“In Latin,” where are you going? “, these words also mean the name of the conference; which as a fundamental question that poses the direction of the pursuit of the Polish community living outside the country, especially its young generation.
QV is an annual conference of students, graduates and young professionals of Polish descent, aged 18 to 35, in which people from all over the world can participate. The main pillars of the conference are three key concepts: heritage, leadership and unity.
The three-day meetings consist of lectures, workshops and social gatherings. It is a unique opportunity to get to know each other, exchange information and share knowledge and experience you already have, and to talk about your own future as well as the future of Polonia as a social group.
Conference organizers also invite special guests for it. They are people with a wide range of expertise in various fields and rich life experience. It is their performance that gives them the chance to deepen their knowledge and broaden their mental horizons.
The first world edition of QV took place in 2009 in Ottawa, Canada, and was organized by a group of ambitious Polish students from Ottawa. Since then, 10 such conferences have already been held in Canada, the USA and Australia.
The first QV Conference in Australia was organized in 2013 in Sydney, and it was attended by young people from both Australia and abroad, and its slogan was: “We connect the future.” Among the invited guests were Dr. Seweryn Ozdowski – former Australian Commissioner for Human Rights, Matthew Michalewicz – entrepreneur and motivational speaker, Joanna Borysewicz – manager in one of the Top 200 ASX companies and Magda Dejneka – journalist in the Polish section of the SBS radio.
One of the main goals of QV Sydney 2013 was to encourage the participation of as many of these young people of Polish origin who do not participate in the life of Polish society in any way. Polish teenagers attend Polish Saturday schools, work in Polish scouts, in folklore groups, rest at Polish camps and camps. However, as you grow up very clearly, there is a tendency to move away from this activity and distance yourself from the Polish community, very often only because of the lack of time resulting from many new responsibilities at work or in the family.
The ties existing for many years have been weakening, or even disappearing, because there has not been a uniform level of communication for this generation of the Polish diaspora. Organized QV conferences solve this problem. Old contacts are renewed, new ones are established, and annual meetings in the same place and time meet the need for personal contacts, if in the meantime they do not.
QV Sydney 2013, in the opinion of its participants, but also the organizers was a great success and therefore this year will be another Australian QV edition, this time in Melbourne, from 17 to 19 October. Her slogan is: “Engaging modern minds”. The main purpose of this conference is to engage the minds of young people of Polish descent for the benefit of the Polish community. The implementation of good ideas and passions with simultaneous open dialogue with all circles of the Australian Polonia will be a success for both young people and the Polish community as a whole.
The QV Melbourne 2014 logo is designed by Anna Lukjan, who is a talented graphic designer. The white and red colors refer to the Polish national colours, but also to the colours of the Melbourne city flag. The symbol in the center of the logo depicts the brains of the wave, which is related to this year’s conference slogan. In turn, the logo as a whole refers to the city’s architecture, where the characteristic is sharp geometric shapes such as Federation Square.
QV is not just a conference, it is also a path to a common goal. It is a strive to ensure that our Polish community not only survives, but also flourishes in the years to come.
The registration for the Quo Vadis Melbourne 2014 conference is now open! For more information on Quo Vadis Melbourne 2014, please visit http://www.quovadismelbourne2014.org.au
Source: Express The Australian- Polish Magazine
Translated by: Ania Nogal
Links:
quovadisconferences.com 