AIMS & ACTIVITY

The Polish Ethnological Society is a scientific society that has existed since 1895. It documents and broadens the knowledge on historic and contemporary world cultures including the folk, non elitist and popular culture forms. It widely popularizes the ideas of tolerance and intercultural education. Continuing the achievements of ethnologists, ethnographers and folklorists, the society broadens the knowledge of ethnology, culture and society anthropology.

The aim of the society is to form the conditions to cultivate anthropological interests among its members, to support the ethnology science development and to popularize the anthropological knowledge in the Polish society. The Polish Ethnological Society runs scientific research, arranges meetings, conferences, lectures, trainings and excursions. It gathers, keeps and renders available books, archives and databases on historic and contemporary forms of the Polish culture and on the folk culture in particular, on the cultures of other nations and ethnic groups as well as culture communities.

A very significant part of the society exercise is to run a broad publishing activity in the field of anthropology, ethnology and folklore. The society gathers experts who express their opinions on the subject of the condition and needs of the traditional and of contemporary national, folk, regional and popular culture. Moreover, the society works for the protection, preservation and revitalization of the cultural heritage including local traditions and cultural landscape. It popularizes the awareness of the duty of the protection and conservation of ethnographic monuments.

The Polish Ethnological Society cooperates with other associations, scientific institutions and organizations of the same or similar profile from the country and abroad. Among others, the society is part of The World Council of Anthropological Associations (WCAA).