The Small Steps Academy is a specialized aquatic rehabilitation center for children at the Children’s Memorial Health Institute (Instytut Pomnik-Centrum Zdrowia Dziecka), whose launch in January 2025 was made possible thanks to Sebastian Kulczyk’s direct involvement and financial support.
The project was implemented in response to the insufficient availability of professional pediatric hydrotherapy in Poland. For almost 40 years, the swimming pool at the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw has played a key role in the aquatic rehabilitation process for thousands of kids across the country. However, it required a thorough renovation and adaptation to implement modern medical procedures aimed at restoring mobility and improving quality of life for young patients.
At a cost of nearly PLN 40 million, at the initiative of Sebastian Kulczyk and with the support of the Pho3nix Foundation (PLN 21 million) and the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation (WOŚP) (PLN 8.3 million), the Small Steps Academy – an aquatic rehabilitation center – was established at the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw (PLN 7.8 million).
The facility covers nearly 1,300 m² on three floors. In addition to freshwater and saltwater pools and a dedicated gait analysis track, the complex is equipped with a dry pit for physiotherapists, allowing for the therapy to be performed in a comfortable environment. The entire infrastructure meets the most stringent requirements for people with disabilities.
The project was implemented in collaboration with a team of physiotherapists and pediatric rehabilitation specialists, who were responsible for developing a therapeutic model and class standards.
The heart of the Academy is a modern therapeutic pool with parameters adapted to work with children – with controlled water temperature promoting muscle relaxation and increased patient comfort. The space has been designed to ensure safety and limit excessive stimuli. The facility is equipped with advanced robots, measuring devices, and rehabilitation equipment which enables the development and implementation of the latest therapy methods: four water treadmills, four stationary pedal boats, a robotic gait training system, a robotic gait rehabilitation system, a robotic device moving on a ceiling rail with a rope and harness, and a camera system for underwater movement analysis.
Classes are conducted individually or in small groups. The therapy program is tailored to each child’s needs and includes work on movement patterns, muscle tone, core stability, and sensory integration. The center provides services for children with delayed psychomotor development, muscle tone
The Pho3nix Foundation is a social welfare organization created by Sebastian Kulczyk to help children around the world who are the most talented at sports and whose material situation is the main obstacle preventing them from pursuing their dreams and embarking on a championship career.
The Foundation provides comprehensive programs tailored to the individual needs of accomplished young sportspeople, giving them an equal chance and providing professional development. The programs are overseen by renowned specialists and champions, and members of the Pho3nix Team, world-class competitors in various disciplines. The Pho3nix Foundation also conducts a range of awareness-raising and community initiatives to promote physical exercise among children and young people. The Pho3nix Foundation is a non-profit venture and does not derive any financial gain at any stage of the careers of program participants.
Investigations is the first podcast reporter series in Poland. The producer is Piotr Nestorowicz, publisher of the journal Pismo and president of the Pismo Foundation, and Sebastian Kulczyk is the sponsor.
Season 1. Investigations is presented by one of Poland’s best press and book reporters, Mirosław Wlazły – over a series of six episodes, the series revisits a story covered in a reportage many years ago. Season 2. Presented by Barbara Sowa. Following the première, the podcasts are available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast and YouTube. Both seasons can also be listened to on our Content Hub.
The 1989 Museum is the first fully interactive museum in Poland. It was created by Leszek Balcerowicz’s Civil Development Forum, and is supported by Sebastian Kulczyk.
The 1989 Museum is an interactive platform that gives accounts of the reality of life during the time of the Polish People’s Republic and the events that made the Polish political and economic transformation possible from 1989 onwards. It examines the context of the strikes, the Round Table talks, the election on June 4, 1989, and the Balcerowicz plan.
It provides a tour through the rooms in the Sejm which were the scene of major historical events, such as the famous exposé of the first non-communist premier since the end of the Second World War – Tadeusz Mazowiecki. Upon entering the virtual exhibition, created with school children and teachers in mind, we can look around and see on the street a Citizens’ Militia minivan, Security Agency officers, and the gate at the Gdańsk Shipyard. We can visit a typical communist era flat, look at newspapers of the time full of communist propaganda, and listen to Radio Free Europe; on the table there are ration cards, a single lemon, miraculously obtained toilet paper, a petrol can, and other items that symbolized the grim reality. There is an extensive explanation of the historical context and documentation from the archives to go with each exhibit at the museum.
The Report from the Future is a current affairs audio presentation produced by the Dariusz Rosiak Report on the State of the World team on how the world is changing.
We live in a time of constant progress – we are increasing in number and living longer, and have an increasing number of options. Innovation driven by the force of academia and technology is permeating all aspects of people’s lives – from the most prosaic, such as food or work, through the most fundamental, such as death, to the most intimate, such as motherhood, changing the definition of objects and trends on which reality is built. In the forthcoming episodes of Report from the Future, we will look at those changes, and ask who we were, who we are, and who will we become.
The consultancy firm INSPIRED and Sebastian Kulczyk’s InCredibles conducted pioneering research into sustainable development of IT firms in Poland.
According to the produced report, the measures taken by most Polish IT firms in this regard which are not systematic and may be a breach of laws and community rules. Polish tech companies do not examine their carbon footprint, and most transfer data to third parties without user consent and have not implemented any corruption prevention measures. Evidently, the Polish IT sector is facing a severe challenge, especially as it constitutes 7.6% of the EU market, and Poland is in fifth place among EU countries in terms of the number of registered ICT firms, and seventh in terms of the rate of growth.
No XXI century event to date has defined this century as much as the Coronavirus.
On 5 May, 202, a series of 21 articles began in which, together with the editorial team at NaTemat.pl, we looked at what the world, Poland, and our reality will be like “after the Coronavirus”.
In the zRÓWNOważeni campaign, we will report, working with the naTemat editorial team over a period of twelve months, on the approaches that companies take to sustainable development and corporate responsibility issues.
We live in a time in which we demand more on many levels, in the same way as more is demanded of us. Businesses or large corporations are also frequently scrutinized. In this regard, particular attention needs to be paid to tech companies that have an unprecedented impact on our lives and whose reach encompasses the entire world.
Sebastian Kulczyk is the main partner in Paszporty POLITYKI – one of the most prestigious cultural awards in Poland, and sponsor of the Remote Culture award, existing since 2020.
The award is given for activity that was particularly effective in bringing performers and their public together during the pandemic, in an instant reaction transferring activities to the Internet. Paszporty POLITYKI is one of the longest-running cultural awards in Poland, and thus equally maps free culture following the transformation in Poland. An award which is a guide as to how Polish art is developing, the challenges it has set itself, and how it responds to the changing reality.
Grand Press is the biggest journalism competition in Poland.
It is organized by the journal Press and the Grand Press Foundation. There are two main parts to the competition: a contest in the Grand Press subject categories, and Journalist of the Year. The competition is sponsored by Kulczyk Investments.
The Contract Open Bank is a collection of documents open to all startups, accelerators, and investors active on the Polish market.
The aim of the project is to formulate transparent and coherent standards on the investment market. The project was launched by the foundation Startup Poland in cooperation with Sebastian Kulczyk, who was the first to provide templates for three documents: term sheet, convertible loan agreement, and grant agreement. They were devised in cooperation with experts at the law firm Snażyk Granicki and Kulczyk Investments.
Most of all, the templates in the Contract Open Bank are intended to serve a useful purpose. The first three served as a legal basis for startups that took part in the InCredibles program. Sebastian Kulczyk decided to make them available to anyone interested: – Investment does not mean merely paying out money. It also entails sharing knowledge, know-how, and contacts. In fact, that is how the best operate, and that is why, for most investment agreements in the Silicon Valley, there are uniform templates available for all. Why should it be different in Poland?