Venue:

Białystok, with a population of almost 300 thousand, is a city located in north-eastern Poland, It is the main industrial centre of north-eastern Poland and an important academic city. The city has been a melting pot of diverse nations (Poles, Byelorussians, Jews, Lithuanians, Germans, Russians and Tartars), cultures and traditions, and it was in Bialystok that the artificial language of Esperanto emerged.

Białystok is surrounded by many national and landscape parks:

The Białowieża National Park http://bpn.com.pl

The Narew National Park http://www.npn.pl

The Biebrza National Park http://www.biebrza.org.pl
The Knyszyn Forest Landscape Park http://www.pkpk.wrotapodlasia.pl

Climate:

Białystok has a warm summer continental climate characterized by warm temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. The region is one of the coldest in Poland. Temperature in September is hard to predict. Sunny weather causes highs of between 18oC and 22oC, although the evenings may be quite chilly at around 8-12oC. The beginning of September is usually sunny, but light and moderate rains are not especially rare at that time.

Currency:

The Polish Zloty (Zlotys) is the currency in Poland. The symbol for PLN can be written zl. The Polish Zloty is divided into 100 groszy. At the moment the PLN exchange rate is: 100 zl = ca. 33 USD or 24 Euro. You can see the exchange rates for Your currency using currency convertor (coinmill.com/PLN_calculator.html)

Electricity:

Electricity in Poland is 230V, 50Hz AC. Plug sockets are round with two round-pin sockets. Therefore if you are coming from the US, UK or Ireland you are definitely going to need a plug converter.

Food:

Both traditional Polish dishes as well as dishes known from other countries will be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner during the symposium. All meals will be served at the conference sites.

Those of you that would like to know more on Polish cuisine may find some useful information in:

http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Poland.html

Visa requirements:

Since December 21, 2007, Poland is part of the Schengen Area, a zone without controls on internal borders which comprises of 28 countries. The unified Schengen visa (C-type visa valid in Schengen states) entitles the holder to stay in the territory of all Schengen states.

You can find a list of countries, which citizens are not required to be in possession of a visa when entering Poland for less than 90 days in:

http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/travel_to_poland/entering_poland/visa_free/visa_free_countries