Today, in the rapidly transforming world, knowledge represents an added value. At universities and other academic institutions, through the combined efforts and imaginations of researchers and students often working in tandem with the private sector, new ideas are formulated and technologies created that impact the quality of life of people far beyond their local communities. Institutions of higher learning figure prominently in Wrocław, and they represent the continuation of an illustrious academic heritage. No fewer than eleven Nobel Prize winners have strong ties to the city, while a world-renowned component of the Polish School of Mathematics flourished in Wrocław in the post-war years. With today’s student population reaching 140,000 (out of a total city population of 640,000), Wrocław offers a vibrant, stimulating setting where the youthful energy not only imbues city life, but drives the tradition for innovation and experimentation into the 21st Century. The Academic Hub is a new initiative of the Municipality of Wrocław that aims to foster expanded cooperation between the city and its academic institutions, and forge the way for greater interaction with business and research centres operating at the cutting edge of technology in the region. In launching the Academic Hub, the city has expressed, in very practical terms, its commitment to the advancement of Wrocław as a knowledge metropolis. Snapshot: Fredro 1. Fredro, Aleksander. Polish count and playwright of the 19th century, known for his comedic works rife with biting, but apt social commentaries. 2. Fredro. The abbreviated name used to refer to the statue of Aleksander Fredro on the Wrocław Market Square. First erected in 1896 in Lvov, the Aleksander Fredro statue was moved to Wrocław in 1956 and placed on the spot where the Kaiser Wilhelm III monument once stood in German Breslau. Emblematic of the city’s strong ties to the intellectual and cultural traditions of Polish Lvov, the prominent placement of Fredro in the city centre inspirited citizens seeking to create a new Polish identity for themselves in post-war Wrocław. Fredro today serves as a popular meeting point on the bustling Market Square. He also greets visitors Birth of Democracy to the Historic Town Hall and the Wrocław Academic Hub! The end of communism marked not only the birth of democracy for Poland’s citizens, but also the emergence of local governments in cities and towns across the country. The passage of the first law on territorial self-government of 8 March 1990 gave rise to genuine opportunities to formulate policies in a city and for a city and its inhabitants. The introduction of local democracy paved the way for policy creation that would not only impact the social and cultural fabric of cities, but also their economic landscape as well. In the 1990’s, community leaders from political, academic and business realms in Wrocław began formulating a long term development program for Wrocław. Known as Wrocław 2000 Plus, the document set out a strategy of how Wrocław could grow and prosper as a metropolis in a “New” Europe. This strategic outlook was largely the achievement of a group of academic leaders, whose genius cast the future of a city in a fully-fledged vision paper. Unique History One theme that re-emerged during discussions on the The citizen’s of today’s Wrocław share common history with document was the idea that Wrocław should be an open city: the inhabitants of Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany open to new ideas, to “newcomers”; and open to its own and Poland. In the past, the city was a part the Polish Kingdom, past and the people and nations who built the city Czech Kingdom, the Habsburg Empire, the Prussian Kingdom throughout the ages. Decades living behind the iron curtain and Germany. In the melting pot of Central and Eastern deprived people of exchange with the “outside world” and Europe, Wrocław was the “homeland” to Germans, Czech, contact with unfiltered versions of the city’s own history. Jews and Poles, among others. 2 Centennial Hall and Exhibition Grounds (1913) war. g the urin Three-quarters of a century back, Wrocław was known as the d d age am German city of Breslau – a vibrant European centre for culture, , d ge id Br science and industry. Researchers at academic institutions in the d al nw city were at the cutting edge of science and technology. Eleven ru G f o g Nobel Prize winners have strong ties to the city (see page 11). in n e p o e The atmosphere of experimentation and innovation extended R to architecture and city planning. Modernism took roots in the city very early. The movement not only shaped the ongoing international discourse on urban development and the built environment, but the intellectual ferment gave the world outstanding examples of pioneering works, such as Centennial Hall (see ”Snapshot: World Heritage” on page 4) or even the so-called WUWA neighbourhood, one of eight model housing districts built in interwar Europe to explore ways new building materials and technologies could be applied to address chronic housing shortages of the period. In the last months of World War II an estimated 75% of Wrocław was destroyed. But the rebuilding of the city was left to the Poles. As a result of post-war settlements, in 1945 Wrocław became a part of Poland. The shifting national borders led to the unprecedented population transfer of millions. The once Central European multicultural metropolis, in the post-war years, was transformed into a melting pot of another kind. The new inhabitants of Wrocław were displaced Poles resettled from diverse parts of former Poland, from territories in today’s Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. It was these Polish “pioneers” who – in their effort and readiness to start anew – built the foundations for today’s Wrocław. Beyond the reconstruction of the city in the first years after the war, other major challenges faced included the creation of The rebuilding of Wroclaw lasted for years. a Polish cultural presence in Wrocław and harnessing the city’s and region’s industrial potential. The Recovered Territories Exhibition and the accompanying World Congress of Intellectuals for Peace organized in the city in 1948 served as key milestones in the post-war recovery process, despite heavily propagandistic overtones. Intended to demonstrate Polish achievements in jump-starting industry and successfully integrating the new lands into Poland in the three years after the end of the war, the exhibition in particular unleashed a great deal of creative energy and civic involvement, while at the same time garnering national and international attention for the city and the country. The exhibition pulled in upwards of 1.5 million visitors over the three month period and served to introduce the local population to the geographical and industrial make up of these new lands. 3 New Strategy To realize its “Meeting Place Strategy”, Wrocław was the first city in Poland to launch a meeting and convention bureau. Wrocław today is building on a long tradition as a venue for Founded in 2002, Convention Bureau – Wrocław promotes exhibitions and historically significant events. These large business tourism in the city and the surrounding province of gatherings have sparked international interest in the city; they Lower Silesia, serves as a strategic partner in the planning and also spurred vast urban renewal projects that changed the city’s execution of large-scale events, and runs an ambassador skyline and enriched its cultural and congress infrastructure. program where business and academic elite use their international networks to promote Wrocław as a prime venue The visit of Pope John Paul II in 1997 marked a turning point for conferences and events. Convention Bureau – Wrocław also in the history of contemporary Wrocław, in particular in terms of coordinates the work of Volunteers for Wrocław, a steady pool its future development. The Pope travelled to Wrocław to of 500 young people ready to donate their time for the city. participate in the International Eucharistic Congress, an event that brought together some 22,500 delegates from 82 Wrocław has also trail blazed in terms of attracting high profile countries. events to Poland and New Europe. The EU’s Committee of the Regions organized its first-ever summit outside of Western For a second-tier town that had barely shaken off the effects Europe in Wrocław. Similarly, Futurallia Association ventured of World War II, communism and long years of isolation and for the first time outside the French-speaking world when economic stagnation, to prepare to receive thousands of guests it chose Wrocław for its 2006 event that attracted 1,500 required total mobilization on the part of the local authorities and participants from 36 countries (see page 5). Looking into the inhabitants. In the countdown to the visit, Wrocław’s historic future, Wrocław will be the first stop for the prominent exhibition Market Square, one of the largest in Poland, was completely of the Museum of Europe that celebrates the 50th anniversary restored. Venues were prepared; hotels and housing for the of the Treaties of Rome. “It’s Our History!” is slated to open thousands of visitors were renovated or built. A network of in Wrocław in the spring of 2009. Additionally, Wrocław is one of volunteers was put in place to ensure that the desire to extend the host cities for the 2012 European Football Championships. hospitality translated into genuine comfort and safety for visitors. The event meant a giant leap in terms of the city’s progress. It also gave strategic impetus to the kernel of an idea discussed Snapshot: World Heritage a few years earlier. Wrocław the “open city” should become “Wrocław – the meeting place”.