Next week, I’ll be attending the Velo-city conference 2025 in Gdańsk https://www.velo-city-conference.com/en/programme/speakers/ . . . both as a journalist for Youth4planet AND as someone awed by 🇵🇱Poland’s post-1989 trajectory. The country that hosted Solidarity’s peaceful revolution now leads in economic miracles. At $470B in exports (Goods & Services), Poland has overtaken Russia, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Luxembourg, Israel, and many others in the global rankings https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.CD?end=2023&locations=PL-EE-LT-FI-SE-NO-LV-LU-RU-PE-CO-CL-AR-ID-AU-KZ-SA-IL&most_recent_value_desc=true&start=1989&view=chart.
This is a multi-SDG miracle:
▷ SDG 8 Decent Work & Economic Growth: From 1989’s economic turmoil to a services and industrial export powerhouse . . .
▷ SDG 9 Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure: Look at ports + trains that cross Europe + factories building electric ships + wind turbines + solar frames + EV parts + precision software . . .
▷ SDG 4 Quality Education: Universities adapted. Engineers + software developers + designers powered growth . . .
▷ SDG 5 Gender Equality: Women became pillars of Poland’s labor market + civil society . . .
▷ SDG 16 Peace, Justice & Institutions: Poland has upheld core institutions that encourage business trust and trade . . .
And the epic story doesn’t end there:
▷ in 2022, Poland welcomed millions of Ukrainian refugees WHILE maintaining export momentum.
▷ That’s SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities + SDG 17 Partnerships in action.
Now, why Gdańsk? Why cycling? Because the city of Lech Wałęsa is not only symbolic of courage + cooperation. Gdańsk is also reimagining itself through active mobility + green urban planning + civic-led climate action.
And that’s where Youth4planet steps in. We amplify voices + connect DO-ers + share stories of decarbonizing dignity. 🚲 I’ll be biking to events + 🎤 I’ll be interviewing change-makers. Contact me and let’s connect:
Email: christian@youth4planet.org
Telephone: +352 621613164
