On the occasion of World Consumer Day, the Congress of the Consumer Forum "(Un)conscious Consumer 2024" was held yesterday. It was an extraordinary opportunity to discuss the rights of consumers, but also their ability to influence the market.
Opening the event, Agnieszka Plencler, President of the Consumer Forum, in her speech referred to our slogan: Consumer Power. Dialogue. Determination. Decisions. She also spoke about the challenges and vision of building a community of consumers who are not indifferent to how they live or to whom they leave their money. A community that fights with determination for a better quality of products and services. And above all, for a better quality of life. It wants to create a team of consumer brands that take the consumer seriously and understand that it is the consumer who decides which brands thrive and which go away.
During the opening of the Congress, we were pleased to present the message:
- MEP Rosa Thun, who talked about consumers in a European perspective;
- Stefan Hall - representing Consumers International, who reminded about the rights and opportunities of consumers and the challenges of developing artificial intelligence;
- Magdalena Sobkowiak - Undersecretary of State for European Affairs at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, who announced Poland's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2025 and related opportunities to strengthen consumer rights;
- Jan Strzek - Head of the Political Cabinet of the Minister of Development, who mentioned the activities of the Ministry of Development and Technology and its openness to dialogue on issues directly affecting consumers;
- Piotr Zakrzewski of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, who pointed out how big a role consumers have to play in the context of intellectual property protection.
Next, Prof. Dominika Maison of Maison & Partners presented the Consumer Knowledge Index (objective knowledge), which is 4.4 (scale of 0-8). In her presentation "Myths about consumer awareness and knowledge, or why declarations often do not coincide with behavior?" she presented 9 myths about selected areas of consumer awareness.
There were also 3 substantive debates, during which participants discussed:
1. the level of consumer awareness in Poland and the quality of consumer protection - Prof. Dr. Jolanta Tkaczyk - Kozminski University, Dr. Bohdan Pretkiel - Financial Ombudsman, Grzegorz Miś - expert of the Aquila Consumer Protection Association, Piotr Galązka - expert of the Team Europe Direct network, representative of the European Commission Representation in Poland, and Lukasz Wroński - Director of the Department for the Protection of Collective Consumer Interests of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
2. consumer-directed communication - Piotr Kwiecień - Director General of the Union of Associations Advertising Council, Malgorzata Rothert - Municipal Ombudsman for Consumer Protection in Warsaw, Aleksandra Lau-Wyzinska - PR Manager of the Polish Cosmetics Industry Association, Zuzanna Warowna-Toruinska - Arbiter of the Advertising Ethics Commission, Katarzyna Ciechanowska-Ciosk - Product Director of Amazon and Zbigniew Badziak Business - 38 Content Communication.
3. consumer of the future - Prof. Dr. Jolanta Tkaczyk - Kozminski University, Anna Kozera-Szałkowska - Managing Director of the PlasticsEurope Poland Foundation, Darek Maciołek - CMO of BNP Paribas Bank Poland, Member of the Board of the Polish Organization of Advertisers, Joanna Karwowska-Koza - Strategy & Growth Director at Publicis Worldwide Poland and Maciej Ptaszyński - President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce.
Sebastian Stodolak of the Warsaw Enterprise Institute in his speech "Who are the bosses of capitalists?" presented the role of the consumer and his freedom of choice in the development of the economy.
Agnieszka Wachnicka - Vice President of the Polish Bank Association and editor Malwina Wrotniak in firechat presented legal regulations in the financial sector. The congress was hosted by the irreplaceable Monika Richardson.
PS Remember that we are all consumers/consumers, and our wallet is our voice.
Photos: Malgorzata Jasinska, Photographer
