On February 28 2022, the pupils of the First High School in Gorzow Wielkopolski were familiarised with issues related to counteracting discrimination and hate speech. This activity has been undertaken as a part of the educational program “I UNDERSTAND=RESPECT.”
The classes were conducted by Mirosława Korejba – an academic lecturer with 20 years of experience working in the police, who was also the Plenipotentiary for Human Rights Protection of the Commander of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Opole for 12 years.
The following topics were discussed:
- Stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination – the genesis, raising awareness of one’s own prejudices and ways of dealing with them;
- Becoming familiar with the concept of hate speech and equality language and recognizing it in public space;
- Recognizing symbols that may indicate the occurrence of discrimination and hate speech in public space.
The symbols which we can see on Polish streets turned out to be the most interesting for students. They learned about their history and meaning. Moreover, with a great engagement, students took part in a game during which they had an opportunity to check how easy it is to succumb to stereotypes and in which position everyday messages put people from minority and majority groups.
Author: Mirosława Korejba
Photos: Kamila Szymankiewicz
Project financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through EEA funds under the program Active Citizens – Regional Fund.
