The Tour was inaugurated in June 2021 and it is supported by many NGOs, private citizens and media representatives, who have placed their trust in us. Tour de Constitution is a series of apolitical events taking place across Poland, with the aim of building engagement in local communities. The meetings are attended by representatives of the legal profession, as well as media figures and members of cultural institutions. Over the course of 2021, our Tour-Bus stopped in over 84 cities, following a carefully charted route spanning a total of 8640 kilometers.
The attendees of our rallies - in cities big and small – were handed out 13,000 copies of the Polish Constitution, 12, 000 booklets, and over 8,000 brochures. We have countless debates, mock trials, quizzes, concerts, games, and children’s activities. We talk about the Constitution, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and broader issues of human rights.
Nearly every stop the tour made has attracted strong local media coverage, and the impact of the tour had been broadly reported in the nationwide press – e.g. in Gazeta Wyborcza, OKO Press, Polityka, or Newsweek – but also in foreign press – we got a full write-up in The Guardian. We were also covered in the Polish 24-hour news channel TVN24 in its “In Black and White” show!
The Vice-President of the European Commission,Ms Vera Jourova, has also expressed her appreciation of Tour de Constitution, in a face-to-face meeting, which was very special to us.
On August 8th we wrapped up the Tour with a final concert in Warsaw. However, it turned out the people of Poland truly long for meetings, conversations and education that came with theTour – so we responded. After the conclusion of the first edition, the foundation raised new funds from public crowdfunding and from a raffle auction organized by Allegro.pl, and we acquired our very own new Tour-Bus. We were again supported by many well-known public figures who rallied on our behalf, encouraging people to contribute.
The new Tour-Bus continued its journey around Poland until the end of December, visiting all towns that had contacted us to request a visit. We even got as far as London! As part of the Tour, we had multiple meetings with students, both at universities and in external venues.
In June 2022, the Tour-Bus will hit the road again.The second edition of Tour de Constitution will be dedicated not just to the Constitution, but also to the European Union. Like last year, we will strive to make every meeting interesting, substantive and enjoyable. We plan on threading some extra stop sinto our scheduled route.
We will visit the Pol’and’Rock Festival in Czaplinek, the Open’erFestival in Gdynia, and the “Góry Literatury” festival in Nowa Ruda. We are also planning on paying visits to our neighbours and friends across the Polish borders!
See you on the road!
