The aim of the 'I will read you' youth exchange was to overcome stereotypes and prejudices related to Poles and Ukrainians as well as everyday life in both countries. The project participants developed their skills related to the organization of the OnLine event based on the Human Library method, which provides a direct meeting with people exposed to stereotypical perceptions and prejudices. They were organizers, and many of them were 'living books' that were read by borrowers according to certain rules.
The OnLine meeting, which took place on August 17-24, 2020 and local events after the end of the exchange will definitely increase the openness of Poles and Ukrainians in mutual relations.
28 participants of the exchange are young people from cities, small towns and villages as well as young people living with disabilities, mainly from the regions of Lublin and Dniepropetrovsk. The group was assisted by four qualified youth workers.
Project in frames of the Polish-Ukrainian Council of Youth Exchange.
Project number: UKR/2020/U/0119 WE ARE THE FUTURE
Project partner:
We are the future (Ukraine)
The OnLine meeting, which took place on August 17-24, 2020 and local events after the end of the exchange will definitely increase the openness of Poles and Ukrainians in mutual relations.
28 participants of the exchange are young people from cities, small towns and villages as well as young people living with disabilities, mainly from the regions of Lublin and Dniepropetrovsk. The group was assisted by four qualified youth workers.
Project in frames of the Polish-Ukrainian Council of Youth Exchange.
Project number: UKR/2020/U/0119 WE ARE THE FUTURE
Project partner:
We are the future (Ukraine)
Video materials
The announcement of the first version of the youth exchange 'I will read you'
Announcement of the online version of the youth exchange 'I will read you'
Virtual tour around Poland prepared by a Polish group. We intended not to show Poland in a 'postcard' version, but simply our favorite places
Virtual tour around Ukraine, prepared by the Ukrainian participants, allowed us to look at this country from many interesting perspectives
The video about stereotypes about Ukraine and Poland is the result of the work of Polish and Ukrainian participants who first discussed what stereotypes and prejudices are, and then were given the task of preparing a short video related to the topic
We compare the differences between an offline youth exchange and the online one and present their advantages and disadvantages
Over 40 people were directly and indirectly involved in the 'I will read you' youth exchange. We are different, so our opinions and impressions about the project will also be different. That is why we decided to create a diary of the project in electronic and paper version, which will present our activities and at the same time will allow to present the diversity of participants' opinions. The publication also includes a description of the daily activities of partner organizations and information about the Polish-Ukrainian Council of Youth Exchange. We invite you to download the publication!
HUMAN LIBRARY ONLINE
The main method in our project was 'Human Library'. Hmm... how can a library come to life? It is enough to replace paper books with people. How can it help us educatively? Books are people who were perceived stereotypically in their lives, someone was prejudiced against them...
A person living with a disability, a teacher, a former prisoner, a member of a sexual minority, an immigrant... Each of these people may be exposed to misperceptions. If we have never had a personal chance in our lives to ask representatives of these parts of our community about their lives, we can create a wrong idea about them.
In our communities, people are discriminated because of their past, profession, origin, religion, beliefs, orientation, and skin color. The Living Library was created to challenge prejudices against all who experience them. A conversation with a Live Book can be the beginning of a search for reliable information, and meeting an authentic person representing the group of interest to us can help answer questions that we would not normally have a chance to ask.
I had the opportunity to read four people. I talked to each of them for 25 minutes. It was very interesting to know real stories, real people. Their experiences, emotions, feelings, and how they behave in different situations. Some of them seemed close to me because I had similar feelings. The problem was that sometimes 25 minutes was not enough. I wanted to hear more and more of them. It was very interesting and helpful anyway. I broke down stereotypes about certain groups of people. I will tell other people that these stereotypes are not true. - Tetiana Andriiuk (reader)
I believe that the Living Library is a very good method because people who are not disabled may not know what problems people with disabilities have. Disabled people need the company of another person just as well, and non-disabled people - I don't know what it depends on - may be ashamed or do not know how to behave with a disabled person. The Living Library gives an opportunity to get to know people with disabilities. - Dominika Jóźwiakowska (book)
People talked about their experiences. They wanted to help others fight stereotypes and prejudices. It's really amazing. They were so open, optimistic about talking to others. They wanted to share information and their knowledge. I spoke to a book called 'Hungarian in the UK'. He told us about how he is perceived as a foreigner, about a certain hierarchy associated with it. I also talked to a hearing impaired person. She also told stories from her life. About how the state supports such people and how they lead a normal life and how they study. I also talked to the person who has no hands. He is a volunteer and I find it amazing. I also spoke to a representative of the LGBT community. She told about her family's approach to the subject and that she had received support. We should be more open and optimistic. - Olga Dvorova (reader)
Everyone chose the books they wanted. Thanks to the Living Library, I learned to contact with people with disabilities. That made me especially happy. - Jakub Wójcik (reader)
How does it look from the organizational side? Before the event begins, we need to prepare book descriptions and train them. This is especially important for those who are books for the first time. Readers must read the loan policy. Everything must be done safely and in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Our Human Library was held OnLine. You had to test applications and hardware here to make sure everything went smoothly. We are glad that the work put into preparation has brought the intended results. - Karolina Szczepanik (orgnizers team)
HUMAN LIBRARY ONLINE
The main method in our project was 'Human Library'. Hmm... how can a library come to life? It is enough to replace paper books with people. How can it help us educatively? Books are people who were perceived stereotypically in their lives, someone was prejudiced against them...
A person living with a disability, a teacher, a former prisoner, a member of a sexual minority, an immigrant... Each of these people may be exposed to misperceptions. If we have never had a personal chance in our lives to ask representatives of these parts of our community about their lives, we can create a wrong idea about them.
In our communities, people are discriminated because of their past, profession, origin, religion, beliefs, orientation, and skin color. The Living Library was created to challenge prejudices against all who experience them. A conversation with a Live Book can be the beginning of a search for reliable information, and meeting an authentic person representing the group of interest to us can help answer questions that we would not normally have a chance to ask.
I had the opportunity to read four people. I talked to each of them for 25 minutes. It was very interesting to know real stories, real people. Their experiences, emotions, feelings, and how they behave in different situations. Some of them seemed close to me because I had similar feelings. The problem was that sometimes 25 minutes was not enough. I wanted to hear more and more of them. It was very interesting and helpful anyway. I broke down stereotypes about certain groups of people. I will tell other people that these stereotypes are not true. - Tetiana Andriiuk (reader)
I believe that the Living Library is a very good method because people who are not disabled may not know what problems people with disabilities have. Disabled people need the company of another person just as well, and non-disabled people - I don't know what it depends on - may be ashamed or do not know how to behave with a disabled person. The Living Library gives an opportunity to get to know people with disabilities. - Dominika Jóźwiakowska (book)
People talked about their experiences. They wanted to help others fight stereotypes and prejudices. It's really amazing. They were so open, optimistic about talking to others. They wanted to share information and their knowledge. I spoke to a book called 'Hungarian in the UK'. He told us about how he is perceived as a foreigner, about a certain hierarchy associated with it. I also talked to a hearing impaired person. She also told stories from her life. About how the state supports such people and how they lead a normal life and how they study. I also talked to the person who has no hands. He is a volunteer and I find it amazing. I also spoke to a representative of the LGBT community. She told about her family's approach to the subject and that she had received support. We should be more open and optimistic. - Olga Dvorova (reader)
Everyone chose the books they wanted. Thanks to the Living Library, I learned to contact with people with disabilities. That made me especially happy. - Jakub Wójcik (reader)
How does it look from the organizational side? Before the event begins, we need to prepare book descriptions and train them. This is especially important for those who are books for the first time. Readers must read the loan policy. Everything must be done safely and in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Our Human Library was held OnLine. You had to test applications and hardware here to make sure everything went smoothly. We are glad that the work put into preparation has brought the intended results. - Karolina Szczepanik (orgnizers team)
Evening news
Every day we documented the events with evening news on our YouTube channel, during which the participants talked about what they had learned and what goals had been achieved. We invite you to check the video materials available with Polish and English subtitles!
16.08.2021
17.08.2021
18.08.2021
19.08.2021
20.08.2021
21.08.2021
22.08.2021
23.08.2021
24.08.2021