28 April 1998
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am very pleased to offer my endorsement for funding applications to support the Polish Green Brigades (Zielone Brygady) Publishing House in their efforts to consolidate and expand their activities. Many scholarly studies have drawn attention to the profound obstacles facing all post-communist countries in the construction of a dynamic, participative civil society. Zielone Brygady constitutes both an affirmation of the positive consequences of voluntary participation and a testimony to the difficulties faced by volunteer activists.
The journal Zielone Brygady is itself interesting, informative and a unique national resource. It provides a major source of information and a forum for serious debate on environmental issues. Its ambit extends very widely, embracing issues of direct concern for sustainable development and environmental protection but also encompassing broader issues of democratization, issues linked to gender equality, and the role of the Catholic Church. It does not pursue a particular line but makes its columns available for controversial perspectives and a diversity of viewpoints. Its circulation is impressive for a journal of this type, operated on a shoestring; and it also feeds into general political journals of mass circulation such as Polityka and Wprost, which quote its spokespersons and utilise it as an information resource.
The Green Brigades Publishing House has also developed a major networking and co-ordinating role for the Polish environmental movement as a whole, including disseminating information about local and national activities and providing materials about general strategies and tactics of pressure group politics and civic organisation. Through its international links it purveys information both from and to the wider international community. In my own case I have benefited from the ability to read its journal on its website and to obtain information about relevant publications in the field of environmental protection and environmental politics. I have found it an invaluable source in researching scholarly articles on Polish political development in general and the green movement in particular.
This multi-faceted role is particularly crucial in circumstances when public knowledge of environmental issues is limited and the Ministry of the Environment is politically weak. The green movement is often the only source of alternative perspectives on government policies. Those who have demonstrated their intense commitment of time, energy and other personal resources to this endeavour should be congratulated and supported in their contribution to constructing a stable pluralist democratic society in Poland.
Yours faithfully,
Frances Millard, BA, MA, PhD
Senior Lecturer in the Politics of the Visegrad States
Department of Government
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester C043SQ
England
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28 April 1998
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am very pleased to offer my endorsement for funding applications to support the Polish Green Brigades/Zielone Brygady editorial team in their efforts to consolidate and expand their activities. Many scholarly studies have drawn attention to the profound obstacles facing all post-communist countries in the construction of a dynamic, activist civil society. Zielone Brygady constitutes both an affirmation of the positive consequences of voluntary participation and a testimony to the difficulties faced by volunteer activists.
The journal itself is interesting, informative and a unique national resource. It provides a major source of information and a forum for serious debate on key environmental issues. Its ambit extends very widely, embracing issues of direct concern for sustainable development but also encompassing broader issues of democratization, issues linked to gender equality, and the role of the Catholic Church. It does not pursue a particular line but makes its columns available for controversial perspectives and a diversity of viewpoints. Its circulation is impressive for a journal of this type, operated on a shoestring; and it also feeds into general periodicals of mass circulation such as Polityka and Wprost, which quote its spokespersons and utilise it as an information resource.
Zielone Brygady has also developed a major networking and co-ordinating role for the Polish environmental movement as a whole, including disseminating information about local and national activities and providing materials about general strategies and tactics of pressure group politics and civic organisation. Through its international links it purveys information both from and to the wider international community. In my own case I have benefited from the ability to read Zielone Brygady on their website. I have found it an invaluable resource in researching scholarly articles on Polish political development in general and the green movement in particular.
This multi-faceted role is particularly crucial in circumstances when public knowledge of environmental issues is limited and the Ministry of the Environment is politically weak. The green movement is often virtually the only source of an alternative perspective on current government policies. Those who have demonstrated their intense commitment of time, energy and other personal resources to this endeavour should be congratulated and supported in their contribution to constructing a stable pluralist democratic society.
Yours faithfully,
Frances Millard, BA, MA, PhD
Department of Government
University of Essex
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