On 6 November 2026, an expert seminar dedicated to security in the Baltic Sea region, Polish-Swedish defence cooperation and strengthening civil resilience will take place in Visby, Gotland. The event will be attended by Dr Grzegorz Gil, Director of the Institute of Central Europe, while one of the discussion panels will be moderated by Dr Damian Szacawa, Head of the Security and Development Team at the Institute of Central Europe.
The seminar, entitled “Strengthening Baltic Security and Resilience. Polish-Swedish Perspectives on Regional Preparedness and Strategic Cooperation – Gotland as a Case Study”, is jointly organised by the Institute of Central Europe and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Stockholm. The event will be held at Uppsala University (Campus Gotland) and will provide an opportunity to exchange experiences and engage in in-depth discussions on security challenges in the Baltic Sea region and opportunities for developing Polish-Swedish strategic cooperation.
The programme includes two discussion panels. The first, focusing on Baltic Sea security and defence cooperation between Poland and Sweden, will be moderated by Dr Damian Szacawa from the Institute of Central Europe. Participants will include representatives of the Swedish Ministry of Defence, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the Swedish Defence University and the Centre for Eastern Studies.
The second panel will focus on civil preparedness and societal resilience, drawing on the experiences of Gotland and Poland. The discussion will be moderated by Professor Charles Parker from Uppsala University. Participants will include representatives of Gotland’s regional administration, Swedish institutions responsible for civil defence and the Polish State Fire Service.
The seminar will be opened by Karolina Ostrzyniewska, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Sweden, Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Governor of Gotland, and Dr Grzegorz Gil, Director of the Institute of Central Europe. The event will conclude with remarks from the panel moderators and representatives of Poland and Sweden.
The event will be held under the Chatham House Rule.
Strengthening security and resilience in the Baltic Sea region. A Polish-Swedish perspective