Poet, translator and publicist. He works for the Tygodnik Powszechny weekly. He teaches Polish Studies at the University of Olomouc. Burian translated the poetry of Czesław Miłosz into Czech.
Experts
Václav Burian
Juraj Buzalka
Associate professor of social anthropology at the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava. He researches on social and political movements. He is collaborator of the Research Centre of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (RC SFPA), editor-in-chief of the journal OS – Občianska spoločnosť and regular feuilletonist of the Czech bimonthly Listy. He is an author of Nation and Religion: The Politics of Commemoration in South-east Poland (Münster: Lit 2007). Currently he is preparing his monograph on workers and tolerance in Eastern Europe. Among his recent works are ‘Tasting Wine in Slovakia: Post-socialist Elite Consumption of Cultural Particularities’ (in Wine and Culture: Vineyard to Glass. Rachel E. Black and Robert C. Ulin eds, Bloomsbury Publishing 2013) and a book of essays Slovenská ideológia a kríza. Eseje z antropológie politiky (Slovak Ideology and Crisis. Essays in Anthropology of Politics, Bratislava: Kalligram 2012).
Josef Byrtus
Served as the Consul General of the Czech Republic in Katowice until 2007. He graduated from the Law Faculty of the Charles University and the University of Economics in Prague. He worked for the Ministry of Economy and Development (advisor on international cooperation, director of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, director of the board, advisor to the Prime Minister), Chief Director of the Office of the Ministry of International Relations. Subsequently, he begun his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (Director of the Office).
Bogdana Carpenter
Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan. She is the author of The Poetic Avant-Garde in Poland and 1918–1939 and Monumenta Polonica: The First Four Centuries of Polish Poetry.She translates the contemporary Polish poetry. She was also theeditor and translator (with Madeline G. Levine) of Czesław Miłosz’s selected essays To Begin Where I Am.
Andrej Chadanowicz
Andrei Khadanovich – poet, translator of poetry, literary critic, essayist. Born on February 13, 1973 in Minsk. In 1995, he graduated from the philological department of the Belarusian State University, where he would then give lectures on the history of French literature for a long time. He taught in the famous Belarusian High School in Minsk. He conducted translation workshops in the Belarusian College and in the Belarusian PEN Club.
His poems have been translated into English, Czech, Spanish, Lithuanian, German, Slovak, Slovenian and Russian. He is a member of the Union of Belarusian Writers and the Belarusian PEN Club, and since 2021 also a member of the Polish PEN Club. He translated, sang and recorded the album “Mury” by Jacek Kaczmarski in Belarusian. His version of the title track has become an unofficial anthem of the Belarusian opposition.
He is the editor of poetry, dramas and essays, as well as translations into Belarusian, including an anthology of the young Belarusian poetry “Пуп неба”, which appeared in Polish under the title “Pępek nieba” (Wrocław 2006) and an anthology of Polish short stories in Belarusian translation “Dwadzieścia polskich opowiadań” (“Дваццаць польскіх апавяданьняў”, Minsk 2007).
Kholoud Charaf
Kholoud Charaf is a poet, art critic and social activist from Al Mjemr, Southern Syria. Her debut poetry collection entitled “The Remains of a Butterfly” (2016) received significant critical acclaim among critics, who appreciated the originality of the literary images and metaphors and also the author’s capacity to transform the difficult events of war into beautiful imaginary worlds generated from her childhood memories of her home village. Her poems are widely published in Syrian and pan-Arabic magazines and have been translated into English, French, Italian and Polish. Charaf became a guest writer in Krakow City of Refuge in March 2018 as part of the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN). For the book "Return to the Mountains. A Journal in the Shadow of War" she received the Ibn Battuta Prize in 2019. Her poems were translated into English, French, Italian and Polish. Her book "Reversed Sky" was published in June 2019 in ZNAK publishing house.
Jerzy Chmielewski
Deputy director in the Department of Europe in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. National coordinator for the Visegrad Group. Former Polish Ambassador in Zagreb, Croatia.
Leon Ciechanowski
Data Science expert, Cognitive Scientist, Philosopher, currently working at Kozminski University and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities SWPS (Psychology Department) in Warsaw. He is a graduate of Philosophy Studies in English and Cultural Studies at the University of Warsaw, and Intercollegiate Studies at the “Artes Liberales” Academy. Leon is working in the domain of Human-Computer Interaction, Phenomenology, and sense of agency/control. He is currently completing his PhD in Psychology at the SWPS University and is involved in the study of chatbots, robots and wearables in cooperation with MIT. He is also a consultant for various business sectors (banking, data analytics, telecommunication). In his spare time, Leon loves to popularize (Neuro)Science as a member of the “Brain!” Foundation.
Łukasz Cioch
Head of the Management Faculty at Tischner European University and General Director at TEUCES (Centre for Energy Studies; www.teuces.eu). A graduate of the Jagiellonian University and UNESCO Chair for Translation Studies and Intercultural Communication, he joined Tischner European University in May 2011. Prior to his current employment, Łukasz held four successive functions at ArcelorMittal Poland S.A. (last title: Director Corporate Responsibility & Communications, in charge of the company’s CSR policy management, internal and external communications, company spokesperson and editor-in-chief of the monthly bulletin). His experience covers CSR management, stakeholder relations, project management and investments in education (infrastructure projects for schools and universities), health (projects in hospitals), culture (events, infrastructure), sports and sustainable development. In February 2011, Mr. Cioch completed a comprehensive news-coverage training exercise at TVN24. In April 2011, he provided live event-commentary for TVP1, during the royal wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey. His other hobbies and interests include psychology, creative writing, photography, motor-sports and travelling.
Krzysztof Jacek Czaputowicz
Professor of social sciences, university lecturer, director of the Diplomatic Academy of the Foreign Ministry, former director of the National School of Public Administration, andcivil servant. In the 1970s and 1980s, Jacek Czaputowicz was active in the democratic opposition (Workers' Defence Committee). He was also one of the leaders of the Independent Students' Association and the Movement "Freedom and Peace." In 1987-1990 he was an adviser to Lech Walesa and a member of the Civic Committee to the Chairman of the "Solidarity". Professor at the Institute of European Studies of Warsaw, Head of the European Research Methodology Department. Jacek Czaputowicz completed postgraduate studies at foreign universities (including the University of Oxford). Author of publications on international issues, including "Sovereignty", "International Security. Modern concepts", “Theories of international relations. Criticism and systematization". Awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Polish, Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary and the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity. He is a member of the Association of Free Speech.
