Formation 1946 Website www.zpwb.org.uk | Headquarters London, United Kingdom | |
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President Włodzimierz Mier-Jędrzejowicz | ||
The Federation of Poles in Great Britain (Polish: Zjednoczenie Polskie w Wielkiej Brytanii) is an organisation established to promote the interests of Poles in the United Kingdom and to promote the history of Poland and the culture of Poland among the British people.
Contents
Detailed information about the goals and its general direction is contained in the Federation's Statutes.
History
The Federation of Poles in Great Britain (FPGB) started in 1946, when the British Government formally withdrew recognition of the Polish Government in Exile. From that time until 1990 The Federation represented the interests of the Polish immigration with respect to British authorities.
Subsequent to the transfer of the Presidential Insignia by President Ryszard Kaczorowski to President Lech Wałęsa, some responsibilities were vested in The Federation. The Federation was recognised by both Polish and British governments, as well as other Polish organisations worldwide, as the organisation representing the Polish ethnic minority in Great Britain.
Recent Actions
In 2008 the Federation submitted a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission over claims that the Daily Mail ran a series of articles which defamed Poles. The PCC arranged a deal between the Federation and the Daily Mail, in which the Daily Mail promised to remove the offending articles from their website.
Membership
The Federation was created to link the various Polish organisations and federations in Great Britain. Subsequently a change in the Statutes allowed for the introduction of Individual Membership. Members of the Polish ethnic minority, permanently resident in Great Britain, members of their families and all persons supporting the aims of The Federation can become individual members of The Federation. www.zpwb.org.uk