Two didactic visits of Prof. Monika Tomaszewska in Vilnius, Lithuania
On October 23, 2022 and May 9 and 10, 2023, two visits took place at the invitation of the University of the Third Age in Vilnius, which focused on the subject of social security law and the scope of benefits for pensioners. During both meetings, lectures were given, which attracted a lot of attention and interest from the participants.
The first lecture, which took place on October 23, 2022, was entitled "Pensions and social insurance in the European Union: a comparison between countries". Its main objective was to analyze the pension situation in various European Union countries, taking into account both the level of comfort of life of retirees and the availability of social insurance. The speaker was Professor Monika Tomaszewska, who referred to the results of the PICADI ranking (Transparent Price and Affordability Index for Pensioners) and the European Commission report "Current and future income adequacy in old age in the EU". In her presentation, Professor Tomaszewska indicated countries where retirees enjoy a high level of living comfort, such as Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. On the other hand, she pointed to countries where pensions are relatively low and social security systems are poorly developed, such as Greece, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Latvia. The professor emphasized that the reasons for such disproportions are complex and multiple, requiring an analysis of the broader socio-economic context and pension systems in force in individual countries.
Due to the great interest in the subject of the social security system in EU countries, the University of the Third Age in Vilnius once again invited Professor Monika Tomaszewska, which took place on May 9 and 10, 2023. The formula of the lecture was enriched and extended with the participation of Professor Wojciech Świda from Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero (UNTREF). Professor Świda told about the fate of Poles from the Vilnius region, especially about emigration to South America, especially to Argentina and Brazil, in the interwar period, during World War II and immediately after it. During the meeting, a documentary film entitled "Héroes cotidianos" / "Heroes of everyday life" was also presented, prepared by the Polish Embassy in Buenos Aires in cooperation with Professor Świda, containing memories of Poles with difficulties adapting and settling on another continent. The video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tieK9ce6WM.
The meeting was attended by Consul Irmina Szmalec. Apart from the lecture, the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Vilnius held a meeting with Consul Irmina Szmalec and with the newly nominated Polish Ambassador in Vilnius - Konstanty Radziwiłł.
The meeting with the Consul and the ambassador was an opportunity to establish many valuable contacts that will enable the development of scientific and didactic cooperation with the University of Vilnius.
To sum up, the visits to the University of the Third Age in Vilnius brought a valuable exchange of knowledge on social security law and the scope of benefits for pensioners. Lectures by Professor Monika Tomaszewska and Professor Wojciech Świda provided important information on the pension situation in various European Union countries and the history of Polish emigration. The meeting with Consul Irmina Szmalec and the Polish ambassador in Vilnius, Konstanty Radziwiłł, contributed to establishing contacts supporting further cooperation between the University of Vilnius and the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdańsk.
