A venue that symbolises democracy

The DoP meeting is being held at the historic BHP Hall, in the former shipyard on the outskirts of Gdansk. In August 1980, the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union, known as “Solidarność” (Solidarity), was set up here, which led Poland on a non-violent path to democratic freedom. As host of this year’s DoP meeting, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) chose this highly symbolic location for democracy for the meeting.

ODIHR was originally set up as the Office for Free Elections in Warsaw in 1990. The OSCE participating States selected the Polish capital as its seat, in recognition of the fact that the country was the first in the Eastern Bloc in to hold free elections, after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. Following the resounding victory of the Solidarity-led opposition, Solidarity’s leader, Lech Wałensa, was elected as the first President of post-Communist Poland in 1990.

It is with great pleasure that ODIHR will be welcoming back President Wałensa, who has previously spoken at ODIHR events in support of its elections work, to speak at the High-Level Panel on the first day of the DoP meeting.