What is the soul of Europe? What in Europe divides us and what unites us? Where is our continent in the face of crises, the threat from Russia, the Chinese economy and technological competition from the United States? The future of Europe, the possible redefinition of the old continent and the identity of its inhabitants were discussed by participants and attendees of the 9th edition of the Value Economy Congress - Open Eyes Economy Summit 2024.
Stationary 4,500 people participated in the event
photo: Lubomir Nikolov
The event was attended, among others, by Malgorzata Kidawa Blonska (Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Poland), Katarzyna Peleczynska Nalecz (Minister of Funds and Regional Policy), Krzysztof Gawkowski (Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digitization), Joanna Mucha (Undersecretary of State, Ministry of National Education), Aleksander Miszalski (Mayor of the City of Krakow) and filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska.
The theme of OEES 2024 was the soul of Europe
photo: Lubomir Nikolov
The congress's extensive program focused on the slogan of this year's edition - the soul of Europe - while individual thematic tracks focused on ethics in public life, competencies of the future, green transformation, sustainable investment, digital transformation of cities and landscape protection.
crime on the landscape
Whether European cities can be saved from the coming climate and demographic disaster was debated by participants in the CITY-IDEA block: Crime on the Landscape.
The city as home must be approached broadly. [...] It is necessary to remember other creatures, birds, insects, hedgehogs, squirrels. We all need water. People turn on the tap, but where are other residents supposed to get water from during a drought? We need more water reservoirs and drainage systems that properly drain water for the benefit of animals and plants," said Agnieszka Zimnicka (Westminster City Council, Gdansk University of Technology) during the panel "Threats to European landscapes: How to protect our cities?".
You can read the conversation with Agnieszka Zimnicka in the November issue of A&B: We want to force investors to change their way of thinking
participants and attendees of OEES 2024
photo: Lubomir Nikolov
Within this block, Michal Leszczynski of the Polish Association of Real Estate Developers and Malgorzata Tomczak - Editor-in-Chief of A&B - also discussed urban space and ways to fight for its proper development. In the skirmish: "Fight for City Space," they addressed, among other issues, the problem of construction, vacant buildings and privatized urban spaces.
You can read the interview with Michal Leszczynski in the November issue of A&B: Legal changes in theory and practice
It all comes down to security?
During the congress there was no shortage of discussions and confrontations on food security, energy policy, values and ethics, as well as the role of education. Barbara Worek of the Jagiellonian University acknowledged that "we need a school that prepares us for lifelong learning," and she also saw "a huge link between the level of education and the health of the elderly group in particular." Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Education - Joanna Mucha, in turn, expressed the desire for schools of the future to conduct climate education holistically in all classes.
OEES participants and attendees
photo: Lubomir Nikolov
They also discussed the role of cooperation in the European Union, the future of Europeans, and the situation related to the change of power in the United States and the war in Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski focused on digital transformation and the threat of digital warfare:
I am in favor of the European Cyber Security Fund being set up during the presidency, so that all EU countries contribute to cyber security in solidarity, because today digital warfare is the same as war as we potentially know it.
Europe is the future
During the closing session of the congress,Rafal Dutkiewicz, former mayor of Wroclaw and president of the Employers of Poland, recalled the words of Wroclaw bishop Boleslaw Kominek, the initiator of the famous 1965 letter from the Polish bishops to the German bishops:
The way of speaking must not be nationalistic, but must be European in the deepest sense of the word. Europe is the future - nationalisms are yesterday.
As Dutkiewicz noted, while it is easy to tear a single thread, their weave is much more durable, so it is worth weaving this "social fabric" together, and through the participation of capitals, institutions, the impact of sense, development and dignity - to make it better.
Social development needs to be co-created, made credible, supported, development needs to be funded - these rules create nations, he added.
OEES 2024 participants and attendees
photo: Lubomir Nikolov
Europe is facing an existential crisis," Prof. Jerzy Hausner, Chairman of the OEES Program Council, said at the conclusion of the congress. - It is no longer a war-free area today. It is a conflict in which there is a clash of different kinds of values and habits of activity, of looking at the world.
Professor Hausner added that Europe's challenge today is capital competition from the United States, and China is affecting a large part of the European economy.
If we understand that these threats and challenges are multiplying, then we must assume that Europe faces existential threats. What is at stake today is whether Europe will survive," Prof. Hausner added.
A step into the future and a return to the roots
In the A&B studio during this year's installment of the Value Economy Congress, we recorded many interesting conversations for you - with politicians, architects, sociologists, researchers and entrepreneurs. We will reveal the details soon!
Robert Konieczny, architect from KWK Promes studio, in the A&B recording studio
Photo: Lubomir Nikolov
The tenth anniversary edition of the Open Eyes Economy Summit is scheduled for November 18 and 19, 2025, and its theme will go back to the roots of the congress, the "Economy of Value." See you there!
