Interkulturalia Festival takes aim at xenophobia with education and fun
Dancing and debating, picnicking and painting, and a host of other activities come to Krakow this weekend for the second annual Interkulturalia Festival.
Organized by the city of Krakow itself, its stated purpose is to “draw the attention of the residents of Krakow on issues of cultural diversity and the fight against racist and xenophobic attitudes.”
The Festival kicked off yesterday in that spirit with a debate, “in the shadow of the migration crisis” in which Poland recently agreed to host 5,000 more refugees, about how multi- (or mono-?) cultural Poland really is. It’s a question many of our immigrant readers have found themselves struggling with as they must grow accustomed to a country that’s 98% ethnic Polish and 91% Catholic.
The rest of the weekend will feature various art, dance, music, and cooking workshops, from Indian dance to Chinese calligraphy. Saturday there will also be a “foreigner friendly” space for attendees just to mingle. Throughout will be events for children as well.
Topping it all of on Sunday will be a more serious talk by Aslı Erdoğan, a writer and human rights activist whose left-wing articles on government abuse led to persecution and threats of violence in her native Turkey, as a result of which she has been living in exile organized by the International Cities Of Refuge Network (ICORN).
You can download the full program of events in English here (PDF).
Well, If people don’t like living in a country that is 98% Polish than perhaps they should leave?
Yes, immigrants and expats should be prepared to abide by the customs of the host country and try their best to fit in, but on the other hand, your attitude is not exactly welcoming, is it?
One of the reasons I love Krakow — the openness of its people. The last time I was there, I was there for a protest at the Rynek in favor of the victims of the conflicts in Ukraine. I talked with some of them, and they told me they wanted to help in any way they could.
Matthew, just “leaving” is not very feasible, right? If Poland is changing, maybe it’s time to embrace these changes, don’t you think?
How is it changing? I don’t want it to change in the way that western Europe is. The way things are going Europe will be majority Islamic in 50 years and all its freedoms and beauty will be lost. If you want to see what its like being Christian, Atheist or Gay in a muslim country, just pop in to Saudi Arabia.