What perceptions do we have about the Muslim community? Is there a mosque in Wrocław? What should we remember when working with a person from the Muslim community? These and other questions were asked by the representatives of institutions, units, and departments of the Municipality of Wrocław, who took part in the training entitled “How to work and effectively help people from the Muslim community in Polish offices?”. The meeting took place on June 5, 2023, in the space of Przejście Dialogu (Passage of Dialogue) in Wrocław.
Confronting stereotypes about Islam
The training consisted of two parts. The main aspects of Islam culture, history, and geography were presented by Karol Wilczyński Ph.D.- teacher, lecturer, and activist for building a reliable migration policy.
During this part, the participants could verify their knowledge of Islam and also had the opportunity to consider where some myths and stereotypes about this religion come from. It was also possible to learn about the characteristics of Muslim cultures, about the presence of Muslims in Poland and Wrocław, as well as about ways to effectively promote intercultural dialogue and this minority.
The reality of a Muslim woman in Wrocław – Q&A session
During the second part of the training, there was a meeting with the guest planned. Kornelia Frankowska – resident of Wrocław resident, an IT industry employee, and a representative of the Muslim community – shared her experience with the participants and answered pending questions, e.g. about the position of women in the Arab world or her everyday life. There were also very practical considerations about topics, such as: wearing a headscarf, the Muslim diet (halal), saying a prayer in a professional environment, or savoir-vivre (about taking off your shoes at the doorstep of a Muslim house or shaking hands).
Increasing intercultural competencies
The training in mastering intercultural competencies was valuable for employees of the Wrocław city office due to the increasing number of contacts with people from the Muslim community in their daily work.
We would like to thank the Union of Polish Metropolises for organising such an opportunity to participate in the professional training.
About the project
The 12 largest cities associated with the Union of Polish Metropolises joined the implementation of the project “Let’s strengthen, participate and learn empathy for each other. Difficult discourse on Islam and Muslims in Poland”.
The project assumes comprehensive education on the culture and tradition of Islam in various spheres of social life, raising the knowledge of public services on this subject and providing educational materials.
The leader of the project is the Warsaw School of Economics and the partners: the Academy of Special Pedagogy. M. Grzegorzewska, the Institute of Discourse and Dialogue, the Kobiety Wędrowne Foundation, the Institute of Security and International Development, and the UMP.
More about the project here: https://salamlab.pl/pl/empathy-project/
The training was attended by representatives of Wrocław institutions: Department of Participation, Department of Education Municipal Social Welfare Center (MOPS), Municipal Resources Management (ZZK), Wroclaw Agglomeration Development Agency (ARAW), Economic Development Office, Poviat Labor Office, Wroclaw Integration Center (WCI), Wrocław Center for Social Development (WCRS) – WroMigrant and Przejście Dialogue, Registry Office (USC).
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