COUNTYWIDE : Women Voters to Host Polish Leaders

The Orange County League of Women voters will host two of a group of 20 women leaders from Poland selected to visit the United States.

Alicja Kedzia, vice president of the local Parliament in the district of Kalisz, and Zofia Rummel-Syska, a council chair of the Legal Commission of Warsaw, will stay in private homes and meet with elected officials and political groups during their stay from Saturday through June 13.

The North Orange County chapter of the league applied for the grant to host the women because of its role in the democratic process and interest in Poland, which is undergoing structural change in its political and social systems, said project coordinator Connie Haddad. It is one of 10 chapters in the country selected to host the women.

“The League of Women Voters has a great interest in government and the democratic process, and here we have women who want to learn about our system,” Haddad said.

Their visit, timed to coincide with the election season, will also include a number of visits to city councils and candidates meetings.

The women, who have been identified in their country as “emerging leaders,” will also observe schools, tutorial programs and classes in English as a second language.

“It’s going to be fascinating,” Haddad said. “They have a real void in civic organizations and grass-roots organizations because everything was so centrally controlled. They have to move to a participatory government, and that’s what the League is involved in.”

Through the project “Building Political Participation in Poland,” the women will exchange ideas with their American counterparts.

The goal of the project is to help the Polish people learn the benefits of organized groups and show them how to get their ideas incorporated into the policy agenda, Haddad said.

Haddad has set up meetings with women’s groups and with local leaders including Jean Forbath, founder of Share Our Selves, and former county planning commissioner Shirley L. Grindle, to talk about political activism.

The women will also visit political candidates on the eve of the primary election.

Kedzia owns her own language service and runs a program for poor children.

She said in her application for the trip that she would like to understand the role in a democratic system of working women who are wives and mothers, Haddad said.