Central Council of the Roma in Poland, Center of Advice and Information for Roma, Białystok, Poland
According to statistical data, the number of foreigners living in the Łódzkie province is increasing, but our observations show that there is no social diagnosis of their situation and needs available. At the same time, such individuals are highly vulnerable to discrimination. According to the Commissioner to the Provincial Police Commander on Human Rights Protection, 49 hate crimes were reported in 2019 in the province. But their actual number seems to be much higher – according to the 2018 Ombudsman’s Report only 5% of such offences are reported.
To address these needs, we will support representatives of national and ethnic minorities living in the province to educate them on their rights, help them engage in public matters, and have impact on local policy. We will run a cycle of communication training for politicians and officials. For the latter, as well as military servicemen and school management we will organise a workshop to strengthen their cross-cultural communication skills. We will also organise meetings of the Łódź Różnorodności coalition made of minority representatives, officials and military servicemen, to let all groups get to know one another, and discuss their needs. We will create support groups for minority representatives, supervised by qualified psychotherapists. Finally, we will prepare a best practice guide to cross-cultural cooperation in Łódź.
Our first partner is Centralna Rada Romów w Polsce, Centrum Doradztwa i Informacji dla Romów, which has long-standing experience in preventing Rom exclusion. They will support the project with their know-how, will run training for officials, military servicemen, and teachers. Our second partner is the Łódź Town Hall that will help us prepare a survey diagnosing minorities’ needs and will ensure the presence of its officials during training.
