For the first time in history, the Malopolska Voivodship has taken part in the Polish American Trade Fair in April in Niles. It was the first economic mission of the Malopolska Voivodship and its authorities to Chicago of such kind.

Honestly speaking there is no continuous cooperation between Malopolska and Chicago although there is some kind of cooperation between parts of Poland especially the Podhale region and Polish organizations in Chicago. However, it is rather cultural and sentimental. It is essential to revitalize economic relations - says Andrzej Sasula deputy speaker of the Malopoplska Voivodship. - We must convince people of Chicago (not only the Polish community), that it is worth to invest in Poland especially in Malopolska (it is really worth it: labor is still rather cheap, and people are well educated, the demand is growing, we are also a good embarkation for expansion to central-eastern Europe and in the future the Russian market). Our visit is a small step towards rejuvenating our contacts and cooperation.

This opinion is also shared by the vice president of Krakow Kazimierz Bujakowski.- There is no stable cooperation between Chicago and Krakow. Our city joins in particular projects - for example participating in fairs - depending on the nature of the offer. We will work out a program of cooperation between Krakow and Friends of Krakow Society - in 2007 because we must plan our budget funds and elaborate the concept of the project.

The delegation to the United States was represented by 12 people. The Malopolska Voivodship was represented by : Andrzej Sasula, deputy speaker of the Voivodship , Elzbieta Kantor (director of the Promotion and Cooperation Department of the Central office), Slawomir Kopec (director of the Information Society), Szymon Gatlik (manager of the promotion team at the Department of Promotion and International Cooperation), and translators. Besides Chicago also welcomed the vicepresident of Krakow Kazimierz Bujakowski, provost of the Jagielonian University professor Piotr Tworzewski and university's dean of the Department of Law and Administration professor Tadeusz Wludyka and the manager of department of cooperaton at the City hall Agata Mierzynska.

The Malopolska Voivodship and the city of Krakow had a joint stand on this year's fair, where the visitors were able to familiarize themselves with the tourist offer of Malopolska.

The visit was also an opportunity to make business contacts. The visit consisted of meetings between representatives of Polish-American Chamber of Commerce as well as Polish American Contractors Builders Association, representatives of the Polish American Congress, Polish National Alliance, Association of Podhalan in USA, TPK.- For the first time we welcomed an organized economic mission from Malopolska and Krakow. In a way meeting with its representatives was an appreciation of our 10-year operation and the initiation for future cooperation. Until now, we have probably not been considered by the authorities of Malopolsaka and Krakow as their ambassadors in the United States. Now we are regard as a brand, which can proudly represent them. We are currently working on a plan of wider cooperation for the upcoming years although we do not have any concrete details yet. Certainly, we will continue to promote Polish culture and education- says Tadeusz Zaczek, president of the Friends of Krakow Society in Chicago.

What was Polish visitors impression from their visit to the windy city?

I noticed two important things- says A. Sasula. -Firstly, I think that the Polish community in Chicago is much divided. It seems that they are trying to integrate but without real results. It is strange. The second impression was a very positive surprise. While flying to Chicago I imagined that you get many visitors from Poland therefore, I thought that our visit would not even be noticed. However, we were greeted with great hospitability. Thus, I believe that such visits should be made every year. It could be beneficial for both sides. At the end of our trip we visited Lincoln in Nebraska where we discussed possibilities of cooperation of the state with Malopolsaka. We met with governor deputy Rick Sheehy and representatives of the Nebraska University. It seems that there is a great possibility of cooperation of this University with the Jagielonian University.

Tadeusz Wludka dean of Department of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University said the following: - From the perspective of the Department of Law and Administration our law studies are an interesting offer for Polish youth of America, especially since American investors are among the leaders of entrepreneurs in Poland (e.g. City Bank, Motorolla, Donelly, Canpack and others). For seven years now, we have been running School of American Law in cooperation with the Catholic University in Washington. Graduates receive a certificate in American Law (besides school of American law we also have school of German law with the possibility of acquiring a PhD degree in Heidelberg, Moguncia or Krakow, school of French law at the University in Orleans, school of Austrian law at the University in Vienna). The Catholic University in Washington based on signed agreement, runs LLM program of American Law (exclusive in Poland) on joint terms, i.e. for six months our colleagues from Washington conduct courses in Krakow, and for the remaining six months the students study in Washington where they also do their internships in American and international institutions. During a television program in Chicago for the Polish television I said that this type of education for the Polish youth opens up many possibilities on the Polish market and a further career development abroad. Recently American corporations actively investing in the Ukraine and Russia are searching for young Polish lawyers who also know Ukrainian and Russian language. Incidentally we run schools of Polish law in Tarnopol (Ukraine) and Wilno (Lithuania) having close relations with universities in Lvov in Kiev and Wilno.

The Polish community should therefore also consider this issue since a "direct" promotion for young people on the American market is certainly not easy. Education acquired in Europe can give them an advantage on the global market. I will skip the family and emotional ties. Therefore it appears that the "classical" emigration to USA is a thing of the past, since Poland has become a member of European Union there are possibilities of migration much closer (England, Ireland). Combined with the expansion of cheap airlines, family separation is not as drastic as in case of Chicago. Of course, the very economic environment has also been changing i.e. salaries in Europe, dollar exchange rate etc. For that reason, now it is the time to take an advantage of the Polish American community in the competition for jobs for their children in Europe, especially in Poland and other Eastern European countries.

The representatives of the delegation agree respectively that this year's visit to Chicago (and USA , they have visited other cities as New York) was a very successful one and many new ideas developed for future projects, and economic cooperation.

The report made by the Krakow City Hall said: "Krakow is a known brand - it is the most recognized Polish city, although the nature of American market is not much promising. The Polish community, which is growing economically, represents our target group, to which we must address tourist as well as investment offers. The Polish community functioning in the American society and politics is both a medium of Polish culture, tourism, and economical possibilities. Both the Polish American Trade Show and the presentation of Krakow and Malopolska in New York and Chicago and the meetings with entrepreneurs and potential investors, updated information about Krakow on the American market which is not a frequent place of our presentations. During our visit, we have made new valuable contacts with the representatives of American cities and state administration. Most importantly however, specialists from the tourist business familiar with the American market pointed the direction of promotional activity - which is vital in order to increase American tourism to Poland/Krakow.