The concept of national heritage in the light of constitutional regulations

National heritage is a constitutional value. It protects it, just like the independence of the Republic of Poland, in accordance with art. 5 of the Constitution. National heritage can be understood as a culture rooted in the Christian heritage of the nation. In this way, it captures the preamble or cultural heritage referred to in art. 6 par. 2 of the Constitution. This last concept seems to be an integral part of the national heritage. The national heritage can’t, as it was proved, be perceived as a heritage of the Polish ethnic nation, although the term “nation” used in the Constitution can be interpreted differently. In practice, the problem is also the status of the cultural heritage of national minorities and whether it is part of the Polish national heritage.

Special character of cultural rights and its position in Polish Constitution – the attempt of characteristic and classification

The present paper is an analysis of the legal regulations on cultural rights in Polish Constitutional Legal system. The author claims that culture, as a unique value, has a special impact on personal development of every human being. As a consequence also cultural rights have a special importance for modern society and nation. Paper presents different meanings of culture, gives the definition of cultural rights and critically analyses constitutional provisions of article 5,6 and 73. Author also sug- gests the need for amendment of Chapter II of Polish Constitution which aim is to add provision guaranteeing the right to access to culture. The content of the article is a sum- mary of author’s Phd paper.

Constitutional regulation of the access to cultural goods  and the freedom of using cultural goods

The hereby paper is an attempt of an analysis of provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland that regard access to cultural goods and the freedom of using cultural goods. Decoding the meaning of elements of a legal norm, which norm results from these provisions, is significant for the evaluation of the materialization of the constitutional regulation in the contents of particular acts. Deliberations on the grounds of articles 6 and 73 of the Constitution have been presented in the article. The purpose of these deliberations were: a determination of the subjects entitled to use the cultural goods and obligated to provide access to such goods; the indication of the range of goods and the extent to which access to them should be guaranteed; as well as the decoding of the scope of the constitutional term „usage”. Regardless of these analyses, a few practical aspects related to the access to cultural goods and their usage have been indicated.

W tekście podejmuję próbę ukazania znaczenia edukacji regionalnej w pielęgnowaniu pamięci przeszłości, odnosząc się do sytuacji wielokulturowego Białegostoku. Zastanawiam się nad rolą, jaką pełnią badania dotyczące pamięci przeszłości w planowaniu i realizowaniu działań edukacyjnych i wychowawczych. Zwracam uwagę na wybrane kwestie związane z pamięcią przeszłości w kontekście badań społecznych.

Artykuł porusza kwestie rozwijania kompetencji międzykulturowych w procesie niezawodowej pracy teatralnej. Pierwsza część artykułu opisuje międzykulturowe poszukiwania twórców teatralnych XX wieku, które stanowią wprowadzenie do zagadnienia międzykulturowości w działaniach teatrów podejmujących w swej pracy temat wielokulturowego dziedzictwa północno-wschodniego pogranicza Polski. W drugiej części artykułu autorka analizuje praktykę teatralną jako metodę kształtowania kompetencji międzykulturowych aktorów, realizowaną poprzez formę artystycznej pracy nad dziedzictwem przeszłości.

Przeobrażenia w sferze ekonomicznej, społeczno-kulturowej i politycznej w wymiarze lokalnym i globalnym składają się na złożoność uwarunkowań procesu kształtowania (się) poczucia tożsamości współczesnego człowieka. Podjęte rozważania zawierają opis profili tożsamości kulturowej badanych uczniów ze szkół średnich oraz próbę interpretacji ich wyborów tożsamościowych w odniesieniu do zastanych układów społeczno-kulturowych w miejskim środowisku lokalnym.

The protection of cultural heritage does not only have social but political and economic consequences as well. While the contents of a national and personal identity are closely tied to inherited cultural heritage, this heritage, as far as material culture is concerned, requires political support often beyond the means of the countries concerned. International support is rendered by organizations such as UNESCO with its World Heritage List, which includes World Cultural treasures as well as Natural Monuments. Politically, cultural heritage can be either a cohesive force or a divisive one when exploited for political purposes directed towards political hegemony. Economically, the cost of preserving cultural heritage can be a lucrative source of income as a result of the global promotion of cultural tourism. By this research, we can come to the idea that the State should facilitate the community empowerment through preservation and development of the cultural heritage – its organic environment, because without protection of the cultural environment and misusing the opportunities offered by it we cannot achieve the proper – i.e., feasible, sustainable – social and economic development of a country.

Protection of the Rights of Ethnic Minorities in Finland. Sami Case

The cultural autonomy of the Indigenous Sami Region within Finland is an example of autonomous status, based on the criterion of ethnic, linguistic and cultural distinctiveness of the indigenous Sami people living in the Northern territories of the state. It aims to protect their fundamental rights and freedoms and their own cultural heritage, including the endangered Sami languages. The aim of this study is the legal analysis of the cultural autonomy status of the Indigenous Sami Region self-government. The subject of the study includes the exegesis of the provisions of the Finnish Basic Law of 1999 and the relevant statute, as well as the practice of the region functioning within the state.