Have you ever wondered what stories lie behind ethnic diversity in Poland? What are the latest trends in the ways people identify with their own ethnic group?
Join us for a discussion of the book “Mobilizacja etniczności. Mniejszościowe społeczności narodowe i etniczne w spisie powszechnym ludności i mieszkań w Polsce w 2021 roku” (Mobilising Ethnicity: National and Ethnic Minority Communities in the 2021 Population and Housing Census in Poland) (eds. S. Łodziński, K. Dolińska). The study offers a detailed look at the ethnic and national mobilisation of minority communities before and during the 2021 National Census (NSP 2021), and at the grassroots “organic work” carried out within these communities – the efforts of minority organisations to encourage informed participation in the census, in line with each person’s own sense of belonging to a particular ethnic community (or communities).
Date and venue
When? 18 April (Thursday), 17:00-19:00
Where? Passage of Dialogue (Przejście Dialogu), Świdnicka 19 (underground passage)
Free admission!
About the book
The texts in the publication were written by researchers and practitioners who have long worked on these issues; some of them are experts at various Polish and international institutions dealing with minority affairs. It is the third study describing the organisation, course and results of the national censuses carried out in Poland after 1989 – the first, Mniejszości narodowe w Polsce w świetle Narodowego Spisu Powszechnego z 2002 roku (National Minorities in Poland in the Light of the 2002 National Census), was published in 2006, and the second, Mniejszości narodowe i etniczne w Polsce w świetle Narodowego Spisu Powszechnego Ludności z 2011 roku (National and Ethnic Minorities in Poland in the Light of the 2011 National Population Census), in 2016 (both volumes published by WN Scholar, Warsaw). During the meeting, we will talk about, among other things, the methods and difficulties of measuring ethnic and national diversity in Poland, the preparations for the 2021 National Census and the strategies used to mobilise minority communities to take part in the census and declare their minority identity, as well as the need for research into ethnic difference.
Contents:
– Grzegorz Kuprianowicz, Reflections on the Eve of the 2021 National Census
– Sławomir Łodziński, Kamilla Dolińska, Introduction. Mobilising Ethnicity: National and Ethnic Minority Communities in the 2021 Population Census in Poland
– Katarzyna Warmińska, The 2021 National Population and Housing Census and Identity Processes among Ethnocultural Minorities in Poland
– Natalia Niedźwiecka-Iwańczak, The Individual Identity of Members of Minority Groups in Population Censuses. Theoretical and Methodological Considerations
– Sławomir Łodziński, Measuring Ethnicity. Questions about Ethnicity in Population Censuses in Poland, 1921–2021
– Tomasz Wicherkiewicz, Language Issues in the Population Censuses in Poland of 2002, 2011 and Especially 2021
– Marta Faustyna Chmielevska, Katarzyna Czarnecka, Tomasz Detlaf, Sławomir Łodziński, Wojciech Tkaczuk, National and Ethnic Minorities in the 2021 Population Census in Poland. Census Preparations and the Public Reception of the Census Questions on Ethnicity
– Paweł Popieliński, The Campaign Promoting the Participation of the German Minority in the 2021 National Population and Housing Census in Poland
– Tomasz Detlaf, German Minority Activists in Poland and the 2021 National Census – Preparations, Assessment and Interpretations
– Ewa Michna, The 2021 National Population Census as a Challenge for Silesian Ethnic Activists Fighting for the Recognition of the Silesian Community and Language
– Ewa Nowicka, Wojciech Połeć, “Old Armenians” and “New Armenians” in Poland – Forms of Integration and Census Data
– Andrzej Jekaterynczuk, The Ukrainian National Minority and the 2021 National Population Census
– Janusz Mieczkowski, Census Activity of National and Ethnic Minorities and Regional-Language Communities during the 2021 National Census – Experiences from West Pomerania
– Justyna Okrucińska, Europeanness from the Perspective of the 2021 National Population and Housing Census
– Kamilla Dolińska, Julita Makaro, Afterword. On the Benefits of Research into the Ethnic and National Diversity of Polish Society
– Recommendations
Who will take part in the discussion?
The speakers will be:
Mariola Abkowicz – librarian, academic teacher and community activist. A graduate of the University of Wrocław, she works at the Institute of Oriental Studies of Adam Mickiewicz University. She chairs the Board of the Association of Polish Karaims (Związek Karaimów Polskich), is a board member of the Karaim Heritage Foundation (Fundacja Karaimskie Dziedzictwo) and chairs the Council of the Kalejdoskop Kultur Foundation. She is actively involved in promoting Karaim culture and heritage. As a representative of the Karaim community, she takes part in the work of the Joint Commission of the Government and National and Ethnic Minorities and the Polish Sejm’s Committee on National and Ethnic Minorities.
Sławomir Łodziński – professor and sociologist at the Faculty of Sociology, University of Warsaw. He specialises in the sociology of migration and ethnicity, in particular multiculturalism and policy towards national minorities in Poland. He is the author and co-author of numerous publications on the subject.
Kamilla Dolińska – Associate Professor (dr hab., prof. UWr), sociologist at the Department of Borderland Sociology, Institute of Sociology, University of Wrocław, and a member of the Centre for Regional and Borderland Studies. Her research interests focus on borders and borderlands, multiculturalism, migration and issues relating to national and ethnic minorities.
On behalf of the Wrocław Centre for Social Development (WCRS), the event will be attended by Dorota Kozak-Rybska from the Intercultural Dialogue Team, who promotes the cultures of national and ethnic minorities in Wrocław.
Moderator:
Natalia Niedźwiecka-Iwańczak – Associate Professor (dr hab., prof. UWr), sociologist at the Department of Borderland Sociology, Institute of Sociology, University of Wrocław, a member of the Centre for Regional and Borderland Studies, and chair of the Sociology of Ethnicity Section of the Polish Sociological Association.
Join us to hear experts in sociology, migration and minority policy share their findings and experiences. We also look forward to your questions and comments, as your active participation is key to taking this discussion further!
Organised by the Institute of Sociology, University of Wrocław; co-organised by the Sociology of Ethnicity Section of the Polish Sociological Association.
