AMI Director Olga Wysocka joins the EUNIC Board

On 9–10 December 2025, the EUNIC General Assembly took place in Brussels, during which Olga Wysocka, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, was elected as a member of the Board. The meeting brought together leaders of European cultural institutes to discuss the network’s future directions, cultural programmes, and the role of EUNIC in strengthening international cultural relations. The new leadership team includes Gitte Zschoch from Germany, who assumed the role of President, and Julija Reklaitė from Lithuania, who was elected Vice-President.

Olga Wysocka, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, elected as a new member of the EUNIC Board

During the Assembly, Olga Wysocka, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, took up the position of Board Member. The Assembly also marked the formal handover of the EUNIC Presidency to Gitte Zschoch, Secretary General of IFA – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen. Julija Reklaitė, Director of the Lithuanian Culture Institute (Lietuvos kultūros institutas), was elected Vice-President of the EUNIC Board and will subsequently assume the role of EUNIC President in December 2026, ahead of Lithuania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2027.

At the General Assembly held in Brussels on 9–10 December 2025, EUNIC members approved the network’s new leadership team. In her remarks, Olga Wysocka, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, emphasised the importance of culture as a key space for dialogue, democratic stability, and social resilience:

It is crucial that we continue to create spaces in which culture is not only present, but also understood as essential to the resilience of democracy, social solidarity, and international partnerships.

The term of office for EUNIC Board members is two years, with the possibility of extension. Following the elections, the EUNIC Board consists of:

• President: Gitte Zschoch (IFA – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen),

• Vice-President: Julija Reklaitė (Lietuvos kultūros institutas),

• Carmen Noguero Galilea (Instituto Cervantes),

• Hanna Lämsä (Suomalaisen Kulttuurin Instituutti),

• Hugues Ghenassia de Ferran (Institut français),

• Olga Wysocka (Adam Mickiewicz Institute).

Geopolitical challenges and the role of EUNIC – the importance of culture in Europe and worldwide

EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) is a European cooperation platform bringing together the national cultural institutes of EU Member States. It acts as a partner of the European Union in shaping and implementing European cultural policy both within and beyond Europe. Its mission is to strengthen international cultural relations, intercultural dialogue, and cooperation based on shared European values. The network is made up of institutions responsible for promoting their countries’ culture, language, and arts abroad, working both at the European level and locally through an extensive network of EUNIC clusters operating in many regions of the world. EUNIC implements joint cultural programmes and initiatives, supports artistic freedom, democracy, and human rights, and serves as a platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience, enabling cultural institutes to respond more effectively to social, political, and geopolitical challenges.

The winter meeting brought together leaders of cultural institutions for in-person discussions, providing an opportunity to welcome new colleagues and jointly reflect on the future direction of EUNIC’s development. The programme combined strategic discussions with programme updates, the handover of the presidency, and the election of new Board members. In the face of dynamic geopolitical changes – both in Europe and globally – EUNIC assemblies create a space for in-depth, high-level expert reflection in the field of public and cultural diplomacy.