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Newsletter Krzyżowa 5/2020

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the December issue of the Newsletter, in which we present our activities in recent weeks and summarize our activities in the last 12 months. And we all know that this time was difficult and full of challenges.

In the KRZYŻOWA FORUM we recommend a summary of 2020 in the Krzyżowa Foundation. In this issue you will find also reports from our recent projects, which unfortunately have returned to virtual reality again. However, we try to make sure that our activities take on new forms - from publications, through webinars, podcasts, films and debates. We hope that this diversity of communication tools will allow us to maintain your attention and interest in topics that are important to us.

While observing our activities this year, you will surely have noticed that we have noted numerous anniversaries of events related to breakthrough events for Europe and the world. We treat the commemoration of such moments in history as an opportunity to reflect on what has happened and what may happen again if we do not react quickly and decisively enough or on what we have achieved and what can easily be lost.

These days we recall the 50th anniversary of the kneeling of Chancellor Willi Brandt in Warsaw and the signing of the agreement between the People's Republic of Poland and Germany. Let the memory of this historic breakthrough in German-Polish relations give us energy to work for dialogue and understanding.

Inviting you to read more texts, we announce another special issue of our Newsletter. We will say goodbye to the year by sharing with you our successes in the field of ecology - we will talk about what has changed in this aspect in Krzyżowa, why caring about nature is our goal and why we think that there is no more time to debate and reflect on what can be done for the climate. Now is the time for action.

Newsletter Editors

KRZYŻOWA FORUM

Crisis is also a search for new opportunities – 2020 at the Krzyżowa Foundation | Robert Żurek

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will remember 2020 as a very difficult year, as the time in which making plans for the future gave way to fear for our health and that of our loved ones, fear for work and a safe tomorrow. Under the circumstances the activity of the Krzyżowa Foundation had to change. Many of the plans we wanted to implement this year have been postponed, and many of them we have had to change or find other ways to put them into practice.

(...) In the spring and summer, we carried out several dozen webinars and online workshops with students and teachers from Poland and Germany. At that time, there were 2 LIVE lessons from Krzyżowa, broadcast on the Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung channels. In online mode, we also carried out our cyclical or long-term projects, such as: "Roads of Freedom" seminar, "#CreatingSpace A Digital Future with Ethics in Mind" project, training in global education and meetings as part of the School of Dialogue. Together with our partner association from Berlin - Kreisau-Initiative - we organized for the first time the BarCamp online "(Hi) Storytelling: My History, Your History, Our History".

(...) Today we look to the future with concern, but we are richer in having experiences that help us adapt to new conditions. We know that thanks to creativity, cooperation and mutual kindness, we can achieve a lot even in unfavorable circumstances. We assume that the upcoming 2021 will not be easy, but we believe that the Krzyżowa Foundation will continue to carry out its mission to the best of its ability.

IN THIS ISSUE

Statement of the Management Board of the Krzyżowa Foundation in connection with the wave of protests following the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal

On 22nd October this year The Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the provisions on abortion in force in Poland are unconstitutional. In response to this sentence, mass protests began in several hundred cities in Poland during the pandemic.

In view of the scale of public appearances and the authorities' reaction to the aggravating situation, the Management Board of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe issued a statement. The entire statement is available on the Foundation's website.

“We have Europe. And what's next?" - online debate summarizing the project "A united Europe was not achieved and we had war" – 2.12.2020

From October on the website of the Krzyżowa Foundation and on its social media channels, films made as part of the project "A united Europe was not achieved and we had war" were presented. In 8 episodes, the Foundation's employees talked about the history of conflicts and European integration. Krzyżowa - its past, but also the present - was the background and pretext for the films.

The online debate summed up the project. The subject of the conversation of the invited experts were the opportunities and challenges of the European project.

The films made as part of the project can be viewed on the Foundation's website (Polish and English language versions).

"In the circle of Krzyżowa’s values. Key challenges facing Europe". Online debate series

In November, the Krzyżowa Foundation launched a series of four debates. So far, there have been two online meetings. One of them was related to the reflection on the anniversary of German reunification, and the other concerned social polarization. The debates could be followed via the ZOOM platform or via Facebook. The guests of the meetings were experts dealing with Polish-German relations, political scientists and historians.

Until mid-December there will be a debate on civic responsibility (in the age of a pandemic) and a discussion summarizing the cycle - where the main question will be how civil society can respond to the problems facing us.

Online debate || German reunification - reflection on the 30th anniversary - 19 November 2020 [audio recording]

The online debate || Polarisation - media fact or social reality? - 3 December 2020 [audio recording]

Shalom. Pax. Salam. The integration potential of monotheistic religions for today's Europe - 25-27.11.2020

On 25 and 26 November, a unique online workshop organised by the Krzyżowa Foundation took place. The representatives of Judaism, Christianity and Islam reflected together on what their religious traditions and experiences of interreligious dialogue can contribute to the integration of our society.

Participants active in various fields of activity - in science, education, media, NGOs and within their religious communities - discussed the role of religion in civil society, the presence of religion in the media, the integration and disintegration potential of each religious tradition in the social and political sphere, the principles of interreligious dialogue, as well as education on interreligious meetings.

Schools of Dialogue - training - 9-10.10.2020

6 years after the idea of introducing the Vredzamee School programme to Poland in the form of the Schools of Dialogue (an idea that came to the mind of Edward Skubisz, a Dutchman living in Poland), it was possible to organise a training course preparing teachers, trainers and coaches for the practical implementation of the programme.

On 9-10 October, Hans Scheltema, a psychologist and trainer representing the CED Groep institution which has been implementing the programme in the Netherlands for over 20 years, was a guest at Krzyżowa. He conducted this two-day training in English with the support of two great translators - Ms Magdalena Mańko-Kuzaj and Mr Jacek Mażulis.

International school partnerships in Krzyżowa. Online meeting for teachers from Poland and Ukraine - 25.11.2020

On 25th November, a virtual meeting for teachers from Poland and Ukraine interested in organising international school and extracurricular exchanges in Krzyżowa was held.

The meeting was attended by more than 20 people, among whom, apart from teachers, there were also representatives of city offices responsible for cooperation with young people and representatives of NGOs.

The participants exchanged, among other things, experiences from international projects implemented so far and ideas on how to act in a pandemic situation when there are restrictions on organising international exchanges "live".

Inauguration of construction of an ecological garden in Krzyżowa - 3.12.2020

On the area between the moat and the Piława River, near the centre of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe, there is an open field.But on 3 December, it began to change. By the hands of the Board of the Foundation and the project coordinator, the first spade for the construction of an ecological educational garden, which will be built here in the coming months, has been knocked in. Guests who visit Krzyżowa next year will be able to take advantage of the new offer and learn the secrets of organic plant cultivation - a crop that works in harmony with nature and is based as much as possible on using natural processes as allies in running the garden.

The investment includes the creation of a vegetable section, a herbarium and an orchard. In addition, a so-called forest garden will be created among the picturesquely growing oaks - an ideal place to walk and relax, especially on hot days.

PartESDD – Partnership for Education for sustainable development and Degrowth Education

On November we've launched the new strategic partnership "PartESDD – Partnership for Education for sustainable development and Degrowth Education".

For two years, we will exchange ideas and experiences with partners in Germany and the Czech Republic to foster education for the socio-ecological transformation in our respective countries. Together we will develop thematic educational materials, also with a focus on intercultural aspects.

Online workshop || ( Un)peace 1945. What did the end of World War II bring?

Despite the difficult situation and remote teaching, we do not interrupt our educational work. As part of the project "(Un)peace 1945. What did the end of the Second World War bring?", we have just conducted 15 workshops with the participation of primary and secondary school students from the Lower Silesian and Opole provinces. Almost 400 students and teachers took part in them.

We recommend scenarios (in Polish), which were prepared to tell young people exactly what happened in 1945 and why that year did not mean the end of the fighting and the beginning of the reconstruction of the country for the whole of Europe.

„Stories that Move". Project of the Krzyżowa Foundation and the Anne Frank House

The Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe started a close cooperation with the Anne Frank House, a foundation located in Amsterdam and running a museum in the place where Anne Frank was hiding from the Nazis and writing her own journal, already known all over the world . For more than 50 years, the Anne Frank House has also been involved in educational activities, mainly aimed at combating discrimination and inequality.

This year we are working together on the 'Stories that Move' project. It is an online toolkit that requires students to think critically about diversity and discrimination, and also encourages

Changes in the Board of the Kreisau-Initiative Association

Recently, personnel changes have taken place on the board of our very close partner, the Kreisau-Initiative Association from Berlin. After 10 years, Ole Jantschek resigned from the position of chairman of the board. (Ole Jantschek is at the same time vice-chairman of the Council of the Krzyżowa Foundation). The new chairman became Paweł Prokop, who joined the board of Kreisau-Initiative in September 2019.

We would like to thank Ole Jantschek very much for our joint initiatives and fruitful cooperation, which culminated last year's jubilee celebration for both our organisations. We wish the new Chairman good luck!

WELCOME

Welcome a new volunteer in Krzyżowa !

Since October there is a new volunteer with us – Alicja. Where did she came from? Why did she decide to come to Krzyżowa/Kreisau? What is her first impression? You can read all about it in her short self presentation.

We are really glad that Alicja decided to do her volunteer service with us here in Krzyżowa and we hope she is going to have creative and inspiring time here.

Fundacja „Krzyżowa” dla Porozumienia Europejskiego
Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe
Krzyżowa 7, 58-112 Grodziszcze, Poland
tel: +48 74 85 00 300, fax: +48 74 85 00 305

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