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The Polish National Commission for UNESCO, ASPnet Poland and the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation, in cooperation with the ASPnet International Coordination Unit would like to express their sincere thanks to all member schools around the world who organized “Gift a Poem” campaign as a form of commemoration of World Poetry Day on 21 March 2026.
This was the fourth time the event had taken place. We are delighted to present national reports often well illustrated on the « Gift a Poem » campaign held this year.
We are pleased that the Czech Republic and South Korea have joined the countries that have been taking part in this initiative since 2023, and that ASPnet schools in as many as 37 countries on fourth continents have now become familiar with our wonderful campaign (see the map).
We believe that the act of offering someone words of poetry is a thoroughly human one: a form of friendly co-presence, spiritual support, of consolation as well as a means of sustaining hope and building peace. That is why we encourage students to participate in this initiative, to find someone and gift that person a poem. Not only to people in their closest circle (family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances), but also in places where a good word is so often needed – in nursing homes, retirement homes, orphanages, community centers, homeless shelters and hospitals.
As an inspiration for this year’s Gift a Poem campaign we offered Adam Zagajewski’s poem “Try to Praise the Mutilated World.” Mr. Zagajewski was a wonderful Polish poet, a friend of Zbigniew Herbert and a member of the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation Board. He passed away on World Poetry Day, March 21st 2021. This poem has served its purpose in many schools, touching people deeply and prompting reflection.
This year, we received reports from 83 schools that took part in the campaign across 14 countries. We invite you to read the country reports, as well as the school reports, which are truly inspiring; they show just what a precious gift a kind word can be.
Moreover, this year, at the invitation of the Polish ASPnet, member schools from 12 countries took part in the first project carried out jointly on the European eTwinning platform. In its search for new forms of communication and collaboration, the Polish ASPnet has proposed using this tool to increase and facilitate collaboration between ASPnet member schools. These countries are : Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Sultanate of Oman, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, UK, Uzbekistan.
One of the tasks of the ‘Words of the World – UNESCO’ project was to run a ‘Gift a Poem’ campaign. It was a wonderful event for the school communities and further promoted the campaign’s message.