National Library secures funds under European Union FEnIKS programme - News - The National Library

Among the successful institutions was the National Library, which secured more than PLN 26 million for its project "A full reading room of the Republic". This is a continuation of earlier projects and involves securing the National Library's most valuable collections, providing the necessary conditions for their conservation, developing them and making them more accessible. This will include adapting and arranging selected rooms in the main building of the National Library and increasing the building's overall energy efficiency.

As part of the project, the National Library will become more accessible to Warsaw residents who are interested in reading and culture. It will ensure access to books, including those published abroad (thanks to the planned Library of Cultures), magazines, audiobooks, music, films and other media. Numerous cultural events will be organised to promote reading, and new events will be added such as walks/tours [NU1] and meetings with contemporary writers and other artists.

The results of the first round of applications for funding were announced at a special press conference. Secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, presented the winners with the positive co-funding decisions: Poland's accession to the structures of the European Union created a unique opportunity for Polish culture to make investments on an unprecedented scale and to make up for years of neglect in this area. The most important thing was to ensure the possibility of financing culture from EU structural funds and to convince the European Commission that culture is not only a source of identity for Poland, defining our place in Europe, but also a resource on which we wish to build our competitive advantage.

About FEnIKS

The European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate and the Environment 2021-2027 programme (FEnIKS) is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Under the latest financial perspective for culture it has been possible to secure a record amount: over EUR 600 million (PLN 2.8 billion). These funds are at the disposal of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

Applications for funding under FEnIKS are possible for cultural investment projects whose aim is to create centres of social activity and to increase the attractiveness of historic buildings for the purposes of tourism.

Applicants may include national cultural institutions, cultural institutions co-managed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, schools and colleges of art, UNESCO-listed sites and listed historical monuments, and also churches, local government bodies and non-governmental organisations, for projects falling under the priority objectives set out in the list of areas.

The following projects received co-funding under the first round of applications:

• Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz – "Extending the functionality of Opera Nova by building a 4th circle"
• National Museum in Poznań – "Museum of Poznań – Expanding, conserving and providing access to the city's most important renaissance monuments"
• Estrada Poznańska – "Developing the cultural activities of Estrada Poznańska – reconstructing buildings and purchasing equipment"
• National Library – "A full reading room of the Republic"
• City Hall of Gdańsk – "Restoring the value of the seventeenth-century Orphanage Complex in Gdańsk by conserving and reconstructing the monument and adapting the buildings and grounds of the former institution for new cultural and touristic functions"
• Historical Museum of the City of Kraków – "Modernising and expanding the former Światowid cinema for use by the Museum of Nowa Huta"
• Nicolaus Copernicus Public Provincial Library in Toruń – "Extending the building of the Nicolaus Copernicus Public Provincial Library in Toruń and adapting it for new uses"
• Łódź Museum of Archeology and Ethnography – "Open Museum – Phase II of the modernisation of the Łódź Museum of Archeology and Ethnography, buildings A and C located on Plac Wolności, Łódź"
• National Museum in Kraków – "The Princes Czartoryski Library – Extending and redeveloping a branch of the National Museum in Kraków"
• EC1 Łódź – City of Culture in Łódź – "Expanding the cultural and educational services offered by the National Centre for Film Culture – the Mechanical Eye stage"
• National Museum in Szczecin – "Imago Mundi – Reconstructing and renovating the historic building of the National Museum in Szczecin"
• Silesian Museum in Katowice – "Adapting the post-industrial buildings of the former forge and mechanical workshop for exhibitions and education by the Silesian Museum in Katowice"
• Evangelical-Augsburg Parish of the Holy Trinity in Świdnica – "Protecting global cultural heritage and increasing the touristic value of the Lower Silesia region by conserving and providing access to a unique UNESCO-listed wooden monument: the Church of Peace in Świdnica"