Vision and Mission

Vision

The Roman Czernecki Educational Foundation believes in a vibrant civil society, recognizing it as crucial for Poland's democratic future.

Mission

The Foundation's mission is to promote the idea of education, the ultimate goal of which is a self-governing society. We do this through proprietary programs and by providing grants to other organizations, initiatives, and individuals who share similar values.

Values

We are guided by the belief that the goals attributed to education today need to be re-evaluated. Democracy requires a special ethos – empathy, creative and critical thinking, the ability to discuss common good, agency to realize it, readiness to question authorities and the status quo, as well as rootedness, neighborly friendship, and patriotism. Such dispositions require education.

Theory of Change

The generation now taking responsibility for the fate of the country owes its position to democracy, whose future is uncertain. The formula that has prevailed for decades, according to which institutions and law are sufficient to guarantee freedom, while the role of education is limited to responding to market needs, is becoming exhausted. To effectively respond to the challenges posed by illiberal forces, the climate crisis, or artificial intelligence, we need to change the paradigm of thinking about education, focusing on the common good.

Our Roots

This perspective draws from Roman Czernecki's many years of educational practice. He was a high school teacher known as the Athenians of Volhynia in Kremenets, an organizer of clandestine wartime classes, the founder of a school in Szczekociny, the rector of the Higher School of Pedagogy in Gdańsk, and a lecturer in the history of philosophy at the Warsaw University of Technology. The values guiding Professor Czernecki were institutionalized by his son, Andrzej, an entrepreneur and a member of the Polish Parliament, who established a foundation in his father's name. Our activities are made possible by an endowment fund that he established for the Foundation – the first example of philanthropy on this scale in Poland. Today, the Foundation is run by his sons, Igor at the helm of the executive team and Andrzej Jr., supported on the Board by Jan Krzewiński.