In a rapidly shifting political landscape, how can think tanks continue to provide independent, evidence-based policy advice? What happens when international funding declines, domestic support remains uncertain, and democratic pressures intensify?
In this episode, we speak with Karolina Wigura, co-founder and board member of Kultura Liberalna, one of Poland’s leading think tanks. Drawing from over a decade of leadership, she reflects on the major transformations in the think tank ecosystem, the challenges of sustaining independent research, and the role of liberal thought in a country often associated with conservatism.
Karolina describes the origins of Kultura Liberalna: a tradition of “home seminars” which promote intellectual reflection and inter-generational progress. This origin is shared with the oldest think tank in existence (the Royal Society of Arts) and the earliest Latin American think tanks (Societies of Patriots set up at the end of the 1700s, before the independent process).
Join us as we explore the strategic choices, successes, and hard lessons from running a think tank in a changing Europe—unpacking what the future holds for these vital institutions.
This episode is part of a series, Think tanks in a changing Europe, supported by the Open Society Foundations. To listen to the whole series, visit: https://onthinktanks.org/podcast/
To know more about Kultura Liberalna and the information discussed during this podcast, please visit: https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2018/02/27/kuisz-wigura-wywiad-jerzy-jedlicki/
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Learn more: https://onthinktanks.org/podcast/
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On Think Tanks focuses on a range of issues of relevance and interest to think tanks as well as their staff and supporters. We hope that our initiatives and the articles and resources we publish will support think tanks to be more strategic in the ways they make short and long-term decisions; and that this will result in better policy advice and policy outcomes for all.
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