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Description
This project addresses the problem of stereotypes and prejudice towards the Ukrainian minority in the Piaseczno district. Between 10 and 20 thousand people from Ukraine live in the district. Unfortunately, Polish-Ukrainian relations are limited to contact at work, and are not without prejudice. There is a very powerful stereotype of a “cheap labor” from Ukraine, while many people are employed in the service industry, construction, agriculture, or cleaning, often in a post not suited to their qualifications. Xenophobic attitudes and stigmatizing language, and workplace abuses towards people from Ukraine are common. More than one quarter of people from Ukraine have experienced prejudice and aggression from their Polish neighbors. The Project Promoter will prepare a series of cultural measures and conduct a public campaign to help forge inter-cultural relationships, change the way the Ukrainian community is perceived, and improve the well-being of people from Ukraine who live in Piaseczno and the surrounding areas. The cultural events will include 2 film screenings, an exhibition of works of Ukrainian artists, a concert, workshops on cuisine, and 2literary meetings. The public campaign will include 8 interviews with Ukrainians living in Piaseczno and with experts from CSOs. There will also be a debate on measures to counteract hate speech and xenophobia, attended by local government authorities, the police, and local media. The project will be useful to the Polish community and Ukrainian community in the Piaseczno district (several thousand people). Knowledge of Ukrainian culture and the everyday life and problems faced by people from Ukraine in Poland will make the attitudes of Poles more open and empathic. This will be an opportunity to improve the situation of Ukrainians living in the Piaseczno district. The Piaseczno public library will be a partner in the project. In 2021, the public library organized a Ukraine month, featuring literature from the country.
Summary of project results
The project addresses the problem of stereotypes and prejudice against the Ukrainian minority in the Piaseczno district. Until recently, there were several thousand people of Ukrainian origin living in the district. The growing conflict in Ukraine and the outbreak of war in February 2022 have significantly changed these numbers. Up to 30,000 Ukrainians, mainly women and children, may have arrived in Piaseczno. For a long time, Polish-Ukrainian relations were limited to work contacts and were not free from prejudice. In fact, there is still a strong stereotype of a ''cheap worker'' from Ukraine. After all, there are still many people working in services, construction, agriculture or cleaning, often below their qualifications. Meanwhile, xenophobic attitudes, stigmatising language and workplace abuses against people from Ukraine are common. . Statistics show that before the outbreak of the war more than a quarter of Ukrainians experienced prejudice and aggression from their Polish neighbours.
The project promoter prepared a series of cultural activities and conducted a social campaign for foster intercultural exchange, changing perceptions of the Ukrainian community and improving the well-being of people from Ukraine living in Piaseczno and the surrounding area. There were two film screenings, two vernissages and an outdoor exhibition of works by Ukrainian artists, a concert on Midsummer Night, cooking workshops and two literary meetings. The social campaign included a series of podcasts - interviews with Ukrainians living in Piaseczno and experts from NGOs, as well as a local public debate on the situation of migrants, especially Ukrainian refugees in Poland, with the participation of people working in local government and local media.
The project benefited primarily the Polish community and the Ukrainian community in the Piaseczno district. Familiarity with Ukrainian culture, everyday life and the difficulties faced by Ukrainian people in Poland was a step towards foster intercultural exchange, a change in the attitudes of Poles to be more open and empathetic, and an improvement in the situation of Ukrainians living in Piaseczyn district. Unfortunately, the implementation of the project coincided with the beginning of the war in Ukraine. It was a time when the local community focused on meeting basic needs and ensuring the safety of those fleeing the war.