In November of 2005, a select group of Network 20/20 members traveled to Poland for 10 days of intensive discussions with senior government officials, journalists, business leaders, academics, and other influential Polish authorities. As has been the case with other field visits, members with local roots arranged for the delegation to meet with a wide variety of leaders not otherwise accessible to groups like Network 20/20.

Members were eager to visit Poland for several reasons, one of which being that according to a recent poll, Poland is one of the only four nations whose population almost entirely expressed favorable feelings towards the United States. Moreover, Poland, with its 40 million people, was seeing a growing economy and its development into a power house of Central Europe and a political and economic force in the European Union.

Network 20/20's visit to Poland occurred at a critical moment in the country's political history, as parliamentary and presidential elections were both scheduled that fall. Our delegation’s discoveries are summarized in our report, Poland Beyond Solidarity: Defining New Priorities for Polish Domestic and Foreign Policy, which has been well-received by policy makers in the United States.