Words can insult, mistreat and hurt. Words can dehumanise, exclude and discriminate. These are the words that outrage us – expressions we want to change, whose use we want to criminalise as hate speech and remove from public life. This is also the kind of language we want to work on in anti-discrimination education, in our personal growth and in our relationships with others.
On the other side are nice words: neat formulas, elegant statements and pleasant-sounding expressions that conceal inequality, exclusion, systemic discrimination and violence. This area can be harder to recognise, because the surface it hides beneath is smooth, seemingly neutral and natural – sometimes even cosy. In the workshop, we will look at these aspects of language and consider how they affect the people they are used about, and how they can make it harder for those experiencing inequality to improve their situation or fight for justice.
Led by: Aneta Osuch, Arkadiusz Wierzba (Fundacja Ekorozwoju – Foundation for Sustainable Development)
Registration: https://forms.gle/bwi1HiY9jr3Rmht28
Format: workshop
Who should come: adults and young adults
Number of participants: 15
Registration: https://forms.gle/bwi1HiY9jr3Rmht28
Format: workshop
Who should come: adults and young adults
Number of participants: 15
Aneta Osuch – an educator, anti-discrimination trainer and coordinator of educational projects. She has been with Fundacja EkoRozwoju since 2008, running classes for children, young people and adults on global education, anti-discrimination education, responsible consumption, the climate crisis, and human and animal rights. She provides psychological support to people facing discrimination and to those experiencing climate anxiety.
Arkadiusz Wierzba – a cultural studies scholar and Polish philologist, educator and anti-discrimination trainer. He works on projects addressing the climate crisis, global interdependence, responsible consumption and anti-discrimination education. He has worked with Fundacja Ekorozwoju since March 2013. He is an anti-smog, climate and animal rights activist, involved in groups including Lower Silesian Smog Alert (Dolnośląski Alarm Smogowy) and Extinction Rebellion Poland.
Dialogopolis is delivered as part of the ReSTART project, co-financed by the National Programme of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the state budget.
