Ireland would by now have its own Polish television station if Sławek Kazek and his tech-minded friends had their way. However, Ireland’s broadcasting rules are archaic, so the Midlands Polish Community group set up the next best thing – a dedicated YouTube Channel for Polish people living in the heart of Ireland.
The Athlone-based community group for Polish people has fully embraced new technology to reach their fellow countrymen in the Midlands and beyond.
The Midlands Polish Community CLG was established in 2018 by a small group of volunteers. In 2020, with the country in lockdown, the group set up its own YouTube channel, MPC-TV, to help keep Polish people informed. The group’s president Slawek Kazek said the channel is “working very well” with many of their events now live-streamed.
“In 2020, we had an informational project for Polish migrants. We invited experts, Polish people who are living in Ireland, for example: a nurse, a Polish GP, a guy from SIPTU, a Polish accountant, a Polish lawyer. We recorded I think 10 episodes of the programme.”
• Members of the Midlands Polish Community Youtube channel subgroup. The group’s president Slawek Kazek who spoke to Changing Ireland for this story is pictured in the centre (smiling/wearing a scarf).
The group reached out to a television company in Poland for tech advice and have benefited from the assistance of volunteers with experience in the industry.
Over Christmas the group reached out to the volunteering centres in the Midlands.
“We got replies from four different volunteer centres. A guy who worked professionally in TV in Brazil, and is now living in Dublin, drove to Athlone to help us to do a livestream from the Christmas market in Athlone.
In January, two Polish actors travelled to Athlone for a charity fundraiser, which was also livestreamed on the Youtube channel.
Slawek said, “Our video editor, who has her own video creation business, is from Limerick. We use her skills if we need to. I’m really passionate about it; it’s a fantastic opportunity.
“Maybe it’s niche, but there’s so much happening in the Polish community and you know, RTÉ won’t travel from Dublin to Athlone to do a production on the panto or whatever.”
Ultimately, Slawek would like to set up a community TV channel, but the regulations are a hurdle.
“I looked into the rules on how to set up a properly licensed community TV station in Ireland. Don’t go there, basically! The BAI – the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland – is a dinosaur. The regulations are out of the 1950s. So that’s why everyone is on YouTube. But who knows what’s going to be in the future?” he said.
• The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland as Slawek Kazek sees it – a dinosaur like the ones in Tayto Park. It needs to modernise.
As well as operating their Youtube channel, the Midlands Polish Community organises various events and fundraisers throughout the year.
“We exist because we believe integration is crucial in modern Irish diversified communities,” said Slawek.
“We have our registered office and a drop-in centre on the outskirts of Athlone. We operate in the major towns in the Midlands – Athlone, Mullingar and Longford – all the projects are really happening in those locations.”
• Polish Independence Day celebrations with the Midlands Polish Community group.
“The integration is twofold; it’s integration of Polish people who are scattered in rural Ireland between different localities. It’s not like in Limerick, Cork or Dublin where you have thousands of Polish migrants living in one place.
“Our aim is to integrate Polish people, and have integration with organisations in the community. We are trying to organise different events so people can exchange thoughts, culture, create some emotions, etc.”
• The Midlands Polish Community won a special community award for participation in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2022 in Athlone.
The group’s website features content in both Polish and English, encouraging integration.
The Midlands Polish Community sometimes joins forces with groups of ex-pats from other parts of the world. Last year, a darts tournament was held with the Longford African Community, and a group of Brazilian nationals living in the region.
The organisation also holds events to celebrate important dates on the calendar such as Polish Independence Day on November 11.
Slawek concluded: “We organise Children’s Day in Drum Community Centre every year, Women’s Day in March – it’s not as popular in Ireland, but in Central Europe and Eastern Europe it is quite popular.
“It’s important, because there are certain dates that are very familiar to the migrants from Poland that are not maybe celebrated in Ireland as much. Our events are open for everyone. We are well known in this region and what we have actually noticed is that more and more Irish people are getting to know us and our work as well.”
YouTube: youtube.com/c/midlandspolishcommunity
