Promoting a positive view of cultural diversity in Poland

The European population is more fluid than ever before, a context in which openness to cultural change is a real asset, both economically and socially. Marek Szopski of the Multi-Culti project, explains how his initiative aims to help prepare Poland for the challenges of the 21st century.

Located at the very heart of Europe, Poland has been exposed to a wide range of cultural influences over its long and tumultuous history. The country shares its borders with seven other nations, all of which have left their mark over the centuries and made their own contribution to a rich cultural legacy.

This has all contributed to the development of a complex national psyche, and although the events of the 20th century had a homogenising effect on Polish society, Marek Szopski of the Multi-Culti project is in no doubt that the challenges of the 21st demand a real openness to social and cultural change. “The main objective of Multi-Culti is to raise awareness of those other ethnic, cultural and religious groups that are becoming more and more a part of life in Poland,” he says. “We aim to prepare the general public to accept and understand this new environment, work which takes a number of forms. We provide training, and also raise awareness of our work by publishing it, translating it and maintaining a presence in the public eye. This is crucially important in terms of preparing the Polish public for the multi-cultural nature of the modern world.”

In this respect Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004 represented an important step in terms of developing trade links and encouraging freedom of movement. However, despite this wider process of trans-nationalisation, pockets of resentment and near-xenophobia – as in many European countries – remain. “In some respects you will find examples of discrimination or unfair treatment,” admits Szopski, highlighting Roma, Ukrainian, German, Belorussian and Lithuanian minorities in Poland.

“We aim to bring established best practices from the rest of the continent, inform the public of them, and create a critical mass to change the general point of view, a process which is already in train,” he says. “We think that educational activities, training and publications – more at the popular than purely academic level – should be the priority.”

Contact the MULTI-CULTI partnership at contact@multi-culti.pl

Published: Monday, 9th November 2009