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Description
The current social and political situation in Poland aggravates overstressing and speeds up burning-out of activists from minority organisations and those functioning in favour of human rights and the rights of the discriminated groups. The social polarisation and radicalism as well as progressive dismantling of human rights in Poland have an adverse impact on the overall social sector, in particular they weaken equality organisations and groups and organisations supporting discriminated groups. The project aims at strengthening the organisations and groups engaged in human rights and equality education issues Poland-wide as well as at the improvement of their capacities for long-term and efficient activities. The research on activists'' burn-out in equality activities is going to result in knowledge on the status and problems of this part of civic activities sector. Series of trainings, specialist and tailor-made organisation support tracks, webinars, on-line courses and workout for well-being coaches in equality organisations and publication promoting regenerating activism will be an enhancement, too. The project is going to be implemented by the RegenerAction Foundation in cooperation with Human Rights Academy / Menneskerettighets Akademiet from Oslo and with the domestic partners such as: Anti-Discrimination Education Society and Profound Democracy Foundation. While implementing the project, we will also cooperate with Development Walking in Forests and Ulex. By dint of the partners'' engagement, we are capable of disseminating the project onto a wider group of organisations and collective communities from Poland as well as to analyse Polish tools for equality education against the tools used by the Norwegian partner so as to make them more efficient and long-lasting.
Summary of project results
The project was implemented over three years, during which time a humanitarian crisis unfolded at the Polish-Belarusian border, Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Israel continued its bombardments in Gaza, and Poland was governed by the Law and Justice party. Representatives of this party systematically dismantled the democratic system. According to the propaganda of the ruling camp, non-governmental organizations, particularly those advocating for human rights, were often positioned as public enemies, accused of corrupting children, among other claims. Equality-focused organizations and groups were frequently subjected to surveillance and infiltration (e.g., illegal provocations by TVP journalists targeting an LGBT organization, or undercover "volunteers" spying on NGOs). Anti-discrimination activists fought to defend their reputations in court (e.g., a collective lawsuit against Kaja Godek for violation of personal rights and a defamation lawsuit against the Family of Families Association of Warsaw and Mazovia represented by Ordo Iuris). They faced smear campaigns, traumatization, and burnout in their daily work, often vehemently opposed by politicized media and state institutions. Therefore, preventing burnout and strengthening the equality-focused segment of the third sector became a critical need.
Equality organizations benefited from the project by enhancing their teams'' capacities to prevent burnout, building managerial skills for leaders, and improving soft skills and interpersonal abilities. Examples of beneficiary organizations included the Polish Migration Forum, Fundacja Ocalenie, Akcja Demokracja, the Polish Humanitarian Action, the Feminist Fund, and the Dziewczyny w Spektrum Foundation.
The project offered both individual support paths (advisory services, coaching, supervision, crisis support) and educational services and products (online courses, a trainer school, and a regeneration handbook). A key aspect of the project involved research on the trajectories of burnout and regeneration within equality activism in Poland.
The implementation of the project contributed to mainstreaming the strategic topic of burnout prevention in equality-focused organizations while strengthening their current crisis response capabilities. It is likely that the shift toward prioritizing team well-being—fostering resilience, stability, and cohesion—will be a lasting one. This is evidenced by the continued demand from organizations for education and burnout prevention, especially as new crises emerge both domestically and globally.
Summary of bilateral results
The extra point in the evaluation of the application for partnership with a partner from the Donor States allowed us to receive a grant - it was decisive in the ranking list of the competition. In the course of the project, it became clear that the partner did not have the kind of substantive competence that the leadership organization had hoped for, and the formal handling of the partner''s participation from a different formal, legal and cultural context consumed much of the coordination work on our side. The partnership was terminated during the course of the project.We were counting on fruitful substantive cooperation, mutual exchange of experience and an additional point for this type of partnership in the competition.The partnership helped to better understand the institutional and cultural differences between the systems in which NGOs operate in Poland and Norway. The experience from the partnership has allowed us to make more favorable decisions on engaging in international cooperation.We have no plans to continue cooperation with this partner. Instead, we would like to continue our efforts to work with an adequate partner from the Donor States.