Strengthening relations betwen Poles and Jews, fighting anti-Semitism and teaching tolerance though education is the main mission of the Forum for Dialogue Among Nations, a Warsaw-based non-profit Polish organization founded in 1998.
The Forum fulfills this mission through seminars, publications, exhibitions, and exchange programs targeted at Polish and Jewish youth and leaders.
But since 2008 its flagishp educational program is the School of Dialogue educational program which aims at broadening young Polish people's knowledge about the long presence of Jews in Poland through self- exploration and commemoration of the pre-war Jewish history in the place they live.
Before WWII, Jews constituted over 10% of Poland's population. Contemporary Polish-Jewish relations are marked by the tragic history of Nazi occupation in Poland and the subsequent annihilation of the country’s Jews in death camps.
This community was very diverse with regard to the degree of assimilation, education as well as religiosity. ‘’It is crucial for youth to learn the history of the Jewish nation, which has been an inseparable part of the Polish culture and history. It is even more important for an open and increasingly multicultural society where nevertheless prejudices and false stereotypes still occur,’’ Andrzej Folwarczny, the Forum’s President, told European Jewish Press (EJP).
Activities of the School of Dialogue are targeted at Polish middle school and high school students across the country.
‘’In 2014 we will reach out to at least 42 different schools from 34 towns across Poland in our School of Dialogue workshops, which means that we will engage over 1000 students in discovering the local Jewish heritage,’’ explains Folwarczny.
‘’The number of schools may rise to 50 if additional funding becomes available,’’ he said.
Students participating in the project get to know the history of their town, often discovering blank spots on the map of knowledge of the no longer existing Jewish community.
‘’Before the workshops my knowledge about these issues was nonexistent. That’s why I was suprised to learn that once there were so many Jews living in my town. The knowledge I gained made me change my attitude to Jews. Now I want to share my knowledge with those who did not have the chance to participate in these workshops,’’ says Sylwia, a student from the village of Sienno, some 130 km south of Warsaw.
This year, the Forum will also organize at least 15 meetings of School of Dialogue students with Jewish descendants from their towns and Jewish leaders participating in Forum’s study trips to Poland.
One of the planned encounters is especially worth attention as it will include a Jewish family from USA and their Rabbi celebrating their son’s Bar Mitzvah in a restored synagogue in Zamosc with the presence of School of Dialogue participants from this town who will then guide their American guests around the local Jewish sites.
Andrzej Folwarczny says that the School of Dialogue ‘’is based on an assumption that knowledge, understanding and dialogue are the key to overcoming barriers and reluctance.’’ ‘’During our workshops a space for open discussion is created what enables the participants to face issues often difficult to deal with. Polish- Jewish dialogue is essential both due to our common past and strengthening the attitudes of openness, tolerance and understanding.’’
A partner of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Forum will also organize four study trips to Poland on the topic of Polish-Jewish relations for Jewish leaders of Polish descent from the US, Australia and Israel.
‘’In the framework of our new program initiated in 2013, called the Leaders of Dialogue, the Forum will be organizing the second national meeting of local educators and activists who take care of Jewisqh heritage and fight against anti-Semitism in their localities,’’ said Folwarczny.
As a a non-governmental and non-profit organization, the Forum is funded from various sources. ‘’We apply for grants to international foundations and to Polish government. We also have a grooving number of individual donors in Poland, United States and even un Australia,’’ says the Forum President.
The School of Dialogue program has been implemented under the honorary patronage of Polish Minister of Education since 2011. Workshops in Warsaw schools are co-financed from a grant from the City of Warsaw each year.
And each year, the Chancellery of the Polish Prime Minister sponsors computers with which the schools are awarded at the annual School of Dialogue Gala.