13-17 of May the "Dialogue of cultures and peoples” international festival was taking place in the Polish city of Leszno. The organizers of the festival were the State Higher School of Professional Education named after Jan Amos Comenius in Leszno, Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University and City Council of Leszno.

The grand opening the festival.
At the grand opening on May the 14th the guests were welcomed by prof., Dr. Maciej Pyetshak, the Rector of the State Higher School of Vocational Education in Leszno, Tomas Melepshyy, President of Leszno, Prof. Natalia Pobirchenko, the Rector of USPU. The traditional speech was delivered by Bogdan Walczak , the world famous Professor who showed the unity of Polish and Ukrainian peoples in language and culture.

The "Polish-Ukrainian Memories of the January Uprising" exhibition.
The "Polish-Ukrainian Memories of the January Uprising" exhibition and the books by the Uman and Leszno authors made a significant contribution to the understanding of the mutual history. The exhibition was opened by Prof. Alexander Mykolaychak, the Vice-Rector for Science and the State Higher School of Vocational Education in Leszno and Assoc. Ph.D Igor Kryvosheya, the Scientific Director of the Polish Cultural Center, the Head of Department of the world history and law of USPU. The archival documents, and maps presented at the 150th anniversary of the January Uprising demonstrated the influence of the creation of the Polish and Ukrainian identity.

Watching the documentary films about Uman and Sofiivka.
The documentary films about Uman and Sofiivka put the emphasis on Polish-Ukrainian cooperation showing the influence of the noble Polish Potocki family on the development of the Ukrainian city of Uman.

The Student Theatre.
A classic Ukrainian drama was the culmination of the eventful first day of the festival. The language barrier did not inhibit the understanding of funny and tragic episodes of the Uman student theater performances that showed some Ukrainian classical dramatic works, like "Chasing Two Hares" by Mykhailo Staritskiy and "Unlucky" by Ivan Karpenko-Kary. Not only the teachers and students but also the residents of Leszno were fascinated with the young Ukrainian actors.

The football match of the Polish and Ukrainian teams.
The second day of the Polish-Ukrainian dialogue began on the football field. It was the meeting of the guests and the hosts. There were both Polish as well as Ukrainian fans. And even the youngest fans from the kindergarten where the students of high school named after Comenius had their practice, shouted "Ukraine!" and "Poland!" They were dancing with the Ukrainian and Polish flags in their hands. The game was friendly, and despite the loss Ukrainian team (5:7) the atmosphere on the field was the one of partnership rather than rivalry.

The Kindergarten Concert.
The smallest participants of the festival from the same kindergarten joined the Polish-Ukrainian dialogue too. They presented a touching concert named "Sun from the country of the Smile." The audience was not indifferent either. The people sang with the young artists and even danced to the beat of the jolly tunes. No wonder there were many students from Uman. They are going to become the teachers of dancing soon.

Establishing the Polish-Ukrainian Dialogue Center.
The opening of the Polish-Ukrainian dialogue center was an important event organized by Dr. Bartholomey Shipinsky. The ribbon was solemnly cut by the Prof., Dr. Maciej Pyetshak, Rector of the State Higher School of Vocational Education in Leszno, Prof. Natalia Pobirchenko, the Rector of USPU and Tomas Melepshyy, the President of Leszno. Ukrainian guests presented the Ukrainian Center with the wood-carved coat of arms, the canvass of "Sofiivka" as a symbol of the city of Uman and the embroidery of the Ukrainian village house. All gifts were the works of University faculty and staff.

The "Polish-Ukrainian Dialogue” International Scientific Conference (dedicated to 150 years anniversary of the January Uprising).
The participants of the festival continued the Polish-Ukrainian dialogue in the conference hall with performances and presentations devoted to the mutual theme of “Polish-Ukrainian Dialogue” (dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the January Uprising). The following people participated in the dialogue: Professor Alexander Mykolaychak, the Vice-Rector for Science and Development ("Leszno and Uman - UNIVERSITAS beyond borders"), Prof. Natalia Pobirchenko, the Rector of USPU, corresponding member of NAPS of Ukraine ("Uman Basilian school in the cultural space of the Polish-Ukrainian borders"), Assoc., Ph.D. Igor Kryvosheya, the Scientific Director of the Polish Cultural Center, the Head of Department of the world history and law of USPU ("January Uprising in the Uman district"), Dr. Bartholomew Shipinskyy, the Head of the Centre of the Polish-Ukrainian Dialogue ("Polish-Ukrainian dialogue"), Dr. Evheniush Shlivinskyy ("Socio-political situation in Leszno during the January Uprising"), Head of the Kuzan Kateryna Polish Cultural and Educational Center ("Polish Cultural Centre in the dialogue of cultures").

"Gonta" Concert Trio.
Petro Voloshyn, Valentyn Kupchyk and Vasyl Semenchuk, the "Gonta" trio participants of "Soul of the Ukrainian people" concert showed the Ukrainian culture in depth. The program of vocal polyphony lasting for an hour and a half impressed everyone by deep intimate lyrics, and the Cossack songs. The mood of the students changed with mood of the music, but the high performance skills remained unchanged. The “Gonta” trio had enjoyed a great applause.

Signing the Declaration on the establishment of the League of Cities of Comenius.
City of Leszno is a kind of Mecca for educators from all over the world because it was the place where Jan Amos Comenius, the brilliant pedagogue, had been working almost all his life. Here he wrote his immortal works which were several centuries ahead of the ideas of that time, here he kept his dialogue with the future that continued to unite the European countries. Therefore signing of the Declaration on the establishment of the League of Cities Comenius was the major event of the festival. The league included 6 founder cities of Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic associated with the name of Comenius. The Declaration was signed by Galina Kucher, the Ukrainian deputy mayor of the city of Uman and Natalia Pobirchenko, the Rector of Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University. The League members are facing a series of challenging tasks connected with the construction of a united Europe the dream of Jan Amos Comenius.

"The Bridge of Friendship" final concert.
The participants of the "Bridge of Friendship" final concert were pursuing a common aim. The concert was attended by the "Dalibor" choir from the city of Svitavy (Czech Republic), the "Comenius" chorus from the city Leszno (Poland), the "Gonta"vocal trio, the "Yavoryna" and "Vis" student theater and dance groups from Uman (Ukraine). The sacred works and songs in Polish, Czech, Ukrainian, and English were performed on the stage. The dances from different times and peoples in the performance of both dance groups were welcomed by enthusiastic applause. The bridges of friendship were uniting the Polish, Czech and Ukrainian participants and spectators, claiming the necessity and importance of the "Dialogue of Cultures and Peoples" that takes place every year in different cities and different countries promoting the idea of ??peace and friendship.