Addressing delegates, including senators, MPs and representatives of Polish diaspora outlets, Kidawa-Błońska stressed the vital role of credible reporting in countering global disinformation and in maintaining ties between Polish communities abroad.
"Reliable, trustworthy information is something that builds confidence and can foster a sense of community," she said, adding that cooperation with 'Polonia' media "has great significance" for connecting the diaspora and informing Poles at home about the lives of their communities abroad.
The speaker urged participants to remember journalists who "pay a high price for freedom of speech," singling out Andrzej Poczobut, a long-time contributor to Polish media and a leading figure in the Belarusian Polish minority.
He is serving a lengthy sentence handed down by Belarusian authorities widely criticised in Europe as politically motivated.
There is a strong voice coming from the Senate calling for his release, she said, adding: "I hope you will also remember him and speak up so that he is freed as soon as possible."
Teresa Sygnarek, head of the World Association of Polish Media Abroad, recalled that Poczobut was awarded the organisation’s For Freedom of Speech distinction in 2021
She noted the statuette will be symbolically passed to the Polish Press Agency (PAP) until it can be presented to him in person.
Deputy Senate Speaker Maciej Żywno said the ongoing war beyond Poland’s eastern border had reshaped the global situation for diaspora communities, heightening the importance of 'Polonia' media as both a source of accurate information and a link to the homeland.
The forum, held in the Senate and supported by PAP as media patron, runs until Sunday.
(ał)
Source: PAP