The Photonics Society of Poland has been launched, having held its inaugural symposium on 31 May at Warsaw University of Technology, according to the society’s president, Tomasz R. Wolinski, who is on the university’s physics faculty.The symposium included plenary invited talks, a poster session and a reception in the university’s Hall of the Faculty of Physics.Many of the society’s founders were leaders in SPIE’s Poland chapter, which was launched in 1988. SPIE has been transitioning its regional chapter program over the past few years, enabling the networks and activities established by the regional chapters to develop more effective locally based organizations while maintaining close connections with SPIE. Eugene Arthurs, CEO of SPIE, said that the relationship between SPIE and its friends and colleagues in Poland has many dimensions that extend beyond standard business interactions. With 215 members as of February 2008, the Photonics Society of Poland is the largest optics-optoelectronics-photonics organization in Poland. It has begun integrating activities with the Committee of Electronics and Telecommunication of the Polish Academy of Sciences and with the Committee of Optoelectronics of the Society of Polish Electrical Engineers.