https://www.facebook.com/sundayassemblyedinburgh Slides I showed with my talk and links http://www.richardlucas.com/2014/05/krakows-wojtek-the-soldier-bear-statue-the-road-to-the-unveiling A life well lived | Wojciech Narębski | TEDxKazimierz https://youtu.be/WR2kKw3kQEA https://www.facebook.com/groups/wojtekthesoldierbear http://www.richardlucas.com/?s=Wojtek https://projectkazimierz.com/wojciech-narebski-wojciech-bear-episode-4/

1. Wojtek - the Soldier Bear

2. Wojtek – niedźwiedź-żołnierz
Wojtek the Soldier Bear
The story ( it’s two stories)
What I did/Why it worked
What you can learn from this story
Richard Lucas
Richardlucas@richardlucas.com
Kraków,
March 2021

3. Two stories: Wojtek was..
A beer drinking, cigarette eating, artillery
shell carrying bear that slept in a tent, and
fought the Nazis, adopted in Iran, travelled
with the Polish army, ended up in
Edinburgh Zoo
and…
a gateway to remembering a
forgotten nightmare

6. Wojtek - the Soldier Bear

7. What I did/and discovered
Why not?
What I discovered
Statues are hard and expensive
Events are easy and cheap
People really cared, attractive vague symbol. Loose
hand.Patient, Celebrities. Trial and error, Luck. Not
being in the spotlight

10. What I did
Spread the word
Nudged things along
Helped where I could

11. Values and priorities
Not nationalist- Wojtek – symbol of freedom and
international co-operation
Have an impact
Focus on the documenting the history
Bringing people together

12. Approach
Loose hand/ Global brand for decentralized
initiatives/Let other’s take the lead
Patient/Be Opportunistic/Media/Celebrities
Trial and error./Luck./Not being in the spotlight/No
one owns Wojtek
Low/No Cost

20. Lessons to learn
Think „Why not” and say „yes”
Talk to strangers, people in your network
Get the word out
Be flexible
Know your purpose & limits

21. Wojtek - the Soldier Bear