions of non-formal Lithuanian education: a Lithuanian school in Warsaw with 55 students which instructs in both Lithuanian and Polish and the Lithuanian kindergarten in Suwałki with 38 children The ministry partially finances the maintenance of Lithuanian schools six teachers working in Poland are paid an allowance for providing Lithuanian education companies relocating or taking their profit-making assets abroad will be treated as selling the business this is treated as selling assets to oneself and subject to the exit tax,” says Alina Gaudutytė a senior adviser at the Legal Department of the State Tax Inspectorate is introduced as Lithuania's logistics companies are threatening to relocate to Poland to avoid new regulations Lithuania recently decided increase taxes on per-diem allowances paid to truck drivers that make up a significant part of their remuneration – 64 percent, according to a Bank of Lithuania study The move was aimed at reducing the share and ensuring better conditions for truck drivers since per diem allowances do not count towards their social security drivers' union staged a protest over working conditions Read more: Drivers stage counter-protest against haulage firms to demand living wages Meanwhile truck companies have called higher taxes a burden on their business and threatened to relocate to Poland Being based in Poland would also make it easier to meet new rules in the EU's currently debated Mobility Package under which trucks would be required to return to their country of origin at regular intervals the association of Lithuania's road carrier companies says the exit tax will not stop the exodus which is already happening “Relocations will be done in different ways 3,000 trucks that were to be registered in Lithuania will be registered in other countries,” says Mečislavas Atroškevičius “It won't be moving things out of Lithuania Linava insists that moving 3,000 trucks out of the country will mean 25 million euros less in tax revenue and 35,000 fewer jobs Business consultants say they have been flooded with clients wishing to set up companies in Poland based in the northern Polish town of Sejny has already helped 60 carriers to move their business “We have been approached by 300–400 [clients],” says Savesta Consulting co-founder Ignas Volbikas “We are helping businesses to expand into Poland but the last several months looked like evacuation.” A recent study by economists of the Bank of Lithuania has suggested that Lithuanian haulage firms have enjoyed above-average profits and could bear higher taxes.