On Thursday, 8 February 2024, a ceremony was held to present youth initiatives carried out as part of the “Relay of Intercultural Good Relations” project in three Wrocław secondary schools: General Secondary School No. I, General Secondary School No. IV and School Complex No. 1. Students from three more schools were nominated to take part in the project.
The “Relay of Intercultural Good Relations” project, coordinated by the WCRS Wrocław Educational Concept (WKE) Team, aims to support intercultural integration and to build and develop positive, friendly bonds in the school environment.
Katarzyna Zawadzka, WKE project coordinator, who welcomed the participants, stressed how important it is to involve students and strengthen their social engagement. She also briefly summarised participation in the project to date: as many as 15 Wrocław secondary schools joined it in the last school year.
There is no one among us who has relatives in only one city or region. If we did genetic testing, it would turn out that each of us has ancestors from other countries and cultures. That is why it is so heartening to see creative student initiatives that show that cooperation between people from different cultures is possible. – this thought was shared by Manuela Pliżga, the originator of the “Relay” project, a mediator and intercultural educator.
Marta Majchrzak, WCRS Deputy Director for Cross-Sectoral Projects, stressed that the difficult times of the pandemic and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine were overcome thanks to solidarity, mutual care and kindness. She also invited the young people to share their ideas directly and to say what is needed to build positive and joyful relationships at school.
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.- referring to this quote from Albert Einstein, Maria Adamiec encouraged the students to be flexible and attentive towards the world around them and other people. She also invited them to play the Multicultural Game at Przejście Dialogu (Passage of Dialogue) and to take part in other WCRS activities.
A recipe for good intercultural relations
The second part of the meeting featured presentations by students reporting on their schools’ participation in the “Relay”. Each school carried out diverse and inspiring projects involving the entire school community.
Students of the Danuta Siedzikówna “Inka” General Secondary School No. I in Wrocław talked about the “Positive Attention” initiative, which encourages teachers to listen actively and give positive feedback and praise. Students of School No. I developed their intercultural competences (at the “My.Wy.Oni” workshop run by Fundacja EkoCentrum), visited the exhibition “Pełno ich nigdzie. Przywracanie pamięci o polskich Żydach w przestrzeni miejskiej” (on restoring the memory of Polish Jews in urban space) and took part in other initiatives.
As their participation in the Relay coincided with the Christmas season, students of the Stefan Żeromski General Secondary School No. IV organised concerts and carol singing in as many as four languages used every day at the school. They invited not only students and teachers, but also parents and the Przedmieście Oławskie community to join in. Other intercultural initiatives included a walk and workshop in the District of Mutual Respect and a multicultural edition of the quiz “Jeden z dziesięciu”. Students of School No. IV also run the Instagram account Multikulti.pl.
Students of School Complex No. 1 showed their participation in the Relay “from the kitchen” – quite literally. Their interactive presentation was based on a cooking theme: together they prepared a “recipe” for successful intercultural relations, and copies of it were given to the nominated schools. The students regard as their success a mini-grant from Fundacja WrOpenUp, which made three activities possible: drawing up a school map for new students (in 4 languages), furnishing an “intercultural meeting corner” and preparing the play “(Nie)bliska historia” (“A (Not So) Distant Story”) about the experiences of students who left Ukraine because of the war. The students focused on involving first-year classes and students who speak other languages in school life – among other things, they organised an inter-class football tournament and an integration meeting for students of Ukrainian and other origins.
The “Relay” baton passed on
In the final part of the event, the “Relay” batons were passed on to the next schools. The following schools were nominated to take part in the project: General Secondary School No. XIV named after the Polish Community in Belgium, the Juliusz Słowacki General Secondary School No. IX and School Complex No. 18. Students and teachers took up the challenge and sealed it by signing a declaration of participation. The next stage of the Relay will last three months, and we will meet to sum it up at the end of May.
Warm congratulations to the students and teachers on their successful projects, and good luck to the nominees!
About the “Relay of Intercultural Good Relations” project
The project is coordinated by the Wrocław Centre for Social Development – Wrocław Educational Concept Team, in cooperation with the Intercultural Dialogue Team. The project aims to strengthen students’ social engagement, support intercultural integration and build and develop positive, friendly bonds in the school environment.
More information at: https://wke.wcrs.wroclaw.pl/2024/01/24/sztafeta-miedzykulturowych-dobrych-relacji-2023-2024/
