Approximately 200 thousand immigrants from Ukraine and Belarus live in Dolny Śląsk. This community experiences prejudice and discrimination due to their origin – and this includes problems in contact with institutions, workplace abuses (lower rate of pay and without an employment contract), problems on the residential property market (dislike on the part of tenants), and hate-based attacks. Acquiescence towards conduct of this kind originates at the top, starting for instance with politicians who use anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. At the same time, this problem is essentially non-existent in public debate – it is of little importance and is not noticed in any way, especially in Dolny Śląsk.

The Project Promoter will organize journalism workshops for a group of 40 people from Belarus and Ukraine, who will then give accounts of their experiences and enter a competition for a journalistic piece on the subject of immigration. Two workshops on discrimination will also be held, for approximately 40 people. The Project Promoter will conduct surveys of the Dolny Śląsk immigrant community concerning their experiences of discrimination, and this will be the starting point for advocacy activities at a local level. A campaign will be conducted in the local media to raise awareness of the scale of the problem.

The project will be useful above all to immigrants from Ukraine and Belarus living in Wrocław and in Dolny Śląsk, and this includes political refugees from Belarus – persons already receiving support from the Project Promoter. The workshops will improve their competencies with respect to recognizing and reacting to discrimination, and talking about their experiences using their own voice. Other groups for whom the project will be useful will be the Dolny Śląsk authorities and community. The problem of discrimination of immigrants will be publicized, and surveys at local level will reveal the scale of the problem and be the basis for work to counter discriminatory practices.