In October, a project financed by the Polish-Ukrainian Youth Cooperation Council was carried out. The partners in the undertaking were: the General and Vocational Schools Complex in Bolesławiec and School No. 3 in Zbaraż. (The aim of the project was to build a tolerant society that is open to others and ready to engage in intercultural dialogue. The project activities were intended to eliminate stereotypes and prejudices, both one’s own and those of others.)
Six female students from ZSOiZ and six female students from the school in Zbaraż took part in the project. “They stayed together at the ‘U Janiny’ guesthouse. On the very first day, the young people from Bolesławiec became friends with their colleagues from Ukraine. Acting as guides, they showed them around the city,” representatives of ZSOiZ explain.
On the second day, the young people presented family trees they had prepared beforehand and talked about their ancestors. It turned out that the ancestors of two students from Poland and one from Ukraine came from the same town, located near Zbaraż.
The following day was devoted to gastronomy. Until noon, the young people, under a teacher’s supervision, cooked borscht and baked savoury pastries and croissants. The school management, a representative of the County Office, and members of the Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich were invited to the tasting.
What is more, the project participants attended an extraordinary session of the City Council, during which the mayor of Bolesławiec presented “Bolesławiec – Today” and awarded the Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich the title “Meritorious for the City of Bolesławiec”. The award document was accepted by Barbara Smoleńska, president of the association and coordinator of the “Everyone Different, Everyone Equal” project.
At the invitation of Primary School No. 2 in Bolesławiec, the young people from Ukraine also took part in the Borderlands Song Concert.
The fourth day was devoted to ceramics. At school, the project participants decorated ceramic items, which they took to Ceramika Artystyczna – Spółdzielnia Rękodzieła Artystycznego to be fired. (There, they learned about the technological process involved in producing functional ceramics. They also admired the craftsmanship of the employees decorating ceramic items.)
On the fifth day of their stay, a concert for all the school’s students and invited guests was held in the ZSOiZ gymnasium. The young people performed a Polish-Ukrainian programme. Polish and Ukrainian songs were sung together.
ZSOiZ:
Despite stage fright and the short time available to prepare the concert, the result was wonderful, and the young people were happy to work together. After the concert, the project participants and invited guests met to share their impressions of the project. In the evening, they spent time in the city, with families, shopping, and at the guesthouse. It was a time when they got to know one another even better.
On the final day of the project activities, the young people from Ukraine took part in a concert organised in Bolesławiec as part of the Lower Silesian Borderlands Culture Days. The project participants concluded the concert by singing two songs in Polish and one in Ukrainian.
The project coordinators add:
A week later (27 October–1 November), we hosted nine people from Sieniawa near Zbaraż. They were children from Ukrainian families who had hosted our students in July 2018 as part of the “Save Your Great-Grandfather’s Grave from Oblivion” campaign. This time, the residents of Bolesławiec hosted their friends in their own families.
More information is available on the ZSOiZ in Bolesławiec website.