A soldier who understands why he serves will be more effective than 1 who only follows orders. So it is besides our occupation to form the belief that military service is simply a commitment to society and the future of the country – he says about building morale of soldiers and equipping them with the cognition of Colonel Jerzy Banasiak, manager of the Military Centre for Civic Education.
Colonel George Banasiak. photograph by Krzysztof Gumul/WCEO
You run a peculiar military institution that performs very different tasks, not only educational tasks, as the name suggests. What precisely do you do?
Simply put, for 15 years now we have been looking after the improvement of soldiers in respective fields, organising postgraduate studies, but besides courses, trainings and workshops. We are besides active in conducting social investigation – it is from experts of our centre that the management of the Ministry of Defence and top-level commanders informs about the moods of soldiers. We besides conduct publishing activities, preparing various types of publications, e.g. books, folders, albums, comic books and teaching materials for the Armed Forces of Poland. We organize historical and military trips, historical walks and another projects to popularise the past and tradition of Polish weapons. Not many people know, but WCEO He is besides liable for supplying troops with home and abroad press and for obtaining items that service to separate soldiers – honorary white weapons or badges of honor. The next point is to go beyond the armed forces themselves: among others, we are engaged in the organization of the historical Olympics or pro-defence sports competitions prepared by the social partners. all year we besides organize “green schools” for students of selected uniform classes.
This is simply a very wide scope of activities. What's the thought of specified different activities in 1 institution?
The common denominator of all activities is civic education. Widely understood, due to the fact that for us it is much more than learning history. Our army is becoming more modern, better armed, equipped and trained, but people decide about its strength. Conscious, responsible, loyal to the community they serve. Therefore, civic education is simply a pillar of the full defence strategy – it builds morale, identity and attitude. To put it plainly, a soldier who understands why he is serving will be more effective than 1 who only follows orders. So it is our occupation not only to convey cognition but besides to form the belief that military service is simply a commitment to society, past and the future of the country.
We must besides remember that armed forces are part of society, hence the request to go out into the civilian environment with various types of initiatives, peculiarly targeting young people. due to the fact that those who attend our competitions present or go for comic books popularizing historical knowledge, In the future, they will power our army.
A photography course for beginners, organized by the WCEO Culture and Social Communication Team. photograph by WCEO
You are talking about initiatives aimed at young people, and present we frequently hear that patriotism must be spoken in the language of young people so that it does not sound pathetic and artificial. Is this how WCEO builds a message aimed at soldiers and civilians?
When preparing educational materials, we effort to combine tradition with modernity. We organize competitions, exhibitions and educational and information stands with our publications, which are exhibited during state ceremonies and crucial military events. We effort to talk this language and in specified a way as to scope young people. For example, we present a communicative in the form of comic books, for which young people are more eager than classical books. All of this is intended to enable young people to learn about the glorious traditions of Polish weapons. We want patriotism to be something close, not sacred. So that references can be found in the surrounding world, in everyday life.
However, the main recipients of WCEO activities are soldiers. Who can benefit from the educational offer?
Our offer is addressed to both soldiers in command and private positions, but besides to the staff of the National Defence Ministry. Postgraduate studies from diplomatic protocol, global humanitarian law of armed conflicts and military public communication are the most popular among them. This is due to the applicable needs of soldiers, who are increasingly in service in NATO structures and serving in missions and operations outside the country. There is besides an expanding interest in soft skills courses, specified as public speaking training with savoir-vivre elements and workshops for the command staff for the organisation of military ceremonies. The soldier is not just a weapon expert today. He's a leader who must be able to operate in different environments.
WCEO cooperates with another institutions on many initiatives. How does this work in practice?
We cooperate mainly with military universities, specified as Academy of War Art, Naval Military Academy and Naval Academy, Local governments, patriotic organizations and defense. Joint projects – from courses and studies through publications and cultural events – let us to combine cognition and experience of different environments. Not being a university, without cooperation with the Academy of War Art, we could not educate thousands of soldiers, and we could talk about specified a scale during the past 15 years. We besides appreciate cooperation with local military clubs, which are a gathering place of troops with residents, the space where patriotism is born.
What challenges are facing the Military Centre for Civic Education today, and what activities will it focus on in the close future?
We have quite a few work ahead of us due to the fact that the planet is changing faster than ever. We must respond to fresh challenges. I can tell you that we have been working for any time on an extended publication on disinformation. Above all, however, we will proceed our mission of accompanying soldiers in their development.
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