The forum, held for the second time around, was organised by the Ministry of Regional Development at the castle square in Warsaw. A series of funds receiving support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway participated actively at the forum, including those for environment, health and the NGO fund.
The EEA and Norway Grants stand was centrally located in the exhibition tent, easily available for visitors to the forum. Among those in attendance was Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who received a guided tour through the stands by Minister for Regional Development, Elzbieta Bienkowska. Ms Bienkowska stopped at the stands of the Ministry of Culture to present the cultural heritage projects as well as the Cultural Exchange Fund. In addition, the Cultural Exchange Fund and the Scholarship and Training Fund were presented to the public from the stage.
Poland is the largest beneficiary state of the EEA and Norway Grants, from which a total of 10 Polish funds receive financial support. Two of the country's funds also represent the largest single contributions under the grant schemes, notably the €37 million in support to the NGO fund and the €21.4 in support to the Polish-Norwegian Research Fund, which combined will re-grant support to more than 500 projects.
Photo: Sidsel Bleken, Norwegian Embassy in Poland