On 4 October 2006, Viridarium – the action group against anti-Semitism and xenophobia – began a new series of meetings intended to recognize diversity, reinforce dialogue and consolidate remembrance and knowledge about others. (20-OCT-06)
Written by Marta Lempicka/HRH Warsaw
The series of six meetings for university and high school students is intended to be an introductory training course on this subject matter. The participants of the meetings will have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the philosophy and psychology of dialogue: the history of contacts between Judaism and Christianity and discuss contacts with the Jewish culture in Poland, stereotypes and personal experiences, as well as anti-Semitism. The meeting is also scheduled to include a stroll from the Monument to Ghetto Heroes to Umschlagplatz in Warsaw, along with special explanations. The activities will be animated by Halina Bortnowska-Dabrowska as well as guests dealing with national minorities.
The VIRIDARIUM group was established by Halina Bortnowska-Dabrowska together with students who participated in human rights workshops. The group operates alongside the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and the Open Republic Association. It has organized various types of meetings, inter alia with Anna Bikont (journalist, who wrote a book about Jedwabne), Barbara Engelking-Boni (scholar, head of the Polish Center for Holocaust Research at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Science), Rabbi Michael Schudrich (Poland’s Chief Rabbi), Konstanty Gebert (journalist, Jewish minority activist). Apart from the meetings, a campaign entitled “Conscious” was also held and included two happenings.
For more information visit: www.wirydarz.pl
