The Polish Section of IOV and the Institute of Cultural Studies of Maria Curie-Sklodovska University (UMCS) in Lublin are presenting the 12th European Conference on Folk Culture 23-24 June 2010.  This conference is entitled Folk Culture as a Source of National Symbols in the Time of Globalization.  The aim of the conference is to enable theoreticians, practitioners, and preservationists to discuss the essence, role and significance of national symbols which originated in traditional culture in the light of globalization.  All lectures and debates will take place at the Marie Curie-Sklodovska University.

Prof. Jan Adamowski is President of the IOV Polish Section and Director of the Institute of Cultural Studies.  He will formally welcome delegates from around the world, and will be joined by Prof. Andrzej Dabrowski, Rector of the Maria Curie-Sklodovska University, and Prof. Henryk Gmiterek, Dean of the Department of Humanities at the same university.

Lectures and debates will be given by more than 35 experts in many different fields which will address spiritual, material and social culture.  In an effort to maintain cultural and ethnic identity amid the “melting pot” of globalization, lectures will be given on symbols of various countries that should be maintained.  Dr. Aiji Jansone, for example, will speak on traditional folk costume as a symbol of national identity of Latvia.  Dr. Oksana Mykytenko will speak on the problem of globalization from the viewpoint of the Ukraine.  Other experts in their fields will address pagan personal names in Serbia and the Ukraine, problems for Lithuanian youth, the question of whether television can stimulate folk culture, and Armenian culture.  Two of the presenters at this conference (Dr. Aija Jansone and Dr. Kinga Czerwinska) also spoke at the IOV conference on the Preservation of Culture Among Endangered Ethnic Minorities in Jiuzhaigou, China in October 2009. 

The conference will also feature entertainment by the UMCS Folk Dance Group, tours of the Museum of Lublin Village, sightseeing, two dinners and two lunches.   Lublin has, despite being under the power of conflicting nations over the centuries, survived as a cultural and trade center and is one of the cities under consideration for the title “European Capital of Culture” in 2016.

In conjunction with the conference is the 44th National Festival of Folk Bands and Singers which will be held 25-26 June 2010 in Kazimierz Dolny, near Lublin.  IOV-Poland will cover the cost (for IOV members only) of transportation between Lublin and Kazimierz Dolny, entrance to the Festival and monuments, and a tour guide.  Kazimierz Dolny is an ancient trade town on the Vistula River which remained, because of lack of finances to “modernize”, a good example of Renaissance architecture and life.  During World War II, its Jewish population was eliminated.  Today Kazimierz Dolny is famous as a holiday destination for those interested in culture and history.

Official languages of the conference will be Polish, Russian and English.  For more information, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .