The first day of #efglodzkie2023 is now behind us!

The first day of the 16th European Economic Forum is now behind us. The Forum is a three-day gathering of people of business, science, local government, or arts from across Poland and abroad. Guests also include government representatives. After a whole day filled with discussions on topics related to the development of the region, the time came for the presentation of the “Biznes na Plus” awards. The nominees and winners were congratulated by Grzegorz Schreiber, Marshal of the Lodzkie Region, together with the Region’s Board.
“To keep up with the dynamic changes in the world, we have to expand our knowledge and information resources at least as fast as artificial intelligence does,” said the Marshal at the opening session of the European Economic Forum Łódzkie 2023, referring to the Forum’s main topic of continuous development. One of the guests at the inauguration was Jacek Sasin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State Assets, who stressed that Poland had been among the three fastest growing countries in Europe for several years. “However, three factors are essential to keep up this pace: security, cheap energy and good transport infrastructure,” he added.
These issues were further raised on the first day of the Forum, which was also attended by Waldemar Buda, Minister for Economic Development and Technology. “Following the pandemic, when the production of entire large-scale operations was halted as a result of a disruption in the supply chain, a new practice emerged to look for production where there was a market for it. And thus, for the last two years, we have been beating successive records for new foreign investment in Poland. This is why communication is so important, as Łódź is becoming a destination attracting large companies,” the minister remarked.
There were also discussions about ecology and agriculture. The panel entitled “Lodzkie Region as the Garden of Poland” was attended by Anna Moskwa, Minister of Climate and Environment. “In the Lodzkie Region, we have flower meadows, meadows of health, herb gardens, and shortly there will also be Science Gardens,” listed Dorota Konopacka, Director of the Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, one of the speakers at the meeting.
There was also a panel on “silver revolution”, i.e. being active as a senior citizen. The government and local government support for people aged 65+ and counteracting their exclusion from the labour market were discussed by Marlena Maląg, Minister of Family and Social Policy.
The panel entitled “New Dimension of the Polish-Ukrainian Partnership” was attended by a delegation from the Lodzkie Region’s partner regions in Ukraine and Zbigniew Rau, Minister of Foreign Affairs. “From the point of view of the Lodzkie Region’s local government, Polish-Ukrainian cooperation has a primarily humanitarian dimension,” said Prof. Rau. “We are now in an entirely different place.” Humanitarian aid is gradually being replaced by development aid. Later still, the international work of rebuilding Ukraine lies ahead, for which we are already preparing.
During the panel, Marshal Schreiber and Andrii Kaveunets, Deputy President of the Vinnytsia Oblast Military Administration, signed a letter of intent to establish a regional office of the Lodzkie Region in the Vinnytsia Oblast.
Participants of the 16th EEF could also attend a number of other interesting discussions on topics such as transport and the energy of the future, cooperation between local government, business and NGOs, or helping skills. The Forum means also meetings with people of success. On Monday, Olympic champion Mateusz Kusznierewicz was our guest, speaking about his recipe for winning, not only in sport, but also how to recover from defeat.
At the conclusion of this eventful day, during the “Biznes na plus” gala, following a spectacular fashion show by Adrian Krupa, we awarded outstanding enterprises from the Lodzkie Region. The winner in the “Successful Succession” category was ELPOL Łuźniak Sp. k. from Kielczygłów, while in the “Lodzkie programmed towards the future” category the award was received by Schraner Polska Sp. z o.o. from Łęczyca. The award for “Business debut” went to the owner of Galileo Sp. z o.o. from Sieradz, and for “International success” – to the owners of Pasieka Jaros Sp. z o.o., a family company from Lazisko. The “Business na PLUS” award of the Lodzkie Region’s Board was handed over by Marshal Grzegorz Schreiber to the owner of AMZ – Kutno S.A.. The winners were congratulated – online – by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Jan Lipavsky, Czech Ambassador to Poland. “While the businesses receiving the Lodzkie Region Economic Awards today are different in all aspects – industry, history, scale of operations, they have one thing in common: it is the hunger for success that drives the activities of entrepreneurs from the Lodzkie Region,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the laureates.
In turn, Iwona Koperska, Chairwoman of the Council of the Lodzkie Region, read out a letter from Elżbieta Witek, Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland.
The evening was completed by a concert by Piotr Cugowski.