Brussels, 20 January 2025
In Poland, Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, Roxanna Mînzatu, unveiled today a package to aid the integration of 30,000 Ukrainian pupils into Polish schools, together with the Polish Minister for Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz. It combines €96 million from the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) with another €20 million from the Polish government, and will be used to hire intercultural assistants, provide training for teachers, and improve psychological care, among other initiatives.
Following the ceremony, Executive Vice-President Mînzatu met with Ministers Barbara Nowacka (Education) and Katarzyna Kotula (Equality), and will later meet Minister of Science and Higher Education Marcin Kulasek. She will then participate in a Youth Policy Dialogue, engaging with young people from across Poland on media literacy, disinformation, and active citizenship. The dialogue will inform the Commission’s Review of the Digital Education Action Plan and future Roadmap for digital education and training.
On Tuesday, she will meet social partners for her first social policy dialogue and attend the informal meeting of EU education ministers, which will continue through Wednesday, and is centred on advancing quality inclusive education in the EU. Her visit concludes with meetings with European Affairs, Social Policy and Family, and Education and Science committees, and a media doorstep.
Executive Vice President Mînzatu said: “Polish people have opened their hearts and their homes to welcome Ukrainians since Russia’s illegal invasion in February 2022. Many of those fleeing were children, and continuing with school education is essential for their development. The funds announced today will support Ukrainian school children attending schools in Poland, help them better integrate into society and improve their future prospects in the labour market. Today’s world is very much a digital world, and my first dialogue with young people will discuss how disinformation can thrive online. We need our young people to have the skills necessary to understand what is truth and fact, and what is fake news and disinformation. By equipping them with digital skills and boosting digital literacy, we help make young people more savvy in a digital era. With our young people more informed, our societies are more resilient.”
Source – EU Commission