One often hears the opinion that Poles cannot work together, and this to a large extent relates to organizations run by the Poles abroad. People point to negative characteristics, specific – so the story goes – to our nation due to historical and cultural reasons, like envy, jealousy or difficulty with accepting someone else’s success. In contrast, organizations run by the Poles from as many as nine European countries work in concert, shoulder-to-shoulder implementing joint ventures. They are united by common, often negative experiences of being minorities in their countries of residence, as well as by the opportunities for cooperation stemming from EU funded programmes. So – yes, we can!
Implementation of the project „Multiplying by Sharing – Education for Integration” (EDI), co-financed by the European Union within the Lifelong Learning Programme – LLP (Grundtvig Learning Partnerships) started on the 1st of August. Because ignorance results in intolerance, this two-year project aims to develop the activity of partner organisations in the field of informal adult education for the benefit of European integration at the local level. Eliminating negative attitudes and behaviors towards all sorts of minorities and disadvantaged groups, fighting against xenophobia, breaking down stereotypes and prejudice and promoting behavior based on understanding, accepting and respecting differences, are all lead topics of the project. It is worth noting that this is probably the biggest project currently being implemented in Europe in the framework of the LLP. It unites Polish organisations from 9 countries of the European Union: the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Sweden and Poland. The idea to prepare a joint project for the pan-European competition was born last year in Sandomierz during training entitled “Managing EU Projects”, when the prospective project partners had the opportunity to get to know and like each other, break the stereotype of the selfish Pole, and to start EDI, at that time still informally. Workshops were co-financed from funds for cooperation with the Polish community and Poles abroad administered by the Association “Wspólnota Polska”. The EDI project, as well as one other, implemented within the LLP by the workshop participants from Sandomierz, is thus the fruit and an example of effective use of these funds (both projects involve a total of 16 organisations).
The objectives of the project “Multiplying by Sharing – Education for Integration” will be achieved through sharing partners’ own experiences and best practices, cooperating in the creation of new solutions and integrating them into their own educational practice, and hence multiplying the benefits. This will be facilitated by multilateral visits to partners for conferences, seminars, workshops and discussions, joint development and participating in educational and team building events, as well as cooperation with local communities, authorities and the media.
The first meeting of the partners (so-called “mobility”) was held in Suwalki at the beginning of October and was hosted by the coordinating organisation, the Association “Integracja”. Another “mobility” of the partner organisations will take place in mid-November in Germany, in Cologne, and its organizer will be the Association “Polish Women in the Economy and in Culture”. The main event of the meeting will be a Conference “imPuLses-Polish-Entrepreneurial-European woman”. By July 2015 the project’s NGO partners will have visited all their countries of origin. This will allow them to explore the different means used to educate for the integration of national and ethnic minorities, as well as to experience multicultural Europe, which should result in further and more enhanced future cooperation . Lasting evidence of this activity will be exhibitions of films and photography, as well as the regular publication “Lessons from Integration”, currently being developed.
The EDI project has an open formula and will continue – other organisations interested in developing their activity with support from external funding can join the partnership. Further joint projects are already being planned within the framework of new funds available in the successor of the LLP, which in the years 2014-2020 will be called ERASMUS+.
Information on project activity can be found on the EDI Facebook page, project blog „Lessons from Integration” as well as on the websites of partner organisations.
Members of the partnership:
- Stowarzyszenie „Integracja” w Suwałkach (Association „Integracja” in Suwalki) – Poland;
- Stichting Euro Polonia (Foundation Euro Polonia) – Netherlands;
- Polnische Frauen in Wirtschaft und Kultur e.V. (Association of Polish women in the economy and culture) – Germany;
- Místní skupina Polského kulturně-osvětového svazu v Jablunkově (Local Branch of the Polish cultural and educational Society in Jablunkov) – Czech Republic;
- Polska Riksförbundet i Sverige (Association of Polish Organisations in Sweden) – Sweden;
- Enosi ton Polonon stin Ellada – Prigkipas Mieszko (Association of Poles in Greece „Książę Mieszko”) – Greece;
- Biedrība “Rodacy” (Association „Rodacy”) – Latvia;
- Viešoji įstaiga Vilniaus trečiojo amžiaus universitetas (University of the third age in Vilnius) – Lithuania;
- Florek&Entertainment (Association Florek&Entertainment) – France.
