I would like to share with you some of the photographs taken during my visit to Norway and Poland from October 23 to 29, 2023, as chairman of The Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination.
[October 27, Kraków, Poland]
With Mr. Zmary Gharwal, co-founder of the Social Work Hub, a Vienna-based international NGO, a year after we met last.
I thanked his organization for helping some 100 Japanese university student volunteers who The Nippon Foundation dispatched to Poland and Austria in 2022 to assist Ukrainians displaced by the continued Russian military attacks. Assuming that the war in Ukraine will be drawn out, we discussed how we should work together to support Ukrainian refugees and evacuees on a long-term basis, including a plan to organize global organizations of student volunteers.
[October 28, Kraków, Poland]
Taking a walk in the city early in the morning.
The Wawel Royal Castle and the Wawel Hill constitute the most historically and culturally important site in Poland. For centuries, the residence of the kings of Poland and the symbol of Polish statehood, the Castle is now one of the country’s premier art museums.
In 1978, UNESCO placed Kraków’s Historic Center on its first list of World Heritage Sites, with Wawel Castle among its main features. The list contained only twelve of the most valued sites from around the world.
Wawel is a limestone hill upon the Vistula River with a complex of impressive historical monuments of unique historical and artistic values.
At the historic Chopin Gallery, a concert venue in a 15th century building where you can experience the celebrated music of Frederic Chopin, Poland’s most renowned composer. Unfortunately, it was closed when I went there.
A magnificent horse-drawn carriage runs through the Kraków Old Town.
