News from Poland

On 18th of December 2009 we took part in the Christmas meeting organized by the Socio - Cultural German Association in Wrocław (Niemieckie Towarzystwo Kulturalno - Społeczne we Wrocławiu).

It was a unique opportunity to get to know the German Christmas tradition.

Apart from the German minority members there were other guests: Mr. Bernhard Brasack - General Consul of German Republic in Wrocław, Mr. Dariusz Tokarz - the representant from the Marshal's Office responsible for national and etnic minorities and Mrs. Dorota Kozak-Rybska - the representant from the City Hall.

The meeting was host by Mrs. Renate Zajaczkowska beeing at the same time the president of the Socio - Cultural German Association in Wrocław.

During the meeting we could admire musicians playing and choir singing. We also sang German and Polish Carols, tasted gingerbread cookies and watched a Christmas play "Jasełka" done by the youth group of German minority members.

We spent there a great time and met a wonderful people.

Sylwia

The third meeting in Poland

The third project meeting took place in Poland on the 2nd -4th of July 2009.
The activities started with a visit to the renaissance castle in Pszczyna and welcome evening with introductions and ice breaker games. On the second day all Partners took part in the lecture on the education of seniors in Poland and meeting with The Association of German Minority in Tworków. The learners had a possibility to exchange experiences with members of German minority. We also discussed about the exhibition poster drafts and the final product that will be a postcard . Of course we found some time for a bit of sightseeing (we visited e.g. The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, old mill and castle ruins).
On the third day the learners worked on materials collected during the meeting with German minority. They created the final poster draft and two collage posters.
The meeting concluded with a trip to Kraków where we visited the many available tourist attractions, including the Wawel Hill with The Royal Cathedral and the St. Mary’s Church and the Kazimierz (the old Jewish district).

We would like to thank all of you for your participation in the meeting in Poland!!!

And we can't wait the next meeting in Vigo ;)

Sylwia

Second project meeting in Ely, England

The second meeting of our Learning Partnership took place in Ely (England) at the Witchford Village College. It was great to meet old acquaintances of the first meeting and to get to know new participants. During the meeting we presented each other the first research results of the minorities in the partner countries. The report of the Maltese partner about the African refugees in Malta was revealing and moving. It showed us a migration reality that is sometimes forgotten. The other partner countries presented the following information: Germany informed on the Sorbs, Poland on the German minority and the Vietnamese immigrants in Poland, England on the Travellers in the region of Cambridgeshire and the Spanish partners reported about the history and traditions in the region of Galicia. Besides we got to know the work of the Witchford Village College. One of our meeting places was very interesting as well - the Glebe Community Centre in Sutton, offering young people and adults leisure activities in the rural area of Sutton. Our learners cooked a typical English lunch together with a member of the Community Centre. All participants had the ability to interact with a social worker and the youngsters. This was followed by a short trip through the area of Cambridgeshire, in which the English partner showed us the settlements of travellers and talked about their lifestyle. An important part of this meeting was also the specification of the plans for the exhibition held in spring 2010 in the partner countries. The Polish partners presented poster drafts, as we seek to give the exhibition a uniform design. The draft will be revised based on the comments of the partners until the next meeting in Poland in July. We are looking forward to meeting our project partners in Jastrzebie Zdrój.

Janine

Results of research

After our Kickoff meeting in Germany the german students gathered material about the sorbs. During a meeting all of them presented their materials which they have found. Concerning the minority of the sorbs a lot of literature, articles and videos exist.One student reported on her telephone call with the cultural office of Bautzen (town in Lusatia). They sent her a lot of material about the sorbs.
Finally we divided the material into four groups :
1. Geography, living space, history of the sorbs2. Tradition: folklorism, art, famous Sorbian persons3. Today’s situation: economic situation, political situation4. What is Sorbian identity? What do the sorbians themselves would like to tell the majority society?
Each student chose a theme which he/she wants to work about.Concerning the form of the exhibition we decided to write short texts and to use much figures, schedules and maps.Because we want to meet Sorbian people and ask them personally what they think about their present situation especially concerning the expansion of the quarries of lignite in their living space we wanted to visit them.
After a while we met again and each student presented her/his work. We tried to keep in mind the restricted space in an exhibition. Concerning the abundance of the gathered material it was a difficult job to reduce this material for a poster which could be part of an exhibition.
Finally in the beginning of march we visited the sorbs in their living space. We spent three nights in Bautzen (near Dresden). There we had a guided tour which ended in a sorbian café where we discussed with the landlady over coffee and cake.
During the following days we met some sorbs who informed us about their life in Lusatia.
Our visit in the quarries of lignite was very impressive. The quarries of lignite are a threat for Sorbian villages because they have to be destroyed for the quarries.
Our next step will be researching material about the sinti, the second minority we want to deal with.
Andrea

Poland: Report about research activities

Which minority has been chosen? Short background why this minority has been chosen?
When we talk about national minorities in Poland, we mean immigrant minorities (so-called “new minorities”) and historical minorities (so-called “old minorities”).
For our project we chose one community which represent “new minority”: Vietnamese immigrants and one of “old minority”: German minority.
Vietnamese immigrants because Poland is currently one of the few European states in which the Vietnamese form one of the biggest and best organised immigrant communities.
And Germans because this is the most numerous minority among thirteen official historical minorities in Poland.

Status quo of the research and perspective:
We focused on a few aspects of the minorities’ life in Poland:
history, economic activity, relations with Polish society (everyday life), culture and problems of minorities.
The plan of future activity:
- next meetings with representatives of Vietnamese immigrants and German Minority,
- workshops for our learners,
- participation in the events organising by The Associations of German Minority.

Results of the research (short summary):
Vietnamese immigrants:
1. The biggest and self-contained group of immigrants with a high level with co-operation and self-organisation, which deal with: textile and food trading (over a thousand trading stalls and small shops) and catering services (30 big restaurants and 300 other fast-food places);
2. Supported in the daily life by Vietnamese community;
3. Integration with Polish society:

a) Immigrants from "first wave" (the migration began in the 1950's):

- a well assimilated,
- Polish universities graduates with a good command of Polish,
- “an elite” among immigrants community.
b) Immigrants from “second wave” (the migration began after 1989):
- non-assimilated,
- less educated,
- need a support group,
- many of them live in Poland without legal status,
- only small group of adults immigrants speaks Polish,
- their migration has mostly economic character.
c) Children of immigrants (raised in Poland):
- well integrated,
- attend Polish schools,
- speak Polish fluently.

It is difficult to estimate the number of Vietnamese who live and work in Poland. In 2001 the Polish Office for Repatriation and Foreigners counted as many as 40 thousand Vietnamese living in Poland. Today's estimates suggest their number from 30 to 50 thousand.

German minority:
1.The most numerous among thirteen official minorities in Poland with its own organisations, schools, cultural institutions, media and with their country of origin just behind the border;
2. Financially supported by Polish and German government;
3. Well-assimilated:
- they are an integrated part of Polish society,
- they speak German and Polish.

The members of German minority:
- work in Poland in all professions, serving a variety of roles depending on educational background and experience
or
- take up a legal job in the European Union countries, first of all in Germany and the Netherlands.

Second citizenship:
- over 280 000 people possess German citizenship (for almost all of them it's a second citizenship next to Polish),
- 100 000 people with dual Polish-German citizenship currently work in Germany.

CoMin logo

Dear Partners

I would like to publish that we have already the logo for our project “Culture of Minorities in Europe”. From many propositions of logo all Partners voted for the one. Consequently we chose the CoMin logo by majority of votes.

News from Poland

8th January we had a meeting with The Association of the German Minority in Tworków. Mr. Brunon Chrzibek - President of the Association presented us the activity of the Association: magazine of the German minority, museum, choir, dancers groups. Furthermore we discussed about the history, traditions and present situation of the German minority. We spoke also about the meeting of all partners in Poland.
Next month we are going to organise another meeting with the members of the Association and our learners.

Sylwia