Designing and Implementing Public Policy in Contemporary Society: New Perspectives [1 ed.] 9783737015189, 9783847115182

Citation preview

Dorota Szaban / Magdalena Zapotoczna / Piotr Pochyły (eds.)

Designing and Implementing Public Policy in Contemporary Society New Perspectives

With 10 figures

V&R unipress

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available online: https://dnb.de. The printing of this book was made possible with support provided by University of Zielona Góra. © 2022 by Brill | V&R unipress, Theaterstraße 13, 37073 Göttingen, Germany, an imprint of the Brill-Group (Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands; Brill USA Inc., Boston MA, USA; Brill Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore; Brill Deutschland GmbH, Paderborn, Germany; Brill Österreich GmbH, Vienna, Austria) Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Hotei, Brill Schöningh, Brill Fink, Brill mentis, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Böhlau and V&R unipress. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage | www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com ISBN 978-3-7370-1518-9

Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

Educational perspective Magdalena Zapotoczna Higher education policy towards the need for activing academic entrepreneurship in Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

Anita Famuła-Jurczak Principles of Universal Design in Inclusive Education

. . . . . . . . . . .

23

Marzenna Magda-Adamowicz Training teachers to pedagogical creativity in Poland . . . . . . . . . . . .

31

Lidia Kataryn´czuk-Mania Music education in the face of educational changes . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45

Demographic perspective Krzysztof Lisowski / Beata Trzop Mechanisms of shaping senior policy in Poland in the face of challenges of an ageing society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller Caring farms – a tool for the senior policy implementation

. . . . . . . .

67

Magdalena Pokrzyn´ska / Izabela Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings” as a tool of transboundary socio-cultural policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

85

Cultural perspective

6

Contents

Stefan Dudra Religious policy in Poland after 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arkadiusz Tyda U.S. migration policy in the 19th and 20th centuries

99

. . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Anna Ratke-Majewska Narratives of Memory in the Foreign Policy Sector: the Case of Poland after 2015 – Selected Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Social perspectives Anna Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo Centre for social services. Prospects for strengthening local and individual agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Dorota Bazun´ / Mariusz Kwiatkowski Solidarity with Ukrainian Refugees in Transformative Perspective

. . . . 153

Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk Catalonia’s internal politics: the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán microregion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Foreword

The scientific discourse on the various dimensions of social, economic, political and cultural changes facing modern societies is essential due to the national, regional and global implications of these changes and their impact on development prospects. The lens of changes reflects many market, technological, energy, civilization, health, climate and migration problems, most often analysed through the prism of demographic conditions. The emerging problems are treated as an ailment or a troublesome disturbance in collective life. They are the result of the mechanisms by which societies and states function are not adapted to basic individual and collective needs. Public policies are an arena of collective actions that respond to the most important problems of a given society. They are perceived as a cycle of decisions and actions taken by public administration to achieve the intended benefits in the future. They are most often used in a situation where market mechanisms fail and are not able to cope with the problem on their own, or when they cannot function effectively enough. The multiplicity of problems and shortcomings in terms of their solutions creates opportunities for the emergence of new sectoral policies and interventions devoted to both completely new phenomena of social life and traditional ones, but requiring a new approach, recognizing the special importance of political factors. The main goal of sectoral policies is to support the development of identified key areas. Formatting corrective actions are to be based on objectified and up-to-date knowledge, and their execution is to take place as part of a systematic process of their design and implementation. Creating sectoral policies is specific management of public affairs and activities in various spheres of social life to achieve the Aristotelian common good. Among the conditions that are responsible for the final shape of a given public program or sector policy, very important are specific factors specific to a particular country. To understand how and why different public policies emerge in different regions, it is important to understand the important details that shape them. Considerations on public and sectoral policies are finding their place in the Polish scientific discourse with some difficulty. The

8

Foreword

approach that focuses on the methods of solving collective (public) problems is still not part of the research workshop on Polish social sciences. The monograph that we hand over to the reader is a voice in the discussion on emerging problems and mechanisms for solving them from the perspective of sectoral policies. The whole has been divided into several parts, relating to specific areas of sectoral policies. Education, as one of the social services, should follow social, political, cultural and economic changes and even be ahead of them. When thinking about creating educational policy, it is important to pay attention to the competencies of the future, specific needs, implemented adaptation mechanisms, stakeholder cooperation, etc. Challenges and changes in the area of education have been described by Magdalena Zapotoczna, taking into account the academic system solutions for entrepreneurship. Activation of the academic environment and cooperation between business and the sphere of science is treated as one of the priorities in the pursuit of a knowledge-based economy and society. Designing solutions in the field of inclusive education focused on people with special needs, is characterized in her text by Anita Famuła. The educational perspective was also taken into account by Marzenna Magda-Adamowicz in the study devoted to competencies in the field of creativity and innovation, which are important pillars of international politics. Lidia Kataryn´czuk-Mania in her text focuses on music education in the context of social challenges. The relationship between politics and demography does not need to be justified because the scale of social needs and the possibility of satisfying them depend on the structure and size of the population and the intensity of specific demographic processes. An ageing population is a particularly widely discussed problem. Beata Trzop and Krzysztof Lisowski write about the challenges faced by the authors of senior policy. Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller is characterized by a new solution implemented on a local scale, which consists in creating caring farms that can supplement the system deficiencies related to the care of seniors. The area of broadly defined culture is also undergoing major changes today. Izabela Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na and Magdalena Pokrzyn´ska characterize the International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings” as an example of a tool that can affect society in a cross-border way, convey values and create attitudes of openness to others. Thus, it can be a tool of cultural policy. The cultural perspective is present in a different dimension in the text by Stefan Dudra who reviews the provisions of religious policy in Poland. Culture is present to a similar extent in the study by Arkadiusz Tyda. Anna Ratke-Majewska used the cultural perspective to characterize narratives of Memory in the Foreign Policy Sector. Contemporary processes and phenomena related to the emergence of new, unforeseen risks also cause changes in the social sphere. Anna Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo describes the Centre for social services as an example of solutions supporting

Foreword

9

and strengthening social institutions operating within the framework of social policy. Mariusz Kwiatkowski and Dorota Bazun´ try to find solutions conducive to building a sense of social solidarity in connection with the influx of refugees from Ukraine. Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk used the social perspective conducive to building a unique identity as well as the characteristics of Catalonia’s internal policy. By handing over this interdisciplinary monograph to the Readers, we hope that the texts contained therein will help to understand the instruments and practices of shaping sectoral policy in Poland. We hope that the considerations contained in individual chapters will become an inspiration for further scientific exploration of contemporary policy problems in the indicated dimensions. Dorota Szaban Magdalena Zapotoczna Piotr Pochyły

Educational perspective

Magdalena Zapotoczna

Higher education policy towards the need for activing academic entrepreneurship in Poland

Genesis of academic entrepreneurship in Poland A dynamically changing socio-economic environment and the development of the knowledge-based economy call for changes in the area of higher education aimed at creating new forms of cooperation between science and the economy. The authors of the UNESCO report describe this phenomenon in terms of an “academic revolution”1. The traditional Humboldt model of the university, based on autonomous scientific research and theoretical education of students, supersedes the vision of an entrepreneurial academy, the so-called third-generation university, whose aim is to unlock the entrepreneurial potential of students, graduates and employees and to commercialize research results2. The university is becoming a place to stimulate entrepreneurship of the academic community and technology transfer. In Poland, the analyzed area of entrepreneurship and the support policy have a relatively short history. The discussion about the need for development and methods of activating entrepreneurship was initiated about 40 years later than in the United States, and in relation to Western European countries at least a decade3. The genesis of entrepreneurship within the Polish universities is related to the systemic transformation that took place in post-communist countries after 1989. International experiences had naturally aroused interest in relation to the case of entrepreneurship in the country.

1 Ph. G. Altbach, L. Reisberg, L. E. Rumbley, Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution. A Report Prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education, UNESCO, Paris 2009, p. 1. 2 J. G. Wissema, Uniwersytet trzeciej generacji. Uczelnia XXI wieku, Wydawnictwo Zante, Ze˛bice 2009, p. 6. 3 J. Stasiak, Miejsce i rola przedsie˛biorczos´ci akademickiej w gospodarce rynkowej, [in]: R. Piwowarski (ed.), Przedsie˛biorstwa spin-off i spin-out – przewodnik praktyczny, Dom Wydawniczy Michał Kolin´ski, Łódz´ 2011, pp. 11–33.

14

Magdalena Zapotoczna

Starting from 1990, the first departments, offices and institutes of entrepreneurship began to emerge in the area of higher education, conducting didactic classes and research in this field4. Along with the development of academic units, there were also prototypes of technology incubators, such as the Wielkopolska Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Poznan´, the Progress & Business Foundation in Kraków or the Entrepreneurship Center of the Warsaw University of Technology. In the process of their creation, they were based on concepts developed with the participation of Western experts, with an emphasis on technology transfer, cooperation with science and assistance to innovative companies. The involvement of academic institutions in the commercialization of knowledge has overtaken the regulations in this field. In the mid-1990s, the first university units were established – technology transfer centers and business incubators5. The notion of academic entrepreneurship itself was legally sanctioned only in 2004. Despite the relatively late regulation of the issue of academic entrepreneurship in the legislation, the interest in this issue testifies to the profound changes taking place in Polish universities. Their result is the need to tighten the multidimensional network of cooperation between universities and the labor market, and to develop the entrepreneurial potential of members of the academic community. The main purpose of the article is to present selected formal and legal conditions and the infrastructure supporting academic entrepreneurship in Poland. For the purposes of this work, the definition of academic entrepreneurship was adopted as the involvement of students, doctoral students and university employees in activities that constitute a bridge between the academic community and the business environment6. By clarifying the course of exploration, the starting point for the considerations undertaken was the explanation of the concept and meaning of academic entrepreneurship. The basic research methods were a review of the literature and source documents.

4 J. Cies´lik, Kształcenie w zakresie przedsie˛biorczos´ci na poziomie akademickim, [in:] P. Wachowiak, M. Da˛browski, B. Majewski (eds.), Kształtowanie Postaw Przedsie˛biorczych a Edukacja Ekonomiczna, Fundacja Promocji i Akredytacji Kierunków Ekonomicznych, Warszawa 2007, p. 71. 5 A. Komarnicka, Przedsie˛biorczos´c´ akademicka w Polsce. Stan, uwarunkowania i perspektywy rozwoju, Wydawnictwa Uczelniane Uniwersytetu Technologiczno-Przyrodniczego, Bydgoszcz 2020, pp. 35–36. 6 K. Piwowar-Sulej, I. Kwil, Przedsie˛biorczos´c´, przedsie˛biorczos´c´ akademicka i technologiczna, innowacyjnos´c´ – próba systematyzacji. “Przegla˛d Organizacji”, nr 7 (942), 2018, pp. 18–24.

Higher education policy towards the need for activing academic entrepreneurship

15

Definition and meaning of academic entrepreneurship Due to the interdisciplinary nature and polysemic nature of entrepreneurship, the literature on the subject has many research perspectives and theoretical constructs depending on the goals and context of the considerations7. Entrepreneurship as a heterogeneous category can be considered from the perspective of its various dimensions: individual, organizational, social and economic8. The adoption of the selected perspective determines the level of analysis of entrepreneurship oriented to the individual, organization, social environment or economy9. This article is entirely focused on academic entrepreneurship. In the literature on the subject, this concept is understood very broadly – from business education, through intellectual asset management, forms of commercialization of research and development results and the transfer of knowledge from universities to the economy, to the business activity of students and graduates10. The essence of the area of academic entrepreneurship is to combine the activity of the academic community and the socio-economic environment in order to make the achievements of students, doctoral students and university employees available to the economy. It is worth pointing to some conceptual differences in defining academic entrepreneurship. In Western European countries, it is identified mainly with innovative academic research leading to the creation of new technologies and patents in spin-out (independent from the university) and spin-off (in connection with the university) established by students, doctoral students and researchers11. In Poland, academic entrepreneurship is understood somewhat differently and more broadly. It is not only the process of creating technology companies, but, above all, the business activity of people professionally asso7 S. Ripsas, Entrepreneurship: ein interdisziplinäres Forschungsgebiet, [in:] S. Ripsas (ed.) Entrepreneurship als ökonomischer Prozeß, Deutscher Universitätsverlag, Wiesbaden 1997, p. 275. 8 B. Stankiewicz, J. Strojny, Wielowymiarowa analiza przedsie˛biorczos´ci – metodologia, narze˛dzia i znaczenie dla społeczen´stwa informacyjnego. “Przedsie˛biorczos´c´ – Edukacja”, no. 5, 2009, pp. 117–132. 9 K. Wach, Paradygmat gospodarki przedsie˛biorczej a polityka wspierania przedsie˛biorczos´ci, [in:] K. Zielin´ski (ed.) Formy i przejawy współczesnej przedsie˛biorczos´ci w Polsce, Difin, Warszawa 2014, pp. 13–30; T. Rachwał, K. Wach, Badanie intencji przedsie˛biorczych młodego pokolenia: wyniki ankietyzacji ws´ród studentów kierunków nieekonomicznych. “Przedsie˛biorczos´c´ – Edukacja”, 12, 2016, pp. 405–415. 10 A. Walter, A. Auer, Academic Entrepreneurship Unternehmertum in der Forschung, Gabler, Wiesbaden 2009, pp. 1–2. 11 K. Neuschäfer, Beteiligungen an Spin-offs als Instrument der Gründungsförderung, [in:] J. Teichert, R. Ofianka, A. Jendrosch (eds.) Universitäre Gründungsförderung: Abläufe, Akteure, Erfolge, Waxmann, Münster-New York 2015, pp. 113–122.

16

Magdalena Zapotoczna

ciated with the university – researchers, students and doctoral students. It also involves the promotion of entrepreneurship, education for entrepreneurship and activation to entrepreneurship. As Marek Kwiek points out, “the Polish – very widespread – version of academic entrepreneurship almost does not refer to the functioning of the academy, reforming its shape and management methods, searching for new, additional sources of income and establishing new, innovative academic and administrative units of universities [yes, what it looks like in the countries of Western Europe – M. Z] (…). It is not the university that is supposed to open up to the outside world, but its graduates should be able to establish and run their own business”12. Although there is no contradiction between the one and the other understanding of entrepreneurship, different approaches imply the use of different development tools13.

Formal and legal conditions and infrastructure to support academic entrepreneurship in Poland Activities undertaken as part of economic and social policy create the foundations of support systems that crystallize at the level of selected elements of various sectoral policies. Instruments for supporting academic entrepreneurship, involving legislative, financial, organizational and social issues, are developed within the framework of innovation, structural and educational policy. The growing interest in the development of support systems can be noticed at all levels – from university authorities, external stakeholders, to government authorities. Activation of the academic environment and cooperation between business and the sphere of science is one of the priorities in the pursuit of the knowledge-based economy and society. Despite the centralization of decisions on the directions of implementation of the educational policy of higher education in Poland, there is no one universal model for the entrepreneurship support system that would guarantee success14. Activities result from regional conditions

12 M. Kwiek, Transformacje uniwersytetu. Zmiany instytucjonalne i ewlucje polityki edukacyjnej w Europie, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznan´ 2010, p. 238. 13 K. B. Matusiak, M. Matusiak, Poje˛cie i ekonomiczne znaczenie przedsie˛biorczos´ci akademickiej. “Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecin´skiego. Ekonomiczne Problemy Usług”, 8, 207, pp. 155–165. 14 Przegla˛d polityk i programów rozwoju przedsie˛biorczos´ci sprzyjaja˛cych wła˛czeniu społecznemu Wspieranie przedsie˛biorczos´ci ws´ród osób młodych w Polsce, Ministerstwo Infrastruktury i Rozwoju, Warszawa 2015, p. 16. Available at: https://www.funduszeeuropejskie.go v.pl/media/9042/Raport_OECD_przedsiebiorczosc_mlodych.pdf [access: 20. 05. 2022].

Higher education policy towards the need for activing academic entrepreneurship

17

and available growth factors, and reflect the specificity of the local scientific and economic environment. The concept of academic entrepreneurship in Poland was legally regulated with the entry into force of the amendment to the Act of 27. 07. 2005 – Law on higher education15. The Act revises the mission of a modern university set in the realities of social and economic life. In addition to conducting research and educating students, cooperation with the related environment was considered an equally important task. Significant changes were introduced on March 18, 2011 by an amendment to the act, in which a novelty was the regulations on intellectual rights and the principles of commercialization of the results of academic research and development works16. Currently, all issues related to academic entrepreneurship are regulated by the Act of July 20, 201817. The legal interpretation from 2011 made it possible for the first time to create and run business incubators and technology transfer centers at universities. The purpose of establishing incubators is to support the economic activity of the academic community or university employees and students who are entrepreneurs, while in the case of transfer centers it is about selling or transferring the results of research and development works free of charge to the economy. Moreover, the act defines activities related to the commercialization of the results of scientific research and development works. By introducing changes to the Law on Higher Education, the foundations were created for the university, apart from playing the role of a research and teaching unit, to be an institution creating and stimulating entrepreneurship in its immediate environment. In addition to the amendment of legal regulations, entrepreneurial activities of academic centers in Poland can rely on the support of special EU and regional programs18. It is worth mentioning, however, that the proposed solutions and initiatives are most often addressed to representatives of exact and technical sciences. Programs and projects carried out at Polish universities, strictly dedicated to students of non-technology faculties, are still incidental. An example of initiatives on a national scale is the Social Innovation program implemented by the National Center for Research and Development and the BRing project coordinated by the Center for Strategic Development. 15 Ustawa z dnia 27 lipca 2005 r. Prawo o szkolnictwie wyz˙szym. Available at: https://isap.sej m.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20051641365/T/D20051365L.pdf [access: 20. 05. 2022]. 16 Ustawa z dnia 18 marca 2011 r. o zmianie ustawy – Prawo o szkolnictwie wyz˙szym, ustawy o stopniach naukowych i tytule naukowym oraz o stopniach i tytule w zakresie sztuki oraz o zmianie niektórych innych ustaw. Available at: https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.x sp/WDU20110840455/T/D20110455L.pdf [access: 20. 05. 2022]. 17 Ustawa z dnia 20 lipca 2018 r. Prawo o szkolnictwie wyz˙szym i nauce. Available at: https://i sap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20180001668/U/D20181668Lj.pdf [access: 20. 05. 2022]. 18 A. Komarnicka, Przedsie˛biorczos´c´…, p. 52.

18

Magdalena Zapotoczna

In the last decade, many efforts have been made to intensify activities related to the creation of a support network for entrepreneurship at universities. The infrastructure supporting academic entrepreneurship in Poland consists of technology transfer centers, career offices, business incubators, science parks and science and technology parks. The aforementioned institutions perform various functions, combining them depending on the level of development, possibilities, resources and purposes for which they were established19. Due to the form of support they offer, they have been divided into two categories: the first one covers the forms of “soft”, non-material, training and advisory support, while the second is “hard”, material, oriented towards infrastructural and financial support. The first category of support provided in the field of academic entrepreneurship development is determined by broadly understood entrepreneurship education based on “soft” (non-material) support. It consists of units at universities that take the form of technology transfer centers and career offices. The common denominator of their activities are training and information activities, such as mentoring, coaching, organization of seminars, lectures, workshops, etc. Counseling and legal care are also extremely important elements of “soft” support. The second group of support centers, referred to as “hard”, includes business incubators, science parks and science and technology parks. The purpose of their activity is to build links between science and the economy, promote entrepreneurial attitudes among research workers and students, and support spinoff companies. Financial support granted to university entrepreneurs is implemented within the framework of national competitions and scholarship funds or university financial subsidies and specific subsidies. Organizational assistance consists in providing the university’s infrastructure, such as office equipment, seminar rooms, websites, laboratory laboratories or enabling the lease of coworking spaces.

Conclusion The university of three missions becomes the academic canon of the 21st century. The current model of the university based on teaching and research is enriched with the preparation of the academic community for self-employment. The approach adopted shows the currently changing paradigm of higher education. From an organization emphasizing the autotelic value of knowledge, a university 19 A. Ba˛kowski, M. Maz˙ewska (eds.), Os´rodki innowacji i przedsie˛biorczos´ci w Polsce: Raport 2012, Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsie˛biorczos´ci, Warszawa 2012, p. 12.

Higher education policy towards the need for activing academic entrepreneurship

19

becomes an organization that tries to meet social and economic expectations in terms of creating utilitarian knowledge20. Academic entrepreneurship creates opportunities for the development of economic activity in the environment and completes the mission and vision of an entrepreneurial university. Entrepreneurship within the university frame should be viewed broadly, in a comprehensive manner, ranging from popularizing the idea and motivating to think in market terms, through the organization of the didactic process and education in the field of entrepreneurship, and ending with broad connections between the university and the economic area. The activation of academic entrepreneurship is a long-term process, the effects of which appear after many years. At Polish universities, this is an area in the stage of initial development. In Poland, there is no national strategy in the field of entrepreneurship, in particular, there is no uniform vision of supporting entrepreneurship at universities. “Poland 2030” is a strategic document that contains some proposals aimed at increasing the availability of public programs developing attitudes favoring entrepreneurship and supporting entrepreneurship also in the university space21. This initiative could be supported by the introduction of entrepreneurship classes at all levels and fields of study, including technical, vocational, agricultural and artistic, and the implementation of projects under public, private and social partnerships. This fact also points to a clear need to support graduates in setting up low-tech companies and to train a broader group of students in basic entrepreneurial skills. The multiplicity of approaches to the issue of academic entrepreneurship draws attention to the possibility of initiating various forms of cooperation between universities and the business sphere. This is especially important from the perspective of the benefits associated with the development of academic entrepreneurship and the improvement of the innovativeness of the economy. In order to take full advantage of the entrepreneurial potential which is the leverage of social and economic development, and also to be able to meet the challenges of the next several decades, an urgent need to intensify activities in the Polish educational policy of a university is indicated. At the national level, government institutions should be expected to systematically amend and introduce legal, financial and fiscal instruments regulating the framework of cooperation between universities and the business community and support institutions. Specifying the forms and instruments of activating cooperation would also facilitate 20 B. Denman, What is a university in 21st century?. “Higher Education Management and Policy”, vol. 17, 2005, no. 2, p. 24. 21 Polska 2030. Szansa na skok do gospodarczej ekstraklasy, McKinsey&Company, Warszawa 2019. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/pl/~/media/McKinsey/Locations/Europe%20 and%20Middle%20East/Polska/Raporty/Polska%202030/Raport%20Polska%202030%20Mc Kinsey%20Forbes.ashx [access: 18. 06. 2022].

20

Magdalena Zapotoczna

the development of university strategies in this area. An area requiring reflection is the enrichment of the university’s program offer with modules on entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialization of knowledge. Entrepreneurship should also be the subject of professional education at the academic level, as this type of educational programs may contribute to improving the chances of students and doctoral students – candidates for entrepreneurs on the labor market. A challenge for all universities, in addition to traditional teaching and research functions, is shaping among students and employees attitudes open to entrepreneurship and self-employment, and initiating partnership and network relations between universities and business22. The considerations undertaken herein do not exhaust the exploration of the analyzed issues. The multiplicity and variety of phenomena related to academic entrepreneurship opens a space for discussion on the possibility of supporting and stimulating entrepreneurial attitudes in the area of higher education.

Bibliography Altbach Ph. G., Reisberg L., Rumbley L. E., Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution. A Report Prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education, UNESCO, Paris 2009. Ba˛kowski A., Maz˙ewska M. (eds.), Os´rodki innowacji i przedsie˛biorczos´ci w Polsce: Raport 2012, Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsie˛biorczos´ci, Warszawa 2012. Cies´lik J., Kształcenie w zakresie przedsie˛biorczos´ci na poziomie akademickim, [in:] P. Wachowiak, M. Da˛browski, B. Majewski (eds.), Kształtowanie Postaw Przedsie˛biorczych a Edukacja Ekonomiczna, Fundacja Promocji i Akredytacji Kierunków Ekonomicznych, Warszawa 2007. Denman B., What is a university in 21st century?. “Higher Education Management and Policy”, vol. 17, 2005, no. 2. Komarnicka A., Przedsie˛biorczos´c´ akademicka w Polsce. Stan, uwarunkowania i perspektywy rozwoju, Wydawnictwa Uczelniane Uniwersytetu Technologiczno-Przyrodniczego, Bydgoszcz 2020. Kwiek M., Transformacje uniwersytetu. Zmiany instytucjonalne i ewolucje polityki edukacyjnej w Europie, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznan´ 2010. Matusiak K. B., Matusiak M., Poje˛cie i ekonomiczne znaczenie przedsie˛biorczos´ci akademickiej. “Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecin´skiego. Ekonomiczne Problemy Usług”, 8.

22 K. B. Matusiak, Rozwój systemów wsparcia przedsie˛biorczos´ci. Przesłanki, polityka i instytucje, Instytut Technologii Eksploatacji, Radom–Łódz´ 2006, p. 74.

Higher education policy towards the need for activing academic entrepreneurship

21

Matusiak, K. B., Rozwój systemów wsparcia przedsie˛biorczos´ci. Przesłanki, polityka i instytucje, Instytut Technologii Eksploatacji, Radom–Łódz´ 2006. Neuschäfer K., Beteiligungen an Spin-offs als Instrument der Gründungsförderung, [in:] J. Teichert, R. Ofianka, A. Jendrosch (eds.) Universitäre Gründungsförderung: Abläufe, Akteure, Erfolge, Waxmann, Münster-New York 2015. Piwowar-Sulej K., Kwil I. Przedsie˛biorczos´c´, przedsie˛biorczos´c´ akademicka i technologiczna, innowacyjnos´c´ – próba systematyzacji. “Przegla˛d Organizacji”, nr 7 (942), 2018. Polska 2030. Szansa na skok do gospodarczej ekstraklasy, McKinsey&Company, Warszawa 2019. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/pl/~/media/McKinsey/Locations/Eu rope%20and%20Middle%20East/Polska/Raporty/Polska%202030/Raport%20Polska% 202030%20McKinsey%20Forbes.ashx [access: 18. 06. 2022]. Przegla˛d polityk i programów rozwoju przedsie˛biorczos´ci sprzyjaja˛cych wła˛czeniu społecznemu Wspieranie przedsie˛biorczos´ci ws´ród osób młodych w Polsce, Ministerstwo Infrastruktury i Rozwoju, Warszawa 2015, p. 16. Available at: https://www.funduszee uropejskie.gov.pl/media/9042/Raport_OECD_przedsiebiorczosc_mlodych.pdf [access: 20. 05. 2022]. Rachwał T., Wach K., Badanie intencji przedsie˛biorczych młodego pokolenia: wyniki ankietyzacji ws´ród studentów kierunków nieekonomicznych. “Przedsie˛biorczos´c´ – Edukacja”, 12, 2016. Ripsas S., Entrepreneurship: ein interdisziplinäres Forschungsgebiet, [in:] S. Ripsas (ed.) Entrepreneurship als ökonomischer Prozeß, Deutscher Universitätsverlag, Wiesbaden 1997. Stankiewicz B., Strojny J., Wielowymiarowa analiza przedsie˛biorczos´ci – metodologia, narze˛dzia i znaczenie dla społeczen´stwa informacyjnego. “Przedsie˛biorczos´c´ – Edukacja”, no. 5, 2009. Stasiak J., Miejsce i rola przedsie˛biorczos´ci akademickiej w gospodarce rynkowej, [in]: R. Piwowarski (ed.), Przedsie˛biorstwa spin-off i spin-out – przewodnik praktyczny, Dom Wydawniczy Michał Kolin´ski, Łódz´ 2011. Ustawa z dnia 18 marca 2011 r. o zmianie ustawy – Prawo o szkolnictwie wyz˙szym, ustawy o stopniach naukowych i tytule naukowym oraz o stopniach i tytule w zakresie sztuki oraz o zmianie niektórych innych ustaw. Available at: https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/do wnload.xsp/WDU20110840455/T/D20110455L.pdf [access: 20. 05. 2022]. Ustawa z dnia 20 lipca 2018 r. Prawo o szkolnictwie wyz˙szym i nauce. Available at: https://i sap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20180001668/U/D20181668Lj.pdf [access: 20. 05. 2022]. Ustawa z dnia 27 lipca 2005 r. Prawo o szkolnictwie wyz˙szym. Available at: https://isap.se jm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20051641365/T/D20051365L.pdf [access: 20. 05. 2022]. Wach K., Paradygmat gospodarki przedsie˛biorczej a polityka wspierania przedsie˛biorczo´sci, [in:] K. Zielin´ski (ed.) Formy i przejawy współczesnej przedsie˛biorczos´ci w Polsce, Difin, Warszawa 2014, pp. 13–30. Walter A., Auer A., Academic Entrepreneurship Unternehmertum in der Forschung, Gabler, Wiesbaden 2009. Wissema J. G., Uniwersytet trzeciej generacji. Uczelnia XXI wieku, Wydawnictwo Zante, Ze˛bice 2009.

Anita Famuła-Jurczak

Principles of Universal Design in Inclusive Education

The school is an institution whose task is to prepare students to function in society. Constant civilization, cultural and social changes mean that change becomes an immanent feature of education. However, no matter what the source of establishing values and goals of upbringing will be, the overriding goal is the development of the student. In recent years, a lot of space has been devoted to the model of inclusive education. Education in which every child, regardless of limitations, can gain knowledge together with their peers. Therefore, new requirements are placed on teachers. They are expected to build a methodological workshop that will be helpful in increasing the effectiveness of the teaching process. The aim of the article is to present the model of universal design in education (UDL). Difficulties in understanding inclusive education, the history of universal design and the principles of universal design will be presented. The entire article will end with the guidelines necessary to evaluate UDL in the work of a teacher.

Inclusive education – theoretical and practical assumptions From the analyzes carried out by researchers on the implementation of the assumptions of inclusive education and the way it is understood, four basic ways of presenting it can be identified. Depending on how inclusive education will be understood socially and what activities educators will focus on, there is a risk of: 1. too large segregation of students – when we focus only on the needs of students with disabilities; 2. Treating the education of people with disabilities as a separate task of the school – working time with students is entrusted only to special educators

24

Anita Famuła-Jurczak

with the limitation of their influence on the organization of the education process1; 3. focusing on the needs of all learners, which may lead to the reduction or unnotice of the needs of people with disabilities2.

Inclusive educa!on

• indica!ng a place to study for people with disabili!es • mee!ng the needs of people with disabili!es or those in need of support • mee!ng the needs of all school a"endants • crea!ng space for building a community, a sense of belonging

Scheme 1. Ways of describing inclusive education. Source: own study based on: C. Nilholm, K. Göransson, What Is Meant by Inclusion? – An Analysis of High Impact Research in North America and Europe. “European Journal of Special Needs Education”, 32(3), 2017, pp. 437–451.

Instead of focusing on theoretical assumptions, which, as you can see, are ambiguous, it is worth focusing on the relational nature of the educational process, which takes into account both the activity of the teacher and the student. Such thinking leads to improving the quality of education without distinguishing inclusive education and is focused on improving the accessibility of the learning process, taking into account both people with certificates, but also students with individual predispositions, needs, interests, and cultural experiences3.In such a model, we focus on the scope of the student’s participation in the educational process. Participation, which includes group involvement, a sense of influence, agency, responsibility for actions4. The extent to which a student can participate in the educational process depends on his resources and, above all, development opportunities and the resulting limitations. In this process, there is an interaction between the individual’s activity and the environment in which that activity takes place. The implementation of the postulate of involving students in the learning process will be possible only when their abilities are properly adjusted to the 1 See: G. Szumski, Koncepcje edukacji wła˛czaja˛cej [in:]: Edukacja wła˛czaja˛ca w przedszkolu i szkole, I. Chrzanowska, G. Szumski (eds.), Wydawnictwo FRSE, Warszawa 2019. 2 See: Zob. Jachimczak, Kształcenie nauczycieli dla edukacji. “Studia Edukacyjne”, 48, 2018, pp. 33–43. 3 E. Domagała-Zys´k, Standardy i wskazówki do przygotowywania oraz adaptacji narze˛dzi diagnostycznych i procesu diagnostycznego dla dzieci i młodziez˙y z lekka˛ niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ intelektualna˛ oraz trudnos´ciami w uczeniu sie˛ [in:] Diagnoza specjalnych potrzeb rozwojowych i edukacyjnych dzieci i młodziez˙y, K. Krakowiak (ed.), ORE, Warszawa 2017; E. DomagałaZys´k, T. Knopik, Functional diagnosis as a strategy for implementing inclusive education in Poland. “Revista Brasileira de Educação Especial”, 26(2), 2020, pp. 203–22. 4 Model Edukacji dla Wszystkich, Ministerstwo Edukacji i Nauki, Warszawa 2020.

Principles of Universal Design in Inclusive Education

25

environment in which the process takes place. It is therefore necessary to provide students with a space where various opportunities will be provided to reveal and develop student competences. One of the models – also used in didactics and educational psychology5 – model that describes the synergy between the needs and capabilities of the student and the educational environment is the Universal Design model.

Universal design in education – assumptions, goals, principles The universal design model has its roots in architectural thinking. It was more or less in the 1980s in the United States that the idea that promoted the assumption that space should be designed so that it can be used by as many people as possible appeared in the United States. Ronald L. Mace is considered to be the creator of the concept of universal design, who proposed to understand design in a global way. In general, universal design can be defined as designing products and the environment in such a way that they are used by the largest group of people, regardless of age, possibilities and situation, so that the project does not require further adaptations and is at the same time a very flexible project6. The basic principles of universal design are presented in the table below. Table 1. Principles of universal design Principles of universal design Equal access The design is useful for people with different abilities Flexibility The way of using the project depends on the preferences and capabilities of the user Simplicity

The use of the project is intuitive and easy, regardless of the user’s previous experience Comprehensibility of the The information contained in the project can be received by information the user regardless of the communication channels used by him Fault tolerance Little physical exertion

The design of the project minimizes the effects of inappropriate actions The design is used efficiently with little physical involvement

5 C. Acrey, Ch. Johnstone, C. Milligan, Using Universal Design to unlock the potential for academic achievement of at-risk learners. “Teaching Exceptional Children”, 38, 2005, pp. 22–31; D. H. Rose, A. Meyer [et al.], Teaching every student in the digital age: universal design for learning, Alexandria 2002, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, p. 216. 6 H. Neumann, What teacher – librarian should know about universal design: one size does not fit all. “Teacher Librarian”, 31, 2003, no. 2, pp. 17–20.

26

Anita Famuła-Jurczak

Table 1 (Continued) Principles of universal design Suitable environment The design can be used by users regardless of their biopsycho-social characteristics Source: own study based on: C. Acrey, Ch. Johnston, C. Milligan, Using Universal Design to unlock the potential for academic achievement of at-risk learners. “Teaching Exceptional Children”, vol. 38, 2005, pp. 22–31.

On the educational ground, the model of universal design appeared thanks to the activities of the American Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). Taking into account the assumptions regarding equal access to education by all students, the term universal design for learning was introduced in the early 1990s. The basic assumption at that time was to prepare the didactic process in such a way that would satisfy the needs of students with various perceptual abilities and predispositions. Frank Bowe adopted the definition of universal design to the conditions existing in the educational space, describing universal design in teaching as: “Prepare programs, materials and environments in such a way that they can be appropriately and easily used by a wide range of people”7. This definition sets out the tasks facing the creators and implementers of the educational process. In designing education, they have a responsibility to make the activities as useful as possible for all students. A model of universal design in education used in the design of teaching methods, preparation of didactic materials or a defined method of assessment. The implementation of the universal programming model requires the reference to three neural network systems that are involved in the learning process and that answer three questions: The above questions, when organizing education in universal design, and their source are neurocognitive systems, which include: 1. cognitive networks – responsible for receiving signals by the senses, interpreting these signals and recognizing objects and models; 2. strategic networks – react to already identified information models and manage the response; allow for planning, coordination or performance of cognitive activities;sieci 3. affective networks – they are responsible for decisions, manipulating models, and regulate emotions8. In the learning process, there are differences in the activity of individual networks in individuals, therefore the teacher’s task is to take into account the limits 7 C. Acrey, Ch. Johnstone, C. Milligan, Using Universal Design to unlock the potential for academic achievement of at-risk learners. “Teaching Exceptional Children”, 38, 2005, pp. 22–31. 8 A. Meyer, D.H. Rose, D. Gordon, Universal design for learning: Theory and practice, Center for Applied Special Technology, Wakefield 2014.

Ques!ons posed in universal design in educa!on

Principles of Universal Design in Inclusive Education

27

What should we learn?

How should we learn?

Why should we learn?

Scheme 2. Questions posed in universal design in education. Source: own study based on: C. Acrey; Ch. Johnston; C. Milligan, Using Universal Design to unlock the potential for academic achievement of at-risk learners. “Teaching Exceptional Children”, 38, 2005, pp. 22–31.

of the proximal development of the individual and to arrange an appropriate educational environment. As emphasized by the researchers, the functions of neural networks constitute the basis for the formulation of three basic principles of universal design in education. These rules, on the other hand, contain guidelines, and these are provided with detailed guidelines that allow the teacher to verify that he or she works in accordance with the model of universal design in education. The mutual arrangement of rules and guidelines is presented in Table 2.

28

Anita Famuła-Jurczak

Table 2. Layout of rules and guidelines in UDL Layout of rules and guidelines in UDL Principle Providing various media of information transmission during classes (form of transmission, multi-modality of transmission)

Guidelines Perception

Reference not only to one modality during the presentation of the content (providing the same information with the use of different modalities or adapting the format to the individual abilities of the student)

Language and symbols

Use of alternative ways of presenting information with clarity and comprehensibility for all learners Understanding Enabling students to process information and combine it with information previously acquired

Providing the possibility of vari- Physical activous forms of expression and pre- ities sentation of educational achievements Expression and communication

Providing materials adapted to the perceptive abilities of students and allowing them to present their knowledge Providing alternative means of communication (oral, written)

Executive func- Create the conditions for the autions tomation of lower-order functions or by increasing higher-order functions Providing various forms of moti- Arousing inter- Use of alternative ways to develop vating to work est students’ interest, including those that involve individual and intra differences Taking into account differences in motivation, abilities and self-regulatory skills of students and susceptibility to contextual disruptions Self-regulation Creating conditions for developing and modulating affective states

Maintaining perseverance

Source: own study based on: D. H. Rose, A. Meyer, Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria 2002; D. H. Rose, David Howard [et al.], Teaching every student in the digital age: universal design for learning. Alexandria 2002: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, p. 216.

The implementation of the principles and the application of guidelines in the design of the educational process will allow students to fully use the educational material, because during the lesson, both the content, methods and teaching resources used will be adapted to the needs and capabilities of the student. In

Principles of Universal Design in Inclusive Education

29

addition, the teacher constantly cares about stimulating the student’s perseverance, and the student himself learns to reduce his own affective processes

A model of universal design in education – an opportunity for education The model of universal design in education oscillates around the effectiveness of the learning process and not the mere availability of education. Such understanding of the approach to education means that we focus on the question of what high-quality education should look like for each student. However, it is worth remembering that the UDL model gives a certain perspective and should not be limited only to planning education, but should aim at planning the learning experience. Thanks to the combination of cognitive, executive and affective functions, the UDL model becomes an interesting inspiration for many teachers. What do we gain from implementing universal design in education? Undoubtedly, the suspended workload that is inevitable in the preparation of classes taking into account the principles of UDL will result in an improvement in the quality of the educational process. Thanks to the applied principles, teaching will become better organized. The most important thing, however, is that education will be available to all students, as it will take into account their needs and development opportunities. Important benefits related to the implementation of universal design in teaching are also the chance to avoid isolating students with disabilities and the possibility of eliminating unequal treatment, which sometimes takes the form of a “reduced tariff”.

Bibliography Acrey Ch. Johnstone, C. Milligan, Using Universal Design to unlock the potential for academic achievement of at-risk learners. “Teaching Exceptional Children”, vol. 38, 2005, 22–31. Domagała-Zys´k E., Standardy i wskazówki do przygotowywania oraz adaptacji narze˛dzi diagnostycznych i procesu diagnostycznego dla dzieci i młodziez˙y z lekka˛ niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ intelektualna˛ oraz trudnos´ciami w uczeniu sie˛ [in:] Diagnoza specjalnych potrzeb rozwojowych i edukacyjnych dzieci i młodziez˙y, K. Krakowiak (ed.), ORE, Warszawa 2017. Domagała-Zys´k E., Knopik T., Functional diagnosis as a strategy for implementing inclusive education in Poland. “Revista Brasileira de Educação Especial”, 26(2): 2020, 203–22. Jachimczak B., Kształcenie nauczycieli dla edukacji. “Studia Edukacyjne”, 48, 2018, 33–43. Meyer A., Rose D. H., Gordon D., Universal design for learning: Theory and practice, Center for Applied Special Technology, Wakefield 2014.

30

Anita Famuła-Jurczak

Model Edukacji dla Wszystkich, Ministerstwo Edukacji i Nauki, Warszawa 2020. Neumann H., What teacher – librarian should know about universal design: one size does not fit all. “Teacher Librarian”, 31, no. 2, 2003, 17–20. Szumski G., Koncepcje edukacji wła˛czaja˛cej, [in:]: Edukacja wła˛czaja˛ca w przedszkolu i szkole, I. Chrzanowska, G. Szumski (eds.), Wydawnictwo FRSE, Warszawa 2019.

Marzenna Magda-Adamowicz

Training teachers to pedagogical creativity in Poland

Introduction Nowadays, the importance of creativity in our reality is growing, also in education systems, including higher education, which results from the emergence of new aspects of the socio-economic environment. One of the first is the development of artificial intelligence, which is associated with a demand for poorly educated employees, on the one hand, and for employees with high competences, on the other hand. These competences will primarily consist of creativity and the ability to think critically. In terms of creating new knowledge and innovation, international competition is successively growing. This is why our country needs more entrepreneurship and innovation. This is also because labour costs across Europe are much higher than in most countries on other continents. At the same time, the rate of economic growth in Europe is much slower, making it increasingly difficult for European governments to meet growing social and national needs. As part of this international competition in the economic area, many countries are becoming increasingly aware that effective education system at every level is the key to gaining international competitive advantage. Therefore, parents’, pupils’ and employers’ expectations towards school are changing. In this way, cultural and social changes as well as the introduction of new technologies require a relevant makeover in the education system. Therefore, it seems most desirable to develop creativity both in pupils and in their teachers. It should be at the top of agenda in education systems1, especially because pedagogical creativity and innovation have been at the heart of the European Union’s educational policy for years now2. 1 OECD, Enabling the Next Production Revolution: the Future of Manufacturing and Services – Interim Report, Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level, Paris, 1–2 June 2016. 2 A. Ferrari, R. Cachia, Y. Punie, Innovation and Creativity in the EU Member States: Fostering Creative Learning and Supporting Innovative Teaching, European Communities, Luxembourg 2009; European Union, Joint Progress Report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the ‘Education and Training 2010 work programme’, C 117/01, 2010; K. Coate,

32

Marzenna Magda-Adamowicz

The essence of academic education For centuries, academic education has been seen as an important factor in social and economic development, as it has maintained the continuity of the traditions of culture and science. It has been educating specialists with the highest level of qualifications and conducting scientific research, as well as creating and disseminating new scientific knowledge. This in turn has been largely affecting the condition of countries and their societies. There is no doubt that the university model has to a large extent been shaped under the influence of the centuries-old tradition3. The history of universities over the centuries has been dependent on many political, ideological and economic conditions. They have enjoyed greater or lesser independence, as well as greater or lesser potential of developing various fields of science and influencing social life. Despite the differing conditions of functioning and specific models of activity, there has always been a conviction that universities are meant to deal with comprehensive understanding of the world and to develop various fields of knowledge. They have embodied the idea of wisdom, and their essence lay in educating wise, reflective, critical, searching and creative people who are humanist-oriented and have a wide range of knowledge. Thus, the model of universitas, i. e. the basic type of a multi-faculty university, developed4. Within the long period from the 12th to the 19th century, views defining the main functions of universities were established. At the time, they were of an elite character, and their main purpose was to maintain cultural continuity; to transfer the achievements of science and to consolidate the adopted patterns of behaviour; to develop pupils’ intellectual skills; to prepare them to participate in social, cultural, political and scientific life, as well as to prepare the privileged classes to manage state administration and the economy5. In the 19th century, the development of science, as well as the diversification of social needs in terms of culture, economy, education and other areas of life, resulted in the diversification of university schools into general vocational colleges: polytechnic universities, medical schools, fine arts and others. The 20th century was also a time of increasing the differentiation. Apart from universities fulfilling all functions proper to universities, numerous higher edA. Boulos, Creativity in education: challenging the assumptions. “London Review of Education”, 10 (2) 2002, pp. 129–132; M. Griffiths, Encouraging imagination and creativity in the teaching profession. “European Educational Research Journal”, 13 (1) 2014. 3 K. Denek, Uniwersytet w perspektywie społeczen´stwa wiedzy. Nauka i edukacja w uniwersytecie XXI wieku, Wydawnictwo WSiA w Poznaniu 2011. 4 Ibidem. 5 S. Wołoszyn, Dzieje wychowania i mys´li pedagogicznej w zarysie, PWN, Warszawa 1997.

Training teachers to pedagogical creativity in Poland

33

ucation institutions were established, which were aimed at fulfilling only some selected functions. Already at the beginning of the 21st century, we observe that higher education has partially lost its elitist character. Nowadays, universities are increasingly treated by politicians and the majority of society, almost as higher vocational schools, the aim of which is to prepare a highly qualified class of specialists in a narrow field of knowledge. Hence, many faculties are moving away from general education. In this situation, universities becomes only instruments of transmission, values, qualifications and competences that are needed in society. Teaching staff at universities are moving away from their original role of masters towards a newly defined role of teachers, which turned universities into a form of bureaucratic organisations in which students receive fragmented knowledge, devoid of individualism, innovation and independent thinking. The function of university education is transforming into a market form of educational services. The changes taking place in the world, including in Poland, force changes in the system of higher education. Therefore, in recent years, representatives of various fields of science, politicians and officials have been discussing the future of schools, as well as the issues of teachers’ professional qualifications, taking into account their role as a professional group in shaping the new face of education and society. It is becoming more and more common to believe that teachers’ pedagogical creativity is one of fundamental preconditions for the development of effective educational strategies6.

The concept, aspects and approaches to creativity In Antiquity and the Middle Ages the term create was not used, because it was believed that man recreates what God already created. It was only around the 18th century that a man who practiced art was considered a creator. Until the midtwentieth century, work had been a measure of creativity. Until the 1990s, researchers had explored only one of the aspects of creativity, i. e. a product or a

6 C. Banach, Polska szkoła i system edukacji: przemiany i perspektywy, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun´ 2006; T. Giza, Przygotowanie studentów do twórczej pracy pedagogicznej: teoria i praktyka, Wydawnictwo Wyz˙szej Szkoły Pedagogicznej im. Jana Kochanowskiego, Kielce 1999; M. Magda-Adamowicz, Uwarunkowania efektywnos´ci kształcenia nauczycieli klas I–III w zakresie twórczos´ci pedagogiczne, Oficyna Wydawnicza Uniwersytetu Zielonogórskiego, Zielona Góra 2009; M. Magda-Adamowicz, Twórczos´c´ pedagogiczna nauczycieli w konteks´cie systemowym. Z´ródła, koncepcja i identyfikacje, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun´ 2015; R. Schulz, Twórczos´c´ pedagogiczna. Elementy teorii i badan´, Instytut Badan´ Edukacyjnych, Warszawa 1994.

34

Marzenna Magda-Adamowicz

process in the context of personality traits7. In the 20th century, the concept of creativity is widely used, which is understood as any human activity that goes beyond simple prescriptions and provided information8. The stimuli received from the outside are not complete, so we must form the world, merge it. For these reasons, contemporary creativity is considered in the following dimensions: 1. Creative work, which is a product of a creative process and which meets the basic criteria: novelty, generativity, effectiveness (theoretical or practical), value (cognitive, aesthetic, pragmatic and ethical) and originality9. 2. Processual, i. e. consciously realised in the course of solving problems in a specific time by undefined intellectual operations with self-transgression10. 3. Personality traits, i. e. those allowing a person to produce creative works11. 4. Values and lifestyle, i. e. as a desired state to which a person aspires, perfecting themselves and their immediate surroundings12. Thus, the above classification reveals that creativity is treated both subjectively and objectively, as well as in an elitist and an egalitarian manner. In its subjective understanding, the personal (individual) function of the process of creation or its product is emphasised. The subject is creative if he has certain specific features and the author of innovations, projects, books (etc.) is considered to be creative. This thesis is in line with the elitist approach, assuming that only outstanding minds are capable of producing works of great social value, novelty and originality. On the other hand, the egalitarian approach assumes that creativity occurs in every person, but with a different strength and intensity13. Creativity occurs in every area of human life and knowledge in which people work freely and which contributes to a creation of a work, which may be a product of an individual as well as a collective process in situations of cooperation, e. g. by a group of educators, architects, etc.

7 M. Magda-Adamowicz, Uwarunkowania…, op. cit.; K. J. Szmidt, Pedagogika twórczos´ci, Gdan´skie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdan´sk 2013. 8 W. Tatarkiewicz, Dzieje szes´ciu poje˛c´, PWN, Warszawa 1982. 9 E. Ne˛cka, Psychologia twórczos´ci, Gdan´skie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdan´sk 2001; K. J. Szmidt, Pedagogika twórczos´ci, Gdan´skie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdan´sk 2013; S. Popek, Psychologia twórczos´ci plastycznej, Oficyna Wydawnicza Impuls, Kraków 2010; M. Stasiakiewicz, Twórczos´c´ i interakcja, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznan´ 1999, p. 170. 10 S. Popek, Psychologia…, op. cit. 11 W. Dobrołowicz, Psychodydaktyka kreatywnos´ci, Wyz˙sza Szkoła Pedagogiki Specjalnej im. Marii Grzegorzewskiej, Warszawa 1995; E. Ne˛cka, Psychologia…, op. cit.; K. J. Szmidt, Pedagogika…, op. cit.; S. Popek, Psychologia…, op. cit. 12 B. Suchodolski, Edukacja permanentna: rozdroz˙a i nadzieje, Towarzystwo Wolnej Wszechnicy Polskiej, Warszawa 2003; M. Szyman´ski, Twórczos´c´ i style poznawcze uczniów, Wydawnictwo Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Warszawa 1987. 13 M. Magda-Adamowicz, Uwarunkowania…, op. cit.; S. Popek, Psychologia…, op. cit.

35

Training teachers to pedagogical creativity in Poland

Sources and the original concept of teacher’s pedagogical creativity Teachers’ pedagogical creativity is a complex, multifactorial and dynamic category. The original concept of teachers’ pedagogical creativity is rooted in the interactive theory of creativity by S. Popek14, in pedagogical creativity by R. Schulz15, as well as in creativity levels by E. Ne˛cka16. Due to the limited volume of the text, their essence is summarised in the table below. Table 1. Sources and the essence of teachers’ pedagogical creativity Classifications of creativity author and year S. Popek (1985, 2010)

R. Schulz (1994)

E. Ne˛cka (2001)

Subjective – also called secondary, egalitarian, – is the most frequent – it is discovering existing phenomena that authors do not know about. – for them, the creation is new and original.

Pedagogical creativity synonymous with pedagogical work – shaping people, – shaping personalities, – educating by means of creative activities.

Liquid creativity – generating new ideas, – elementary cognitive, emotional and motivational processes, – generating new ideas, – divergent thinking processes, – attention, – perception, imagination, – conceptual knowledge.

Pedagogical creativity synonymous with modern work – planning and implementing new products (and services) – better meeting the needs of societies.

Crystalised creativity – knowledge, experience and skills in a specific field – perception of problems – critical thinking, – ideational skills – problem-solving.

14 S. Popek, Psychologia…, op. cit. 15 R. Schulz, Twórczos´c´…, op. cit. 16 E. Ne˛cka, Psychologia…, op. cit.

M. MagdaAdamowicz (2009, 2015) Creative educator or creative teachers’ pedagogical activity – subjective, of narrower range – meetings with pupils or – looking for perfect – methods, means, forms of didactic, educational, – caring work; – scope and level of theoretical knowledge. A creative expert, or teachers’ pedagogical creativity, subjective, of a broader range – pedagogical work efficiency and – different types of innovations or – own programs (collective).

36

Marzenna Magda-Adamowicz

Table 1 (Continued) Classifications of creativity author and year S. Popek (1985, 2010) Objective – this is creativity of a higher order – appears in culture first, – discovering and creating unique things, ideas, concepts, – completely new configurations, arising from associations of distant elements, – a rare phenomenon, – considered in four categories: (product, process, creative personality and social acceptance of pioneering works).

R. Schulz (1994)

E. Ne˛cka (2001)

Mature creativity – socially important goals, tasks and problems – intrinsic, hubristic and achievement-related motivation – non-conformism, – resistance to social pressure – persistence – extensive knowledge in a given field, – social abilities – life wisdom. Pedagogical cre- Outstanding creativity as proativity fessional and – as above personal self-re- – tendency to take alisation intellectual risk, – teachers create – thorough underthemselves, standing of a – they develop their given problem, identities, – creation of so– they develop their cially original professional works. workshop. Pedagogical creativity, synonymous with cultural and creative activity in the field of education – this is new knowledge, new behavioural patterns, new rules for the organisation of education, – designing and implementing innovations.

M. MagdaAdamowicz (2009, 2015) A creative passionate, or teachers’ objective pedagogical creativity of narrower range – creative solving of educational problems and – the process of pedagogical changes and – own programs (individual).

Self-Realising Teachers, or objective pedagogical creativity of a broader Range – creative style of work and – professional selfrealisation and – creating new original ideas and concepts

Source: own study

Teachers’ pedagogical creativity results from their creative features17 and includes their tendency to original solutions18. Effective attempts to educate (train and develop) teachers to pedagogical creativity have been numerous19. 17 For educators, measurable creative features in a potential state are: creative thinking, creative processes, creative language, creative behaviour and creative attitudes. For more see: M. Magda-Adamowicz, Twórczos´c´…, op. cit. 18 M. Magda-Adamowicz, Uwarunkowania…, op. cit.; M. Magda-Adamowicz, Twórczos´c´…, op. cit.

Training teachers to pedagogical creativity in Poland

37

Research problems and methods The research problem is presented in the form of a question: To what extent is the education of Polish teachers in the field of their pedagogical creativity implemented? Teacher education was adopted as a dependent variable, with particular emphasis on teachers’ academic education and their professional development in the field of creativity. The research was carried out at the end of 2006 and in 2021 by means of an analysis of documents posted on websites of academic and teacher training centres in Poland.

Teachers’ education and professional development in the field of their pedagogical creativity The development of pedagogy of creativity in Poland, as a specific sub-discipline of pedagogy that is aware of the distinctiveness of its subject and research area, began thanks to the activities of Andrzej Góralski and Witold Dobrołowicz, with the creation of a new specialisation in pedagogical and postgraduate studies at the Warsaw School of Special Education (today’s Academy of Special Education). The establishment in 1998 of the Academy of Special Education in Warsaw in the field of psycho-pedagogy of creativity was also W. Dobrołowicz’s contribution to the development of pedagogy of creativity. And A. Góralski established postgraduate studies in creative thinking. Thanks to these activities, the university joined the elite group of world universities offering studies in pedagogy of creativity at the master’s level. Currently, at APS, in the field of pedagogy, there is a specialisation in pedagogy of abilities and computer science. Prof. A. Góralski and prof. Dobrołowicz’s discourse is continued today by prof. Jan Łaszczyk. Since then, actions have been taken to educate and train teachers for creativity, pedagogical creativity or work with gifted and creative children. The first analysis of the offered forms of training teachers for creativity was carried out in 200620. I will compare this analysis with 2021, as shown in the chart below. One of the first teachers to create an inter-university team to overcome barriers in creative processes was W. Dobrołowicz21. At the same time, i. e. in the 1980s, the Wrocław University of Technology and the Jagiellonian University (E. Ne˛cka, K. Brocławik, T. Kocowski, K. Pelc) organised The Summer School of Creativity 19 T. Giza, Przygotowanie, op. cit.; R. Schulz, Twórczos´c´…, op. cit. M. Magda-Adamowicz, Uwarunkowania…, op. cit. 20 M. Magda-Adamowicz, Uwarunkowania…, op. cit. 21 M. Stasiak (ed.), Twórczos´c´ uz˙yteczna w zarza˛dzaniu i działaniu, Wydawnictwo WSH-P, Łódz´ 2001.

38

Marzenna Magda-Adamowicz

11

r.2006 r.2021

8 6 3 0

specialisa!on

post-graduate

courses

Chart 1. Forms of teacher training for creativity in 2006 and 2021. Source: own study (2008)

and Science of Inventive Creation, during which E. Ne˛cka created and developed cognitive training in creativity, aimed at stimulating six groups of creative thinking abilities22. These achievements were continued by The Team of Creativity Psychology led by W. Limont, which established Postgraduate Studies in Pedagogy of Abilities and Creativity at the University of Torun´23. At the moment, the University of Torun´ does not specialise in this type of studies at any level of education. In the 1980s, during the training of the Central Centre for Methodology of Dissemination of Culture, B. Czarniawska, A. Nocuj, J. Szmagalski organised training in creative problem-solving. At the same time, to this day, K. J. Szmidt has carried out training in creativity during elective classes at various fields of study at the University of Łódz´, integrating A. Góralski’s heuristic concept with training in creative expression, based on psychodrama and educational drama. In the current academic year (2021–2022), there is a specialisation in Polish Philology at the University of Łódz´: creative writing as well as entrepreneurship and innovation management. Educational activities related to the promotion of the idea of education for a creative lifestyle have been (since the beginning) carried out at the Academy of Humanities and Economics in Łódz´, founded by Makary Krzysztof Stasiak, who together with his team, implemented an educational project carried out within the subject of thinking and creative activity. The main goal of the classes is to stimulate students’ subjective development. M. K. Stasiak is also the founder of 22 Ibidem. 23 W. Limont, Synektyka a zdolnos´ci twórcze: eksperymentalne badania stymulowania rozwoju zdolnos´ci twórczych z wykorzystaniem aktywnos´ci plastycznej, Wydawnictwo UMK, Torun´ 1994.

Training teachers to pedagogical creativity in Poland

39

The Institute of Creative Conduct and the Centre for Creativity and Innovation24, nowadays called Centre for Creativity and Entrepreneurship25. These institutions educate animators of creativity and subjectivity as well as managers. Creative Skills High School is also under academic supervision of The Academy of Humanities and Economics. The university in Łódz´ is also the organiser of cyclical scientific conferences under the slogan Creativity in practice. This institution was also the organiser of postgraduate studies in the field of pedagogy of creativity, which must be completed by all young research workers of this institution26. Nowadays (i. e. after 2021), there are specialties in studies related to creativity at: The University of Silesia in Katowice (specialisation in entrepreneurship, as well as writing and publishing marketing), The University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (in the field of pedagogy, there is a 2-year specialisation in pedagogical therapy and support of gifted children), The University of Wrocław (specialising in creative writing and editing) and The University of Szczecin (specialising in entrepreneurship and investments). At the University of Zielona Góra in 2010– 2020, as part of pre-school and early school pedagogy specialisation, students had the opportunity to choose a two-year module (150 hours) Supporting children in the development of their abilities. After the modification in the field of preschool and early childhood education to meet new teacher-training standards of 2019), subjects from this module have been permanently included in the curriculum. There is no data on the implementation of subjects, specialties, majors or postgraduate studies, or courses on creativity, pedagogical creativity on the websites of universities in Poznan´, Gdan´sk, Rzeszów, Białystok, Warsaw, Torun´, Lublin (KUL, UMCS). Until 2006, the issue of creativity had been present in the form of supplementary education, i. e. postgraduate studies, which oscillated around several areas. Some of them concern diagnosing and developing children’s abilities and creativity, created and conducted at universities in Białystok, Kraków, Lublin, Łódz´, Torun´, Zielona Góra, as well as in APS in Warsaw and WSH-E in Łódz´. The second group of postgraduate studies included shaping and developing teachers’ creativity at DSWE TWP in Wrocław (R. Kwas´nica) and at the University of Zielona Góra (M. Magda-Adamowicz). The third group of postgraduate studies integrated the creation of educational programs with the idea of creative thinking, which were implemented at the universities of Poznan´ (J. Gnitecki) and Zielona Góra (M. Magda-Adamowicz), as well as at the WSM in Legnica (M. Magda-Adamowicz). In 2021, postgraduate studies in the field of creativity 24 The Institute of Creative Conduct and the Centre for Creativity and Innovation, http://www.ip t.pl/ [access: 01. 09. 2008]. 25 Centre for Creativity and Entrepreneurship, https://ipt.pl/szkolenia/ckp [access: 08. 12. 2021]. 26 Creative Skills High School, http://www.wshe.lodz.p./CKP/pedagogika_tworczosci.doc [access: in 01. 09. 2008].

40

Marzenna Magda-Adamowicz

are carried out only at the AHE in Łódz´ and the University of Zielona Góra. Thus, in 2006, the offer of postgraduate studies in pedagogy of creativity was richer. At the moment, the offer is very poor, but it is complemented by targeted forms of professional development. Teachers’ further development, which is a condition for their full professional development, is a complementary phenomenon. Improvement makes it possible for teachers to adapt to changing situations, to enrich their qualifications, to gain competence, to better recognise the needs and potential of the young generation and how to organise self-education and workshops27. The National Teacher Training Centre, which ran a system of preparing a group of educators to implement reforms, and which, after completing this training, conducted short courses for subsequent teachers, played an important role in the process of teachers’ professional development and training. It was transformed in 2010 into The Education Development Centre, which provides training and courses, as well as develops materials for working with gifted children (and other, indirectly related to creativity and skills), which are widely available on their platform. In 2020–2021, the offer of their courses is very rich in all provinces of Poland. However, the purpose of their 20–60-hour courses is to provide the necessary knowledge in a given field, e. g. to expand creativity, develop creative thinking, increase the effectiveness of teaching, build good relations between teachers and pupils and deal with difficult educational situations. Only some of them focus on diagnosing and developing skills and creativity in both pupils and teachers. Nonetheless, the courses offer multiple goals to be achieved in too short a time (only 20–60 hours)28. Also, their addressees are rarely specified, which also seems important, because working with gifted or creative children in grades 1–3 proceeds differently than in older grades. It is also administered differently in individual and collective settings. Since 2010, creativity trainings organised by methodological centres, pedagogical and psychological counseling centres, universities, the Psycho-pedagogy of Creativity Team at WSiP, the Association of Assertiveness Trainers in Warsaw, the “Kangur” Creative Education Centre in Krakow or the Polish Creativity Association have enjoyed great popularity. Despite this, it would be a stretch to state that creativity training in Poland has a rich history and operates with high efficiency29.

27 C. Banach, Polska szkoła i system edukacji: przemiany i perspektywy, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun´ 2006. 28 Websites are the best source of information. The author’s written request was left without any answer. 29 M. Magda-Adamowicz, I. Paszenda, Treningi twórczos´ci a umieje˛tnos´ci zawodowe, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun´ 2011.

Training teachers to pedagogical creativity in Poland

41

Discussion Finally, a question can be asked: Why did the number of courses (2- or 3-year and postgraduate specialisations) decrease in 2021 compared to 2006, despite the growing demand for creative, critical and reflective people? Firstly, it is clearly visible that the authorities in the field of creativity, such as J. Gnitecki, A. Góralski, W. Dobrołowicz, W. Limont or S. Popek have retired, which significantly lowered the number of postgraduate courses. It can be concluded that they failed to leave disciples who would continue their ideas. Secondly, since the mid-20th century, the emphasis in Poland’s social and educational life has been on helping and supporting people with special needs, i. e. people with intellectual and physical disabilities and those with learning and disciplinary difficulties. However, gifted and creative children are also people with special needs, i. e. they are individuals with specific predispositions and necessities. When leaving them on their own, we allow them to “toe the line”, rather than develop their predispositions. Therefore, educating teachers to work with such children is a challenge of our times, for which they must also be prepared. Thirdly, there is also a lack of teaching tools to diagnose children’s abilities. They are there, but available only to psychologists. Fourthly, on August 2, 2019, the Regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher Education on teacher-training standards was enacted. Pursuant to this regulation, as many as 400 hours in pre-school and early childhood education courses are allocated to a module (C) supporting the development of children of preschool and early school age, which includes the option of running subjects related to supporting the development of gifted and creative children. Fifthly, culture animation, philology, journalism and art specialisation courses include subjects related to psychology or pedagogy of creativity. Sixthly, in accordance with the Regulation of November 17, 2010 and the Directive of July 9, 2020 of the Minister of National Education on the principles of providing and organising psychological and pedagogical assistance in public preschools, schools and other institutions, teacher specialists in pedagogical therapy should work with children who display difficulties in learning, behaviour and especially with gifted and creative children, the latter being a novelty. Seventhly, after completing courses, specialisations or postgraduate studies in pedagogy of creativity, graduates do not obtain teaching qualifications, as the profession of creativity teacher is not included in the classification of professions and specialties. It is true that the list features a profession of a teacher in out-ofschool institutions (under the number 235910), i. e. a teacher, e. g. in community centres. We are aware, however, that these institutions admit teachers of specific specialties or interests, such as artists, musicians, dancers or actors. For these

42

Marzenna Magda-Adamowicz

reasons, already in the 1980s when creating their specialisation at the APS, prof. Góralski and Dobrołowicz combined pedagogy of creativity with IT education. Eighthly, content and the way it is transmitted in training teachers in the field of creativity. As numerous studies show (e. g. W. Dobrołowicz. T. Giza, A. Góralski, W. Limont. M. Magda-Adamowicz, S. Popek, E. Ne˛cka. K. Stasiak. K. Szmidt et al., passive methods may be employed in the pedagogy of creativity, but it is also possible to use creative methods. Certainly, the latter form of instruction is more relevant. It is true that the problem of creativity enjoys great interest at the stage of training and professional development. However, a decline in the offer of specialisations, fields of study and first and second degree studies is noticeable. Based on this short synthesis, it seems that the activities undertaken in Poland to educate teachers in the field of pedagogy of creativity are still modest. A sharp decline in the forms of education in the specialties of studies, postgraduate studies and various training courses is apparent. As can be seen from the above outline, social transformation and the development of civilisation will contribute to educational change, including teacher training. Therefore, it seems appropriate to educate teachers in the field of pedagogical creativity.

Bibliography Banach C., Polska szkoła i system edukacji: przemiany i perspektywy, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun´ 2006. Coate, K., Boulos, A., Creativity in education: challenging the assumptions. “London Review of Education”, 10 (2), 2012, 129–132, [access: 30. 07. 2019]. Denek K., Uniwersytet w perspektywie społeczen´stwa wiedzy. Nauka i edukacja w uniwersytecie XXI wieku, Wydawnictwo WSiA, Poznan´ 2011. Dobrołowicz W., Psychodydaktyka kreatywnos´ci, Wyz˙sza Szkoła Pedagogiki Specjalnej im. Marii Grzegorzewskiej, Warszawa 1995. European Union, Joint Progress Report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the ‘Education and Training 2010 work programme’, C 117/01, 2010. Ferrari, A., Cachia, R., Punie, Y., Innovation and Creativity in the EU Member States: Fostering Creative Learning and Supporting Innovative Teaching, European Communities, Luxembourg 2009. Giza T., Przygotowanie studentów do twórczej pracy pedagogicznej: teoria i praktyka, Wydawnictwo Wyz˙szej Szkoły Pedagogicznej im. Jana Kochanowskiego, Kielce 1999. Griffiths, M., Encouraging imagination and creativity in the teaching profession. “European Educational Research Journal”, 13 (1), 2014. Limont W., Synektyka a zdolnos´ci twórcze: eksperymentalne badania stymulowania rozwoju zdolnos´ci twórczych z wykorzystaniem aktywnos´ci plastycznej, Wydawnictwo UMK, Torun´ 1994.

Training teachers to pedagogical creativity in Poland

43

Magda-Adamowicz M., Uwarunkowania efektywnos´ci kształcenia nauczycieli klas I–III w zakresie twórczos´ci pedagogiczne, Oficyna Wydawnicza Uniwersytetu Zielonogórskiego, Zielona Góra 2009. Magda-Adamowicz M., Twórczos´c´ pedagogiczna nauczycieli w konteks´cie systemowym. Z´ródła, koncepcja i identyfikacje, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun´ 2015. Magda-Adamowicz M., Paszenda I., Treningi twórczos´ci a umieje˛tnos´ci zawodowe, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun´ 2011. Ne˛cka E., Psychologia twórczos´ci, Gdan´skie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdan´sk 2001. OECD, Enabling the Next Production Revolution: the Future of Manufacturing and Services – Interim Report, Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level, Paris, 1–2 June 2016. Popek S., Psychologia twórczos´ci plastycznej, Oficyna Wydawnicza Impuls, Kraków 2010. Suchodolski B., Edukacja permanentna: rozdroz˙a i nadzieje, Towarzystwo Wolnej Wszechnicy Polskiej, Warszawa 2003. Stasiak M. (ed.), Twórczos´c´ uz˙yteczna w zarza˛dzaniu i działaniu, Wydawnictwo WSH-P, Łódz´ 2001. Stasiakiewicz M., Twórczos´´c i interakcja, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznan´ 1999. Szmidt K.J., Pedagogika twórczos´ci, Gdan´skie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdan´sk 2013. Szempruch J., Pedagogiczne kształcenie nauczycieli wobec reformy edukacji w Polsce, Wydawnictwo Wyz˙szej Szkoły Pedagogicznej, Rzeszów 2000. Szyman´ski M., Twórczos´c´ i style poznawcze uczniów, Wydawnictwo Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Warszawa 1987. Schulz R., Twórczos´´c pedagogiczna. Elementy teorii i badan´, Instytut Badan´ Edukacyjnych, Warszawa 1994. Tatarkiewicz W., Dzieje szes´ciu poje˛´c, PWN, Warszawa 1982. Wołoszyn S., Dzieje wychowania i mys´li pedagogicznej w zarysie, PWN, Warszawa 1997.

Lidia Kataryn´czuk-Mania

Music education in the face of educational changes

Introduction to music education Universal music education in Poland (in general terms) is in a deteriorating condition. That is why it is worth taking a closer look at its problems. Currently, the social and cultural situation of music education is maimed by transformation in artistic consciousness, by weakening of social prestige of high “art”, by expansiveness of mass culture, as well as by insufficient presence of axiological patterns. Irena Wojnar1 stated that education should join in with the trend of new educational thinking. Music education is an art that enriches, delights, amazes and is important in every person’s life. It is carried out in two main directions: expressive – involving active playing of music, and perceptual, i. e. listening to and experiencing pieces of music. In addition to these fields of study, education for life within communities is important, as it prepares children and adolescents to active participation in cultural life, and bestows them with workable organisational skills. Music classes should have their permanent place throughout the period from preschool to secondary education. In preschool institutions, there are classes of Eurhythmics, but they are no longer obligatory. In early school education, which is the most important time for children’s musical development, the subject Music is present in the curriculum, but it is treated with neglect as specialist-musicians are not allowed to teach it and early education teachers do not always possess appropriate musical competences (musical ear, sense of rhythm, vocal, dance skills, etc.)2. Classes which incorporate musical, educational and therapeutic aspects should be run in all institutions for pupils with various needs and development 1 I. Wojnar, Humanistyczne intencje edukacji, Warszawa 2000. 2 See: R. Ławrowska, B. Muchacka (eds.), Edukacja muzyczna. studium teoretyczno-praktyczne, Kraków 2022; L. Kataryn´czuk-Mania, Edukacja muzyczna z perspektywy pedagogicznej i profilaktyczno-terapeutycznej, Kraków 2022.

46

Lidia Kataryn´czuk-Mania

disorders. The panorama of functions that music performs includes emotional, compensatory and therapeutic, communal, expressive, playful, ludic, cognitive, aesthetic and religious. Music teaches working methods (actions) because musical problems lead children from spontaneous behaviour to rule-based actions. It is worth noting that music education supports other areas of education, such as: linguistic (rhythm in speech and singing, voice modulation, easier remembering of poems, etc.), mathematical (develops thinking based on sets of numbers, note values, symbols, etc.), artistic (colours, shapes, forms in art and music), ecological (sensitivity to sounds from nature or civilisation noise), physical development (aesthetics of movement subjected to musical discipline, movement with music, learning to relax), social (co-responsibility for the effects of work in a vocal, instrumental, dance ensemble, performances for the environment). The most common criticism must be directed at the contemporary place of the subject of Music in early and primary education. The following deficiencies are worth mentioning: small number of hours, lack of specialists in early childhood education, instability of Music teachers’ professional situation, poor equipment in classrooms, lack of financial resources, etc. Not much has changed in the area of music education at Polish schools, because it is still based on the concept of this school subject deep in the 1970s. Some teachers, seeing that lessons of Music are not well received by pupils, try to change certain content and activities on their own. It should be emphasised that this search for own solutions is valuable, but then it is teachers who are often held accountable for the content contained in the applicable curricula. Music education demands change. As noted by Mirosław Grusiewicz (editorin-chief of the Musical Education magazine), the goals that are set in music education should be rethought regardless of the current socio-political conditions and problems of Polish education. Grusiewicz suggests: 1. “Departure from the deeply entrenched Herbart school. 2. Retreat from the primacy of knowledge over shaping soft skills. 3. Reduction of the teaching content. 4. Limiting rivalry and haste in education and strengthening cooperation. 5. Individualisation of education. 6. Strengthening schools as cultural centres”3. Nowadays, active forms of practicing music should be pursued, especially making music and living in contact with music, which are conducive to positive emotions and musical experiences. Active musical activities should be obligatory and teachers should have an increased number of hours for extracurricular activities, artistic workshops (dancing, learning to play an instrument, choir, 3 M. Grusiewicz, Co dalej z edukacja˛ muzyczna˛?. “Wychowanie Muzyczne”, no. 1, 2022, p. 2.

Music education in the face of educational changes

47

forms of musical relaxation or music therapy, etc.). The offer addressed to pupils should take into account their musical and social needs and interests. When listening to music, they should be taught how to receive and experience. In reality, fragments of musical pieces, which rarely resonate with young audiences, are typically played from CD players during lessons. However, by means of technology we can make music on instruments, which may be used for active music reception, e. g. accompaniment on boom boom pipes, body percussion, electronic instruments, including those available in applications for smartphones and tablets or virtual and spatial instruments. Then pupils may appreciate musicians’ or composers’ work. Also, the content of the theory and history of music should be made more attractive, e. g. by playing music, riddles, searching for world-renowned concerts, etc. It is teachers who, taking into account their pupils’ needs and the needs of their immediate environment (the music teacher is also the creator of cultural animation), should decide what and how to teach. Therefore, it is necessary to increase their autonomy, to individualise education and to consciously rely only on selected elements of the teaching content, as well as on alternative solutions. Also, socialisation and cultivating family and local musical traditions should not be forgotten. It is important to ensure a proper image of Music classes at school, because nowadays it is commonly believed that schools only provide knowledge and neglect educational and social matters.

About Music teachers – several reflections People directly involved, i. e. Music teachers and the academia must fight for the place of music education. Various types of educational and information meetings, conferences, symposia, workshops, etc. are recommended. The contacts of academic teachers-methodologists with school teachers would inspire discussions on the importance and needs of music education, as well as more research, exchange of experiences and views, all leading to improvements in professional qualifications. Music teachers are transmitters of patriotic values, historians of musical culture and artists. It is their task, apart from running lessons, to organise and conduct artistic groups with various specialisations, such as: choir, vocal ensemble. instrumental, dance, etc. Developing and implementing artistic programmes requires a lot of effort, patience, passion, experience and preparation of instruments, props, etc. It is worth emphasising that Music teachers “exploit” themselves more than other teachers. Multiple forms and methods of musical activity, such as:

48

Lidia Kataryn´czuk-Mania

– singing – voice hygiene and/or rehabilitation; – playing an instrument – manual dexterity, readiness to read a vista and to organise instruments and repertoire; – listening to music – perceptual readiness, developing pupils’ musical interests, mastering technical skills to operate equipment, cooperation with a philharmonic orchestra; – creating music – efficient, expressive musical thinking, composing, knowledge of various dances, creating choreographic arrangements and showing them not only during lessons, but also during various school and after-school celebrations, all require a comprehensive psychophysical effort. When looking at teachers’ health problems, a significant increase in various vocal ailments should be noted, as well as voice emission and hygiene is a neglected area. The voice is a basic tool of every teacher’s work, so they should pay attention to climatic factors, noise, sources of stress, etc. Music teachers’ occupational risk relates primarily to malfunctions of their vocal organs, e. g. singing nodules, hoarseness, aphonia, paresis of vocal folds, murmur in the voice, etc. Therefore, it is worth taking actions in the field of voice prevention and organise trainings on the use of relaxation techniques to relieve tension and stress, voice workshops, recuperation holidays, etc. The contemporary dynamics of school reality means that a Music teacher should become a kind of universum.

Music Education from the perspective of educational reforms Following the changes in the field of music education and taking into account the ongoing reforms, it is worth recalling the following stages after Mirosław Grusiewicz4: 1. Classes of Singing between 1945 and 1962. 2. Classes of Music Education between 1962 and 1978. 3. Classes of Music in the conditions of the People’s Republic of Poland between 1978 and 1989. 4. Classes of Music after the political changes. 5. Classes of Music/Art after the reforms of 1999, i. e. between 1999 and 2009. 6. Classes of Music Education after the curricular reforms of 2009, i. e. between 2009 and 2016.

4 M. Grusiewicz, Przemiany edukacji muzycznej w ´swietle reform os´wiatowych PRL i III Rzeczpospolitej. “Studia Kulturowo-Edukacyjne” no. 1, 2017, pp. 9–34.

Music education in the face of educational changes

49

In 1962, the teachers’ community became actively involved in activities for the benefit of music education in Poland. Primary school education was prolonged from 7 to 8 years, and a 12-year general education model including four years of secondary school was established. This structure survived until 1999. After 1962, there were changes in music education, i. e. Singing was replaced by Music Education, and it was 1 hour a week from year 1 to year 8. At that time, choir and music ensemble classes were restored as elective classes at the secondary level, with 2 hours a week for year 1 pupils and 1 hour a week for years 2 and 3. Its curriculum focused on listening to music and learning about musical works. It recommended organising music programs from vinyl records or tapes (between 10 and 30 minutes) as part of Music classes. They contained specific broadcast topics, accompanied by methodological notes along with other musical elements about authors, genres, styles and forms. School libraries with vinyl records and methodological comments were established. Knowledge of musical notation was obligatory, which was meant to facilitate making music. The concepts and methods of: Emil J. Dalcroze, Carl Orff, Zoltan Kodalya, Edwin Elias Gordon became popular. Orff instruments appeared in schools. The programs contained the rules of learning to play instruments, reading scores, improvisations, etc. Unconventional instruments, teaching aids and playing boards were constructed. There was singing, reading music, as well as a rich repertoire of school songs and folk songs of other nations. In the twentieth century, also community music centres with a five-year education cycle developed. In 1978, the subject called Music was introduced and its curriculum was launched in the 1985/86 school year. Maria Przychodzin´ska was an initiator of the so-called of Polish concept of musical education. Its concept assumed a multitude of “paths to music” and a variety of contacts with music. The lower years were dominated by active and expressive forms; singing, playing instruments, creating music, moving with music, while listening to music dominated in the higher years. Polish composers and Polish traditions occupied an important place in the curriculum. Its assumptions were verified with the help of interviews, observations and tests. The main goal of Music classes was to prepare pupils to consciously use the achievements of their native and world music cultures, as well as to actively participate in the musical life (singing, speech exercises, playing instruments, movement with music), creating music (creating rhythm, melody, movement, simple musical forms), perception of music and messages (listening to musical works, auditory exercises, knowledge of musical culture). Records with with guides for years 1 to 4 were released. For older primary school years, Music classes were optional. It is worth noting that there was an increase in music awareness among professionals. In the field of diagnostic research in education of the 1980s, scientific expertise under the supervision of Andrzej Rakowski was of great importance.

50

Lidia Kataryn´czuk-Mania

Peter Flecher5, author of a publication Education and Music, while making a diagnosis of music pedagogy in the 1980s and 1990s, wrote: “music education is approaching a state of crisis. This is undoubtedly a paradox, given the long path it has travelled over the last twenty-five years. […] It is an identity crisis”6. In the 1990s, there were changes that increased freedom in the field of education. Local governments, as well as private and community schools were established, and methodological counselling was reorganised. Also, a multitude of school curricula and textbooks were introduced. In 1992, the Ministry of Education developed curriculum minimums, on the basis of which teachers could create and implement their own curricula. The 1990s was a time of stagnation for music education, as the community associated with music education became less active. The 1999 reform changed the structure, curricula, teaching methods, and teachers’ professional status. The lower secondary level was created. After the reform, the education structure consisted of a six-year primary school, a threeyear lower secondary school and three-year general and specialised secondary schools (pursuant to the Act of August 19, 2011 on the amendment to the Act on the education system, specialised secondary schools ceased to function in 2014). It was established that each educational level would conclude with assessment measures. A Central Examination Board with local branches was established. The exams were accompanied by pressure and stress, which made it difficult to make use of pupils’ potential. The school reform introduced changes in music education as well. Namely, the subject Music was abolished in early school education in favour of integrated classes. In primary and middle schools, Music and Fine Art were combined into one subject labelled as Art. This solution turned out to be disastrous and the negative effects are still felt today. Music classes had lost their autonomy7. After 2009, the subject Music was restored for one hour a week in years 4 to 6 of primary school and in the first year of the lower secondary level. Art classes were proposed as a supplementary subject at lower and higher secondary levels. In the report of the Institute of Music and Dance on the condition of Polish music, Andrzej Białkowski8 emphasises that music education hardly addresses the problems of globalisation, changes taking place in the sphere of socioculture, technological development, changes in the areas of creativity, performance, distribution and reception of music. On the other hand, at the 1st Polish Music 5 P. Flecher Education and Music, Oxford- New York, 1987, p. 11. 6 A. Białkowski, Dylematy współczesnej edukacji [in:] Edukacja artystyczna wobec przemian społeczno-os´wiatowych, L. Kataryn´czuk-Mania, J. Karcz (eds.), Zielona Góra 2002, pp. 33–34. 7 See: L. Kataryn´czuk-Mania, J. Karcz, Edukacja artystyczna wobec przemian społeczno-os´wiatowych, Zielona Góra 2002. 8 A. Białkowski, Raport o stanie muzyki polskiej, Instytut Muzyki i Tan´ca, Warszawa 2011, pp. 288–308.

Music education in the face of educational changes

51

Convention, it was postulated to make professional music classes compulsory in at preschool and early school levels, as well as that music in comprehensive higher secondary schools should be based on the content of high culture canon. Also, attention was drawn to the need to improve the professional situation of Music teachers, who are often forced to combine work in many schools or teach several subjects. In recent years, it has been noticed that music education should go beyond school walls. As a result, mainly due to educational and artistic projects financed by the European Union and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, environmental and local activities have gained in importance.

Summary The short analysis of the changes in music education in Poland reveals that educational reforms have not always been favourable to it. The importance of music education and its influence on harmonious personality development constitute an important trend in music psychology and pedagogy research. Its educational importance is emphasised, especially in shaping cognitive, emotional and social dispositions. Cultivating musical traditions in the family and community has become a valuable attribute of upbringing. It should be emphasised that thanks to music education, children and young people can develop their abilities and skills to learn about the world of Polish and world music cultures. “The realities of today’s school and social and moral life, as well as research show a strong need for the young generation to deal with music. This natural need in young people collides with insufficient tools for their understanding of music, which would provide them with aesthetic and emotional experience of music. It is assumed that this results from shortcomings in the teaching system, in teacher training, as well as in music education itself”9.

Bibliography Białkowski A., Dylematy współczesnej edukacji muzycznej [in:] Edukacja artystyczna wobec przemian społeczno-os´wiatowych, L.Kataryn´czuk-Mania, J. Karcz (eds.), Zielona Góra 2002, 33–39. Białkowski A., Edukacja muzyczna. Problemy, wyzwania, kierunki rozwoju, [in:] Raport o stanie muzyki polskiej, Instytut Muzyki i Tan´ca, Warszawa 2011, 288–308.

9 R. Ławrowska, B. Muchacka (eds.), Edukacja muzyczna. studium teoretyczno-praktyczne, Kraków 2022, p. 7.

52

Lidia Kataryn´czuk-Mania

Białkowski A., Grusiewicz M., Michalak M. (eds.), Edukacja muzyczna w Polsce. Diagnozy, debaty, aspiracje, Warszawa 2010. Flecher P., Education and Music, Oxford-New York 1987. Grusiewicz M., Edukacja muzyczna – w strone˛ współczesnej kultury. “Lubelski Rocznik Pedagogiczny” 2019, V. XXXVIII, no. 1. Grusiewicz M., Przemiany edukacji muzycznej w ´swietle reform os´wiatowych PRL i III Rzeczpospolitej. “Studia Kulturowo-Edukacyjne” 2017, v.12, no. 1. Grusiewicz M., Co dalej z edukacja muzyczna˛?. “Wychowanie Muzyczne” 2022, no. 1. Kataryn´czuk-Mania L., Edukacja muzyczna dzieci z perspektywy pedagogicznej i profilaktyczno-terapeutycznej, Kraków 2022. Katarynczuk-Mania L., (ed.), Emisja głosu w przestrzeni edukacyjnej, artystycznej i terapeutycznej, Zielona Góra 2020. Kataryn´czuk-Mania L., Kołodziejski M., Kisiel M., Orientacje w metodologii badan´ edukacyjno-muzycznych, Zielona Góra 2018. Kataryn´czuk-Mania l., Pasterniak-Kobyłecka E. (eds.), Dziecko i nauczyciel w kulturze artystycznej, Zielona Góra – Skarbona 2017. Kataryn´czuk-Mania L., Nauczyciel edukacji muzycznej we współczesnej rzeczywistos´ci kulturalnej, Zielona Góra 2010. Kataryn´czuk-Mania L. Karcz F. (eds.), Edukacja artystyczna wobec przemian społecznoos´wiatowych, Zielona Góra 2002. Ławrowska R., Muchacka B. (eds.), Edukacja muzyczna. Studium teoretyczno-praktyczne, Kraków 2022. Michalski A., ed., Wokół teoretycznych podstaw wychowania muzycznego. Pedagogika muzyki. Cechy – Aksjologia – Systematyka, Gdan´sk 2014. Przychodzin´ska M., Powszechne wychowanie muzyczne: 1960–1990. Miedzy koncepcja˛ a realizacja˛ (2). “Wychowanie Muzyczne w Szkole”, 2011, no. 4, 7–9. Sacher W.A., Pedagogika muzyki, Kraków 2012. Sloboda J.A., Umysł muzyczny. Poznawcza psychologia muzyki, Warszawa 2002. Szubertowska E., Nauczyciel i edukacja muzyczna wobec tradycji i przemian cywilizacyjnych, [in:] Konteksty kultury i edukacji muzycznej, E. Parkita, A. Parkita, J. SztejnbisZdyb (eds.), Kielce 2020, wydawnictwo UJK, 33–63. Uchyła-Zroski J., Wartos´ci edukacji muzycznej dzieci i młodziez˙y w perspektywie tradycji i współczesnos´ci, Cieszyn, 2016. Wojnar I., Humanistyczne intencje edukacji, Warszawa 2000.

Demographic perspective

Krzysztof Lisowski / Beata Trzop

Mechanisms of shaping senior policy in Poland in the face of challenges of an ageing society

Introduction Senior citizen policy is currently one of the most developing sectoral policies in European countries and in Poland, which is directly related to the processes of demographic ageing of the population. In this article we outline the demographic characteristics of the Polish population with a particular emphasis on the indicators of an aging society. This description serves to present the objectives of the seniors policy implemented in Poland over the last few years from the perspective of the political agenda. We start from the perception of the main problems within the seniority policy as social problems, understood after Krzysztof Frysztacki as constructed in the process of social observation of reality and assigning certain judgements to it. Judgements, or rather the conviction contained in them, about the violation of social norms are therefore important1. The author also stresses that the subjective (intersubjective) aspect is important for a social problem, although of course the problem also has an objective aspect. It seems that the evaluation of the situation as a problem may have its source in the feeling of uncertainty and fear for the future. In its essence a social problem (e. g. professional activity of people 50+; educational, social and cultural activity of older people; silver economy; intergenerational relations) is a component of a collective problem. Thus named and defined, it may constitute a basis for formulating assumptions of social policy.

Demographic outline of the ageing of Polish society Never before in Poland have seniors constituted such a large segment of the demographic structure. Assuming post-working age (women 60+, men 65+) as the threshold of old age, in 2020 every fifth person (21.8%) will be old. The aging 1 K. Frysztacki, Socjologia problemów społecznych, Warszawa 2009, p. 17.

56

Krzysztof Lisowski / Beata Trzop

of the population since 1990 is illustrated by the changes in the economic age groups. There is a clear decrease in the youngest people (pre-working age) and an increase in the number of older people (immobile working and post-working age). Table 1. Population of Poland by economic age groups in selected years. Age groups Total population aged: pre-working (0–17)

1990

2000

2010

2016

2020

1990

2000

2010

2016

2020

in thousands in % 38073 38254 38530 38433 38179,8 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

29,0

24,4

18,8

17,9

18,2

22146 23261 24831 23768 22886,4 58,2

60,8

64,4

61,9

59,9

15255 15218 14424 15022 14347,4 40,1

39,8

40,0

39,1

37,6

immobile 6890 8043 9407 8746 8539,0 18,1 21,0 24,4 22,8 (45–59/64) post-work- 4884 5660 6456 7770 8337 12,8 14,8 16,8 20,2 ing age group (60/ 65 and more) Source: own elaboration based on CSO data (stat.gov.pl), access 10. 04. 2022.

22,4

working age (18– 59/64) mobile (18–44)

11043 9333

7243

6896

6956,4

21,8

The aging process is a consequence of two distinct trends. The first is associated with an increase in life expectancy, which is conditioned by changes in health and a general improvement in living conditions. Between 1950 and 2020, the average life expectancy for women increased by 19 years, and for men by 16.5 years. The second trend is the decline in female fertility, which was initiated by the demographic transition. Marek Okólski and Agnieszka Fichel point to the demographic transition, understood as a transition from traditional (wasteful) to modern (frugal) reproduction of the population, as a factor causing population aging in the long term2. Reduced mortality and consequently reduced fertility at the beginning of the 21st century in Poland led to a relative equilibrium, i. e. zero natural increase. Okólski and Fichel point out that at that time Poland was in the final stage of the transition called the demographic transition3. In subsequent years, the fertility rate continued to fall below the replacement rate (TFR 2.1), 2 M. Okólski, A. Fichel, Demografia, współczesne zjawiska i teorie, Warszawa 2012, p. 143. 3 Ibidem, p. 188.

57

Mechanisms of shaping senior policy in Poland

100 80 60 40 20

61,68 56,07

1950

70,6 64,94

1960

73,33

74,44

75,24

78

80,59

80,7

66,62

66,01

66,23

69,74

72,1

72,6

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

Men

Women

Figure 1: Average life expectancy at birth for men and women in Poland, 1995–2020. Source: own elaboration based on CSO data (stat.gov.pl), access date 10. 04. 2022.

initiating an intensive population ageing process (the proportion of children decreases and the proportion of old people increases). The second demographic transition, which marks an unidirectional change in many demographic behaviors related to marriage and childbearing, is responsible for this demographic trend in Poland. According to Lesthaeghe4, the diametrical change in procreation motivations, leading to a very low fertility rate, results from cumulative social processes which are referred to as post-modernity. The changes in the marital sphere include: the delay of marriage, the spread of alternative forms of partnerships, the increase in divorces and the prevalence of single-parent families. In the area of fertility, we observe a decrease in the average number of offspring per family, a delay in the age of procreation, the disappearance of large families and the spread of modern contraceptives. In addition to increasing life expectancy and lower fertility rates, foreign migration is also a factor influencing structural changes in Poland’s population. Both outflows and inflows are intensifying. The outflows mostly concern young people, thus additionally influencing the aging of the population. Poland is currently in the phase of migration transition, which means the reversal of the balance of foreign migration from negative to positive. The immigrants coming to Poland in increasing numbers usually come from countries lagging behind in modernization. Since February 2022, the situation has been radically changed by an avalanche of refugees from the war-stricken Ukraine. At this stage it is difficult to determine what impact this unpredictable event will have on aging processes in Poland. Van de Kaa5 proposed that the long-term trend in population re4 R. Lesthaeghe, A century of demographic and cultural change in Western Europe: an exploration of underlying dimensions. “Population and Development Review”, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 411–435. 5 D. Jan van de Ka, The Second Demographic Transition Revisited: Theories and Expectations, Planologisch en Demografisch Institut Universiteit van Amsterdam, Werkstukken, no. 109, Amsterdam 1988.

58

Krzysztof Lisowski / Beata Trzop

production during the second demographic transition should be considered complementarily, in which reproduction, mortality and foreign migration are strongly interrelated. Populations in which the second demographic transition occurs are characterized by persistently negative natural growth, which results in reduced emigration and increased immigration. Consequently, this leads to a positive balance of foreign migration, which can partially compensate for natural losses. The consequence of the intensification of the processes characterized above is an increase in dependency ratios. The old-age dependency ratio, which is the ratio of the number of children (0–14 years old) and elderly people (65 and older) to the number of people aged 15–64, increased from 18.9 in 2005 to 28.2 in 2020.

Elderly dependency ratio 30 20 10

18,9

22,8

18,9

28,2

0 2005

2010

2015

2020

Figure 2: The elderly dependency ratio. Source: own elaboration based on CSO data (stat.gov.pl), access date 10. 04. 2022.

A slightly different picture of the level of population aging can be obtained by using the demographic old age index. The Demographic Aging Index expresses the relationship between the population aged 65 and over and the population aged 0–14. This measure is commonly treated as the ratio of grandparents to grandchildren. The value of this measure below 100 in the mid-1990s for the Polish population was a proof of, if not demographic youth, then still favourable age structure. The data illustrate the changing proportion of these two age categories in Poland. In 2002, the old-age dependency ratio was 66.5. In 2010, there were 89.1 persons aged over 65 per 100 persons aged under 14. In 2020, this number was already 122.8. Demographic forecasts indicate a permanent character of demographic aging of the population and further unfavorable structural changes resulting from it. In the perspective to 2050, there will be fewer people in the pre-working age (up to 17 years) and the productive age, and more people in the post-working age.

59

Mechanisms of shaping senior policy in Poland

150 100

66,5

74,9

2002

2005

89,1

109,1

122,8

50 0

2010

2015

2020

Figure 3: The demographic old age index for 2002–2020. Source: own elaboration based on CSO data (stat.gov.pl), access 10. 04. 2022.

Table 2. Projections of Poland’s population by 2050 in economic age groups. Forecast in years population aged: pre-working (0–17)

2030

2040

2050

16,0

14,8

14,6

working age (18–59/64) mobile (18–44)

61,6 31,6

61,7 28,2

56,1 27,5

immobile (45–59/64) post-working age group (60/65 and more)

29,9 22,5

33,5 23,6

28,6 29,3

Source: own elaboration based on CSO data (stat.gov.pl), access date 10. 04. 2022.

Their shares are expected to increase in each analyzed senior age bracket by 2050. The principle of double aging is clearly visible, which consists in the fact that, in addition to the steady growth of the elderly population, within this growth the group of the oldest seniors (80+ and 85+) grows the fastest. Table 3. Projections of Poland’s population until 2050 for cohorts aged 65 and over Forecast in years population aged:

2030

2040

2050

65+ 75+

23,2 11,3

26,4 14,3

32,6 16,5

80+ 5,9 9,4 10,4 85+ 2,4 4,8 6,1 Source: own elaboration based on CSO data (stat.gov.pl), access date 10. 04. 2022.

The presented data illustrate that the problem of aging of the Polish population has very strong mechanisms resulting from the modernization processes. Steps taken so far by the government to reverse this trend (e. g. the Family 500+ program) have not brought the expected results. If it is not possible to reverse the trend, then the most important issue related to coping with socio-economic

60

Krzysztof Lisowski / Beata Trzop

problems accompanying intensive aging is to create and implement such a senior citizen policy which, taking into account the specificity of senior age in its entire complexity, will lead to improving the quality of life and optimize the cost of living.

Senior citizen policy: operationalizing the concept The increase in the number of elderly people in Poland and the consequences of the population aging process is one of the collective problems that public authorities should engage themselves in solving. Barbara Szatur – Jaworska clearly indicates that these problems are on the Polish agenda. Reviewing the typology of agendas, the author considers the senior citizen policy as an element of a static political agenda in its systemic dimension6. According to the author the indication of the political agenda makes sense, because the increasing number of decisions and actions of political entities in the last few years are the indicators of the appearance of the problems included in the senior citizen’s policy on the political agenda. However, as the author claims, the indicated problems are also within the scope of the systemic agenda and the indicator of the entry of the senior policy into the systemic agenda is a package of program documents containing a set of objectives and tasks referred to as senior policy7. Senior citizen policy has a slightly wider scope, it is primarily an element of the social policy agenda. It is present both in the central political agenda and in regional agendas (developed by voivodeship governments). It appears more and more often at the local level. To understand the need for constructing senior policy and its effectiveness, it is necessary to refer to John W. Kingdon’s concept of three streams. The agenda of public policies is shaped by the interplay of three groups of factors. The first is the problem stream, which is the emergence of a problem that attracts public attention and the attention of decision makers. The second is the stream of solutions, which means that in the public space there appear proposals, procedures or instruments that allow solving this problem. The last, third factor (political stream) is the favorable political situation. Thus, when these three streams meet, a window of opportunity (policy window) opens up leading to a solution of a problem8.

6 B. Szatur-Jaworska, Polityka senioralna w Polsce – analiza agendy. “Problemy Polityki Społecznej. Studia i Dyskusje”, 30/3, 2015, p. 48. 7 Ibidem, p. 48. 8 See: L. Scott, J. W. Greer, John W. Kingdom, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, [in:] M. Lodge, E. C. Page, S. J. Balla (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Classics in Public Policy and Administration, Oxford 2022, p. 419.

Mechanisms of shaping senior policy in Poland

61

At the level of the political agenda, senior citizen policy has been present in the central circulation since 2012, when the European Parliament decided to make it the European Year of Active Aging and Solidarity between Generations and the Senate of the Republic of Poland made it the Year of Universities of the Third Age9. However, researchers indicate that in addition to this action, the impetus for greater focus on the issues of senior citizens in Poland was the work on the implementation of a new pension system10. The notion of senior citizen policy appeared in the Polish public debate thanks to the activities and documents developed in the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. In the document Long-term Policy for Senior Citizens in Poland for the years 2014–2020 the following understanding of the term was proposed: “senior policy is a set of purposeful activities of public administration bodies of all levels and other organizations and institutions, which implement tasks and initiatives shaping the conditions for dignified and healthy aging”11. Referring to further findings in the indicated document we read: “the goal of senior citizen policy in Poland will be to support and ensure the possibility of active aging in health and the ability to continue to lead an autonomous, independent and satisfying life, even with some functional limitations”12. In the quoted resolution we also find a transfer of the general definition of the concept to specific spheres of life, indicating a number of actions throughout the entire life of a human being, leading to the assurance of conditions for prolongation of activity, both professional and social, and independent, healthy, care-free and independent life of the elderly. It is also worth noting that in the light of this document the senior citizen is a person 60 years of age or older13. Moreover, it is worth pointing out that the document distinguishes five problem areas: health and independence; economic activity of people 50+; educational, social and cultural activity of older people; silver economy; intergenerational relations, but, as Barbara Szatur – Jaworska points out, these areas were described in various ways. Most attention was paid to health, 9 B. Trzop, Dojrzale, spełnione, niezalez˙ne… Kobiety 50+ w socjologicznym zwierciadle, Zielona Góra 2013, p. 33. 10 Noteworthy here is the temporary new pension law in Poland, adopted by the Sejm on 11 May 2012. (the changes came into force on 1 January 2013).The proposed changes to the legislation included a solution for the gradual increase in the retirement age for men and women to 67 years. Thus, for women the retirement age will be increased by 7 years (from 60 to 67) and for men by 2 years (from 65 to 67). The increase in the retirement age was to take place gradually and was to be spread over time. For women, the target retirement age was to be reached in 2040, and for men in 2020. As of 1 October 2017, the law returned the retirement age to 60 for women and 65 for men. 11 Resolution No. 238 of the Council of Ministers of 24 December 2013 on the adoption of the document Assumptions of the Long-term Senior Citizenship Policy in Poland for 2014–2020 (Monitor Polski, item 118), p. 4. 12 Ibidem, p. 6. 13 Ibidem, p. 4.

62

Krzysztof Lisowski / Beata Trzop

independence and activity of the elderly, while the least attention was paid to the silver economy and intergenerational relations. It is worth noting that the government’s concept of senior citizen policy takes into account such specific social policies as health care, social assistance, education, employment policy, labor market policy, promotion of participation in culture and support for civil society. However, two important areas of the state’s social policy which are related to meeting the material needs of the elderly – pension and housing policy – are omitted14.

Senior policy – the initial stream of solutions Before the issue of senior citizen’s policy was expressly mentioned in the documents, there were already some practices and activities in the public domain that could be regarded as examples of solutions to problems that belong in the field of senior citizen’s policy. On the one hand, these were examples of solutions used in other countries and on the other hand, there are many examples of practical activities that paved the way for senior citizen policy. As one of the main initiatives many researchers point to the University of the Third Age. In Poland, the first institution of this type was established as early as 1975 and its dynamic development resulted from funding from the EU and the Polish-American Freedom Foundation15. As part of the stream of solutions understood in this way, it is also possible to point to non-governmental initiatives, and sometimes also economic entities, which in the first years of the 21st century undertook initiatives aimed at stimulating the activity of the elderly. The Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland (ARFP) should be considered a pioneer of senior initiatives in the third sector, other than organizing third age universities16. Another stream of solutions includes grassroots initiatives to establish senior citizens’ councils at local governments – voivodeship, district and commune councils. The first councils of seniors were established in 2006 by the local governments of Dolnos´la˛skie Voivodeship (February 2006) and Pomorskie Voivodeship (October 2006). Currently, there are already 300 senior citizen councils in Poland.

14 B. Szatur-Jaworska, Polityka senioralna w Polsce – analiza agendy. “Problemy Polityki Społecznej. Studia i Dyskusje” 30, 3, 2015, p. 50. 15 B. Trzop, Dojrzale, spełnione, niezalez˙ne… Kobiety 50+ w socjologicznym zwierciadle, Zielona Góra, pp. 24–25. 16 B. Szatur-Jaworska, Polityka senioralna w Polsce – analiza agendy. “Problemy Polityki Społecznej. Studia i Dyskusje”, 30 (3), 2015, p. 65.

Mechanisms of shaping senior policy in Poland

63

Senior policy today: the political agenda Currently, we have an entire portal dedicated to senior policy on government websites under the gov domain – senior.gov.pl. A brief analysis of the institutional activities points to several aspects of the policy agenda: The first aspect concerns the advisory body.

The basic body of experts is the Council for Senior Policy – established by Order No. 9 of the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy of 17 February 2016. The Council for Senior Policy is an opinion and advisory body of the Minister of Family and Social Policy. Representatives of local government units and unions of these units; government administration; non-governmental organizations, employers’ organizations and trade unions; universities and research institutions, delegated to work in the Council, have been invited to participate in its work on a permanent basis. The term of office lasts 4 years. The tasks of the Council defined by the Ministry include 1. development of directions of activities addressed to the elderly in Poland; 2. initiating, supporting and promoting social policy solutions for the elderly; 3. presentation of proposals of solutions for development of the system of support for the elderly to the Minister17. The second aspect is the government programs related to the implementation of the objectives of senior policy. The Active + program, information summarizing the implementation of the Government Program for Social Activity of the Elderly for 2014–2020, the Senior + program (especially the latest edition for 2021–2025). The Senior + Program is a continuation of the “Senior+ long-term program for 2015–2020”. The strategic goal of the Program is to increase the active participation of seniors in social life by co-financing the development of infrastructure for support centers in local communities and increasing the number of places in “Senior+” support centers, i. e. supporting the activities of local government units in the development of a network of “Senior+ Day Care Centers” and “Senior+ Clubs”18. Importantly, the Program is addressed to economically inactive people aged 60+, and the implementation of its objectives should result in the provision of adequate infrastructure for active leisure as well as activation and

17 The Council for Senior Policy, https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/rada-ds-polityki-senioralnej [access: 02. 04. 2022]. 18 Senior+ long-term program for 2015–2020, https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/program-wie loletni-senior-na-lata-2021-2025 [access: 03. 04. 2022].

64

Krzysztof Lisowski / Beata Trzop

involvement of seniors in self-aid activities and activities for the local environment19. The third and final aspect is strategic documents. It seems that currently the dominant document in the space of the political agenda that initiates actions within the framework of senior policy is the document entitled. “Social policy towards elderly people 2030: Safety – Participation – Solidarity” was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 26 October 201820. The document envisages the following actions towards the elderly in general within the following areas: 1. Shaping a positive perception of old age in society. 2. Participation in social life and support for all forms of civil, social, cultural, artistic, sporting and religious activity. 3. Creation of conditions which make it possible to use the potential of the elderly as active participants in economic life and the labor market, adapted to their psychophysical capabilities and family situation. 4. Health promotion, disease prevention, access to diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation. 5. Increasing physical security – to prevent violence and neglect of the elderly. 6. Creation of conditions for solidarity and intergenerational integration. 7. Measures for education for old age (care and medical staff), to old age (whole society), through old age (from the youngest generation) and education in old age ( elderly people). As the authors of the document “Social Policy for Elderly People 2030” emphasize, this is the first time since the creation of strategic solutions targeted at seniors that actions aimed at dependent elderly people have been designed: 1. Reducing dependence on others by facilitating access to services enhancing independence and adaptation of the living environment to the functional capabilities of dependent elderly people. 2. Provision of optimal access to health, rehabilitation and care services tailored to the needs of dependent elderly persons. 3. A network of community and institutional services provided to dependent elderly persons. 19 At the core of program design there is a guiding concept around which this element of senior policy is framed: the concept of activation. The term “activation” is used in various senses. As Dorota Rynkowska points out, activation is a process aimed at increasing general and selective activity. General activation is usually understood as “mobilization of the whole organism, while selective (targeted) activity is the increase of the level of physical, mental, creative, sexual, professional, educational, religious activity”. 20 Resolution No. 161 of the Council of Ministers of 26 October 2018 on the adoption of the document Social policy towards elderly persons 2030. SAFETY – PARTICIPATION – SOLIDARITY, M.P. of 2018, item 1169).

Mechanisms of shaping senior policy in Poland

65

4. A system of support for informal careers of dependent elderly people by public institutions21. This document, outlining a wide range of activities in the indicated areas goes beyond the area of social sub-policy, placing these issues in the visible mainstream of social policy. In this way the senior citizen policy expands its political agenda and becomes a visible element of the strategy (documents, programs), thus responding to demographic processes in Polish society at the level of the problem stream. However, the problem solving stream remains the most important in this scheme.

Conclusions As demographic data show, the aging of the Polish population is a fact. Demographic forecasts unequivocally point to the deepening of this process. The aging society requires that the state authorities develop such concepts of development, in which these phenomena will be the basis for actions requiring improvement of the quality of life of the population and optimization of the cost of living. Poland will have to cope with the demographic problems outlined and limit their negative effects. Systemic solutions and wise senior citizen policy will allow to move closer to the model of active aging introduced by the World Health Organization in the 1990s. Indicators of active aging refer to many dimensions of life and wellbeing of seniors, including financial situation, health, physical activity, accessibility of health care, participation in social life, accessibility of the labor market, use of means of communication and the Internet. The multitude of areas and problems makes it necessary to take a holistic approach to the problem and include it in almost all strategic documents on social development. It is also necessary to take into account the features of demographic aging, important from the point of view of social policy, namely feminization and singularization of old age, double aging and internal differentiation of old age. Therefore, the senior citizen policy currently being implemented and the one projected for the coming years should first of all depart from the rigid division of sectoral policies – and aim at holistic, intersectoral planning within a broadly understood senior citizen policy. Then, it will be possible to diagnose social problems more effectively and to propose appropriate solutions.

21 Social Policy for Elderly People 2030, http://senior.gov.pl/polityka_dlugofalowa/strona/8 [access: 02. 04. 2022].

66

Krzysztof Lisowski / Beata Trzop

Bibliography Frysztacki K., Socjologia problemów społecznych, Warszawa 2009. Greer Scott L., John W. Kingdom. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, [in.] The Oxford Handbook of Classics in Public Policy and Administration, M. Lodge, E. C. Page, S. J. Balla (eds.), Oxford 2022. Lesthaeghe R., A century of demographic and cultural change in Western Europe: an exploration of underlying dimensions. “Population and Development Review”, vol. 9, no. 3. Okólski M., Fichel A., Demografia, współczesne zjawiska i teorie, Warszawa 2012. Rynkowska D., Rola i znaczenie aktywnos´ci społecznej seniorów. “Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska Lublin – Polonia”, vol. XLI, 2, 2016. Senior+ long-term program for 2015–2020, https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/program-wi eloletni-senior-na-lata-2021-2025 [access: 03.04. 2022]. Social Policy for Elderly People 2030, http://senior.gov.pl/polityka_dlugofalowa/strona/8 [access: 02. 04. 2022]. Szatur-Jaworska B., Polityka senioralna w Polsce – analiza agendy. “Problemy Polityki Społecznej. Studia i Dyskusje”, vol. 30, 3, 2015. The Council for Senior Policy, https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/rada-ds-polityki-senioral nej [access: 02. 04. 2022]. Trzop B., Dojrzałe, spełnione, niezalez˙ne… Kobiety 50+ w socjologicznym zwierciadle, Zielona Góra 2013. Uchwała Nr 161 Rady Ministrów z dnia 26 paz´dziernika 2018 r. w sprawie przyje˛cia do´ STWO – UCkumentu Polityka społeczna wobec osób starszych 2030. BEZPIECZEN ´ ´ ZESTNICTWO – SOLIDARNOSC, M.P. z 2018 r. poz. 1169). Uchwała nr 238 Rady Ministrów z dnia 24 grudnia 2013 r. w sprawie przyje˛cia dokumentu Załoz˙enia Długofalowej Polityki Senioralnej w Polsce na lata 2014–2020 (Monitor Polski, item 118). van de Kaa D. J., The Second Demographic Transition Revisited: Theories and Expectations, Planologisch en Demografisch Institut Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam 2002.

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller

Caring farms – a tool for the senior policy implementation

Introduction The current senior policy is an interdisciplinary field that aims to create dignified, active aging opportunities in health and independence. Given the demographic crisis in Europe, it is one of the key policies. However, many countries are currently diagnosed with difficult access to senior services. Exclusion from care concerns the health problems of older adults or the financial condition of their households, difficulties in establishing social relations, participating in the life of the local community, or meeting other needs, such as educational, cultural and recreational. This view implies that limited access to senior policy services degrades the meaning of an individual’s life, negatively impacting their emotional, psychological, and social behavior. It also reduces its psychophysical activity, which may lead to placing seniors in care institutions (24-hour nursing homes), taking away independence, self-steering1 privacy and forcing them to live in a unified, formal environment2. Even if the current methods of taking care of the seniors’ needs were supposed to counteract the above situation, they do not always bring about positive changes. People at risk of social exclusion and with lower social competencies due to old age and health problems cannot maintain their fitness and well-being on their own. An extraordinary situation concerns rural areas with limited access to public institutions and other social services. In this context, this chapter aims to present assumptions about supporting seniors regarding the implementation of green care and its impact on the quality of life of them. Its task is to characterize the model that organizes caring farms’ functioning in rural areas. The basis

1 A. Vrugt, S. Koenis, Perceived self-efficacy, personal goals, social comparison, and scientific productivity. “Applied Psychology: An International Review” 51, 2002, pp. 593–607. 2 J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, Innovative Housing Policy and (Vulnerable) Residents’ Quality of Life. “Frontiers in Psychology” 13/751208, 2022. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/article s/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.751208/full [access: 14. 05. 2022].

68

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller

of this text is the study of the literature and the analysis of program documents relating to implementing the model of green care in Poland. In the present study, I focused on examining whether the combination of senior policy with social work in caring farms and constant social support protects seniors against loss of independence and increases their psychophysical activity, well-being and social commitment. However, it should be noted that green care is a social intervention that is an active process. It aims to improve or promote seniors’ health and well-being, not just passively experiencing nature. In other words, the natural environment is not only the background for green care but the basis for its provision3. Based on the concept of social inclusion, I also analyzed the results of introducing care farms to implement the social services program in this area of social policy.

Senior policy and its challenges The senior policy is a broadly understood activity of the state aimed at compensating for the decreasing possibilities of self-fulfillment of the needs of older people with age and their integration with the local community. It is also an activity for the independent and satisfying life of seniors. It is implemented thanks to the systemic actions of all public and local administration bodies, whose task is to create social living conditions for seniors and their families in all dimensions (from international to local)4. This activity is divided into social policy towards older people and policy towards old age. The first of them is aimed at meeting the needs of seniors and building proper relations between the generations by minimizing the dependence of elderly people on younger ones, eliminating forms of marginalization of older people and fostering their social participation to ensure their stable position in society. The policy towards old age is aimed at supporting individuals in overcoming the difficulties typical of old age, as well as shaping a positive image of this phase of life and preventing marginalization by ensuring its equal position to other stages. It is also about preparing younger members of society for the old age ahead. Both policies must complement each other and are dependent on each other. Researchers point out that the policy’s basis toward more aged people are the following values: equality, justice, solidarity, and freedom. In the case of the old age policy, these are

3 J. Sempik, R. Hine, D. Wilcox (eds.), Green Care: A Conceptual Framework, A Report of the Working Group on the Health Benefits of Green Care, COST Action 866, Green Care in Agriculture, Loughborough 2010. 4 E. Trafiałek, Innowacyjna polityka senioralna XXI wieku. Mie˛dzy ageizmem, bezpieczen´stwem socjalnym i active ageing, Torun´ 2016.

Caring farms – a tool for the senior policy implementation

69

happiness, lack of suffering, usefulness, dignity, and proper fulfillment of duty5. As a rule, it is implemented by representatives of three sectors: public, private and non-governmental. However, research shows that in all European Union countries, including those with a wide range of benefits and services, the family is the leading “supplier” of care for both children and the elderly6. There is a reference to the concept of familization-defamilization of care developed by Sigrid Leitner7. Familization of care means that the central entity providing care is the family, which implies members’ dependence on the family. In turn, defamilization is characterized by lower family involvement in the care organization for services offered by the state and the market8. In European countries, there are differences in family practices and patterns of family solidarity conditioned by ‘micro-level’ factors (needs and preferences of family members) and ‘macro-level’ factors (economic conditions, social policy and public services, culture)9. The countries and regions of Europe differ in patterns of intergenerational support, attitudes towards the role of women and men in the family and their obligations to support family members. In general, Eastern and Southern Europe countries are characterized by a greater sense of duty towards the family and traditional family values than the countries of Western and Northern Europe10. Poland is one of the countries with an informal nature of care. It is also free of charge and is related to the emotional bond between family members and the provision of various services. This is in the group of Central and Eastern European and Southern European countries that implement an intergenerational

5 B. Szatur-Jaworska, P. Błe˛dowski, M. Dzie˛gielewska, Podstawy gerontologii społecznej, Warszawa 2006, pp. 291–293. 6 C. Saraceno, W. Keck, Towards an Integrated Approach for the Analysis of Gender Equity in Policies Supporting Paid Work and Care Responsibilities. “Demographic Research” 25, 2011, pp. 371–406; M. Jappens, J. van Bavel, Regional Family Norms and Child Care by Grandparents in Europe. “Demographic Research” 27, 2012, pp. 85–120; C. Igel, M. Brandt, K. Haberkern, M. Szydlik, Specialization between Family and State. Intergenerational Time Transfers in Western Europe. “Journal of Comparative Family Studies”, 40, 2, 2009, pp. 203– 226; S. Daatland, K. Herlofson, ‘Lost Solidarity’ or ‘Changed Solidarity’. A Comparative European View of Normative Family Solidarity. “Ageing and Society” 23, 5, 2003, pp. 537–560. 7 S. Leitner, Varieties of Familialism. The Caring Function of the Family in Comparative Perspective. “European Societies” 5, 4, 2003, pp. 353–375. 8 Ibidem. 9 M. Szyszka, Polityka rodzinna dopełnieniem solidarnos´ci rodzinnej. “Studia Socjologiczne” 2, 225, 2017, pp. 241–266. 10 M. Jappens, J. van Bavel, Regional Family Norms and Child Care by Grandparents in Europe. “Demographic Research”, 27, 2012, pp. 85–120; M. Szyszka, Polityka rodzinna dopełnieniem solidarnos´ci rodzinnej. “Studia Socjologiczne” 2, 225, 2017, pp. 241–266.

70

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller

support model (from parents to adult children and vice versa)11. Intergenerational transfers result from the feeling of family solidarity, and their essential feature is “relatively greater accuracy than in the case of state aid”12. It is assumed that relatives know the needs of family members better. As part of family support, material and non-material transfers take place based on the principles of solidarity and reciprocity (care, advice and emotional support), relating (but also building) ties between family members13. Such care, however, weighs heavily on families. According to the research, household care transfers are directed to grandchildren (42% of households) and parents or in-laws (40%)14. Threequarters of helping adult Poles support someone from their immediate family. Most people who help the elderly look after one person (55%), every fourth two, and every eighth three people15. The research also shows reciprocity in families: transfer behavior patterns are passed on to subsequent generations. Adults those being parents of young children received support from their parents in caring for their children reciprocate this help and now take care of their parents16. In addition to cultural factors, researchers also point to structural factors17. An essential element in the care of adults by household members is the lack of access to formal care18. Poorly developed and little diversified social infrastructure, as well as the lack or limited access to it, make family care the primary one. It concerns health, housing, education, access to culture and rehabilitation, and spending free time. The challenging situation of seniors concerns rural areas19. 11 M. Jappens, J. van Bavel, Regional Family Norms and Child Care by Grandparents in Europe. “Demographic Research” 27, 2012, pp. 85–120; C. Saraceno, M. Kalmijn, A Comparative Perspective on Intergenerational Support. Responsiveness to Parental Needs in Individualistic and Familialistic Countries. “European Societies” 10, 3, 2008, pp. 479–508. 12 P. Michon´, Praca matek w polityce krajów Unii Europejskiej, Poznan´ 2012, p. 244. 13 J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, Rodzina, potrzeby, polityka społeczna, Warszawa 2014. 14 M. Styrc, Transfery finansowe i opieki w nieformalnych sieciach wsparcia, [in:] I. E. Kotowska, U. Sztanderska, I. Wóycicka (eds.), Aktywnos´c´ zawodowa i edukacyjna a obowia˛zki rodzinne w Polsce w ´swietle badan´ empirycznych, Warszawa, 2007, pp. 306–344. 15 CBOS, Społeczna solidarnos´c´ z osobami w starszym wieku. Komunikat z badan´ nr 83/2012. 16 M. Szyszka, Polityka rodzinna dopełnieniem solidarnos´ci rodzinnej. “Studia Socjologiczne” 2, 225, 2017, pp. 241–266. 17 I. Baptista, E. Marlier, Fighting homelessness and housing exclusion in Europe: A study of national policies. European Social Policy Network, Brussels 2019; Fra˛tczak-Müller J., Innovative Housing Policy and (Vulnerable) Residents’ Quality of Life. “Frontiers in Psychology” 13/751208, 2022. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.75 1208/full [access: 14. 05. 2022]; Szyszka M., Polityka rodzinna dopełnieniem solidarnos´ci rodzinnej. “Studia Socjologiczne” 2, 225, 2017, pp. 241–266. 18 I. Wóycicka, Model opieki w Polsce, [in:] I. E. Kotowska (ed.), Strukturalne i kulturowe uwarunkowania aktywnos´ci zawodowej kobiet w Polsce, Warszawa 2009, pp. 99–117. 19 J. Hassink, M. van Dijk, Farming for health across Europe: comparison between countries, recommendations for research and policy agenda, in: J. Hassink, M. van Dijk (eds.), Farming for Health: Green-care farming across Europe and the United States of America, Dordrecht 2006, pp. 347–357. https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/344947 [last accessed 24. 09.

Caring farms – a tool for the senior policy implementation

71

The limited access to social institutions and organizations indicated in the research shifts to an even greater extent the necessity to implement the goals of the senior policy on the family. In such a complicated situation of implementing the tasks of the senior policy, green care may be an important tool. This care aims to spread the availability of care and activation services for vulnerable people. The main idea behind this is to include caring farms in the existing structures of social assistance at the localcommunal level in rural areas. This makes it possible for municipalities to finance their services and use them by seniors in their place of residence. The development of social services can be an effective way to overcome many negative socio-economic phenomena, such as the aging of the society, the insufficient number of care facilities for the elderly, high costs of providing care for seniors and vulnerable people, or social isolation20. Later in this chapter, the assumptions for the implementation of the green care model in rural areas as an important tool of the senior policy will be presented.

Method and Materials The green care model requires both detailed characterization and general approaches. Both of these features are essential for effective operation. It should contain features specific to green care to be distinguished from other forms of rural activity or therapeutic tasks. It should also be generalizable to the entire sphere of care activities, so that the model applies to all green care and not only explains or predicts a small part of the processes or mechanisms inherent in this field21. From this perspective, the field of agriculture for health requires research on several levels and using various methods. The project of this analysis was aimed at analyzing the goals and principles of green care implementation, as well as the practical operation of care farms. A systematic review of the relevant literature was carried out to obtain a theoretical framework for these activities. It was also important to describe the development, methods and effects of green care im2022]; E. Fjeldavili, The Lay Beliefs about Farming for Health, in: J. Hassink, M. van Dijk (eds.), Farming for Health… op. cit., pp. 73–90. https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/344947 [last accessed 24. 09. 2022]. 20 A. Hemingway, C. Ellis-Hill, E. Norton, What does care farming provide for clients? The views of care farm staff. “Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences” 79, 1, 2016. Available at: https:// www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.njas.2016.09.001 [access 14. 05. 2022]. 21 J. Sempik, R. Hine, D. Wilcox (eds.), Green Care: A Conceptual Framework, A Report of the Working Group on the Health Benefits of Green Care, COST Action 866, Green Care in Agriculture, Loughborough 2010.

72

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller

plementation. The implications for the practice result from the analysis of program documents concerning the operation of caring farms in Poland. The analysis concerns the Lubuskie Voivodeship, where such a project is currently being implemented (2022). The study covered the model of green care, “Lubuski model of social services in rural areas 2021”22, adopted for implementation and project documents regarding the establishment of care farms in the Lubuskie Voivodeship in 2022–2023, financed by the European Social Fund.23 These are activities undertaken as part of the operation of the Regional Center for Social Policy in Zielona Góra City. In the collected documents, information was searched for care farms, such as the scope of activities, target groups, activity and role of the farmer, supplies, expected project effects and prospects for future development. On the other hand, the project was aimed at a deeper analysis of the phenomenon as a qualitative approach looking at the meanings and patterns of green care. The data material is therefore based on qualitative methods.

Green Care: A conceptual framework One of the distinctions between green care and other activities undertaken by people in the nature (leisure and recreation) is that green care aims to provide several benefits to specific customer groups. Research shows that other activities in nature can contribute to human health and well-being in general. However, even when organized, they are often not concerned with caring for and achieving therapeutic outcomes24. When such activities focus on helping vulnerable people (e. g., seniors, people with disabilities, lonely people, youth with problems, exprisoners) achieve specific results, they move to green care25. It includes various forms of therapeutic activities that use the natural resources of rural areas and work on a farm. This care is usually called green care, care farming and agricultural therapy. It is successfully developing in many European countries. Good practices come from Norway, the Netherlands and Great Britain. 22 J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, A. Krzaczkowska, K. Jedynak, Innowacyjnie czyli jak? Lubuski model usług społecznych na terenach wiejskich, Zielona Góra, Poland, 2021. 23 Priority axis 7, application number: RPLB.07.05.00-IZ.00-08-P01 / 21, Project title: “Green care farms”. 24 H. Frumkin, Healthy places: exploring the evidence. “American Journal of Public Health” 93, 2003, pp. 1451–1456; J. Pretty, How nature contributes to mental and physical health. “Spirituality and Health International” 5, 2004, pp. 68–78; J. Maas, R. Verheij, P. Groenewegen, S. de Vries, P. Spreeuwenberg, Green space, urbanity, and health: how strong is the relation?. “Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health”, 60, 7, 2006, pp. 587–592; A. Van den Berg, E. T. Hartig, H. Staats, Preference for nature in urbanised societies: stress, restoration and the pursuit of sustainability. “Journal of Social Issues” 63, 2007, pp. 79–96. 25 J. Sempik, R. Hine, D. Wilcox (eds.), Green Care…, 2010, pp. 20–21.

Caring farms – a tool for the senior policy implementation

73

Green care in all its forms focuses on providing nature-based services for different groups of vulnerable or socially excluded people. However, there are differences in the level of ‘care’ provided by different options. Some operate as structured therapy programs (for example, garden therapy and animal-assisted therapy) with clearly defined patient-centered goals. In contrast, others are designed to provide broader benefits such as social inclusion, improved social contact, mental well-being and agency. An essential element here is the nonrandomness of participation in therapeutic classes and the knowledge of its goals26. Therefore, the basic construct of ‘care’ concerns health care, rehabilitation, education and employment opportunities for various vulnerable groups. The concepts most often used to explain green care relate to an agency, social inclusion and quality of life. In cognitive theory, the continuous relationship between cognition, behavior, and a person’s environment is emphasized. The goal of therapy is to bring about positive changes in self-perception and thus in the individual’s behavior. Behavioral changes are supposed to be caused by improving self-efficacy, respect and locus of control27. In this case, self-efficacy is the result of assessing how easily we are able to perform the actions necessary to deal with a specific situation. People avoid activities that they think are beyond their ability to cope with and do what they think they can do28. Activities on rural farms, regarding the care of animals and plants, daily hygiene activities, and contact with nature are considered as such. This has significant consequences for the agency of the individual. People with a high sense of self-efficacy often have high aspirations and undertake more complicated tasks. Additionally, it influences the motivation to undertake tasks and the belief that they can be carried out as well as coping with stress and anxiety. It is also essential to learn to calm down and seek support from other people29. In this approach, failures will result in a loss of self-confidence, which in turn will contribute to lower mood and depression30. Social exclusion is a construction that describes the disadvantageous situation of people in society, which is broader than just an analysis of their income. It describes the state in which individuals cannot fully participate in economic, social and political life and the process leading to and sustaining such a state31. Participation can be difficult when people do not have access to material resources, including income, employment, land and housing, or vital services such as education and healthcare, rehabilitation, and social contacts. However, par26 27 28 29 30 31

Ibidem, p. 21. Ibidem, p. 84. A. Bandura, Self-efficacy. “Harvard Mental Health Letter” 13, 1997, pp. 4–7. Ibidem, pp. 4–7. J. Sempik, R. Hine, D. Wilcox (eds.), Green Care…, 2010, pp. 85–86. Balibar E., Difference, Otherness, Exclusion. “Parallax” 11, 1, 2005, pp. 19–34.

74

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller

ticipation is also restricted when people cannot express themselves or interact with each other and their rights and dignity are not equally respected and protected. Therefore, social exclusion is associated not only with material deprivation but also with the inability to act or control important decisions and a feeling of alienation and inferiority. In almost all countries, to varying degrees, age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, migrant status, socio-economic status, place of residence, and sexual orientation and gender identity have become a cause of social exclusion32. Marginalization is at the root of exclusion from a wholesome and entire social life on an individual, interpersonal and social level. People who are marginalized have relatively little control over their lives and the resources available to them; they can become stigmatized and often receive negative social attitudes. Their opportunities to participate in social life may be limited and self-confidence and self-esteem become low33. The effects of marginalization are similar, regardless of the sources and processes of marginalization and irrespective of whether they are related to social attitudes (e. g., towards disability, sexuality, ethnicity, old age) or to social circumstances (such as liquidation of jobs, lack of affordable housing, demanding access to health services).34 Attempts to solve the problem of social exclusion of vulnerable people always involve identifying the causes of exclusion and developing a strategy for inferiority ‘social inclusion’35. Their task is to organize processes as a result of which individuals can participate in key activities of the societies in which they live. In this approach, there are four dimensions of social integration called as consumption (the potential possibility of using goods and services used by other people), production (the possibility of engaging in socially valuable activities, paid and unpaid work, volunteering), social interactions (understood as social networks and cultural identity) and political commitment (understood as selfdetermination, empowerment, responsibility)36. Green care satisfies this approach. Integration, understood as reconnecting uninvolved groups of people 32 Social Exclusion Unit: Mental Health and Social Exclusion, http://www.socialinclusion.o rg.uk/publications/SEU.pdf [access: 14. 05. 2022]. 33 T. Burchardt, J. Le Grand, D. Piachaud, Degrees of Exclusion: Developing a Dynamic, Multidimensional Measure, [in:] J. Hills, J. Le Grand, D. Piachaud (eds.), Understanding Social Exclusion, New York 2002, pp. 30–43; D. Anaby, C. Hand, L. Bradley, B. DiRezze, F. Briano, A. DiGiacomo, M. Law, The effect of the environment on participation of children and youth with disabilities: a scoping review. “Disability and Rehabilitation” 35, 19, 2013, pp. 1589–1598. 34 J. Taywaditep Kittiwut, Marginalization among the marginalized: Gay men’s anti-effeminancy attitudes. “Journal of Homosexuality” 42, 1, 2001, pp. 1–28. 35 J. Sempik, R. Hine, D. Wilcox (eds.), Green Care…, 2010, op. cit., pp. 104–105. 36 T. Burchardt, J. Le Grand, D. Piachaud, Degrees of Exclusion: Developing a Dynamic, Multidimensional Measure, [in:] J. Hills, J. Le Grand, D. Piachaud (eds.), Understanding Social Exclusion, New York 2002, p. 30.

Caring farms – a tool for the senior policy implementation

75

with each other and others, is inherent in this approach of activating humans through nature-based (plant or animal) activities37. Quality of life (QOL) is a widely used concept and its definitions vary depending on the discipline of study. In the social sciences, QOL refers to material well-being and how people feel about the adequacy of their resources. It is the degree to which a person is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in life events or benefit from them38. QOL is considered an integrated system of motivational and aspirational factors based on the needs and values of the individual39. The standard of living depends on individual and social expectations, the type of individual’s activity and life choices40. The quality of life is high when the hopes and expectations for the ability to function align with the perceived situation41. It drops when roles and tasks are too difficult. When QOL is conceptualized in this way, it is very suitable for use in conjunction with green care, making it possible to simultaneously measure the different dimensions of this care, its implementation and outcomes. Additionally, developing a sense of place affect is an essential determinant of well-being in the context of the caring farms. The place affect has been defined as the affective bond that connects individuals with the environment and promotes psychological reconstruction42. The impact of the caring farm is then associated with a reduced level of stress, favoring well-being43, contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of participants in therapeutic activities.

37 J. Sempik, R. Hine, D. Wilcox (eds.), Green Care…, 2010, op. cit., p. 105. 38 J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, Innovative Housing Policy and (Vulnerable) Residents’ Quality of Life. “Frontiers in Psychology” 13/ 751208, 2022. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/article s/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.751208/full [access: 14. 05. 2022]. 39 A. Ferdiana, M. Post, W. M. King, N. Bültmann, U. van der Klink, J. L. Jac, Meaning and components of quality of life among individuals with spinal cord injury in Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. “Disability and Rehabilitation” 40, 10, 2017, pp. 1183–1191; M. Nussbaum, A. Sen, The Quality of Life. Oxford 1993. 40 K. Danna, R. Griffin, Health and well-being in the workplace: a review and synthesis of the literature. “Journal of Management” 25, 1999, pp. 357–384; J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, Innovative Housing…, 2022, op. cit. 41 I. McDowell, Measuring Health. A Guide to Rating Scales and Questionnaires, Oxford 2006. 42 H. Ramkissoon, Place Affect Interventions During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. “Frontiers in Psychology” 12/726685, 2021. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/article s/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.726685/full [access: 14. 05. 2022]. 43 D. R. Williams, N. McIntyre, Place affinities, lifestyle mobilities, and quality-of-life, [in:] U. Muzaffer, M. Perdue, S. Joseph (eds.), Handbook of Tourism and Quality-of-Life Research, Dordrecht 2012, pp. 209–231.

76

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller

Green Care: Practical solutions In practice, green care is implemented in the form of care farms located in rural areas. They are considered a form of farming that combines agricultural activity with taking care of people in need of support. It is a particular type of social farming, an important element of which is farm resources to carry out therapeutic, caring and integration activities. The recipients of these activities are the people who are temporarily or permanently in a difficult life situation. The caring farm may conduct agricultural, tourist, or other economic activities based on its resources. It can also act as an entity of the social economy44. According to the idea of green care, activities undertaken on care farms aim to achieve health benefits and learn or acquire the social competencies of their participants. Their principle is the voluntary performance of everyday farm activities, which gives the possibility of psychophysical development. It is also about increasing resourcefulness in carrying out everyday tasks. The scale of this involvement and the difficulty of undertaken actions are adjusted to farm participants’ functional level and current health conditions. They can take part in single, important activities for the farm (related to caring for animals, garden, orchard, preparing meals, preparing preserves, taking care of cleanliness), as well as undertaking work-like activities – with a permanent structure and schedule of activities, activity physical and belonging to the local community45. However, particular emphasis is placed here on taking actions that the participants can perform but are not necessary to be done. The analysis of the collected project documents showed that in Poland the first and fundamental goal of the functioning of care farms is to increase access to social services in rural areas. This mainly applies to seniors and people with disabilities. Due to the increase in the number of older people, care services provided by families using farms or entities of the social economy that run them are a favorable response to the social needs of people in a problematic situation (activation and inclusion of older people or with disabilities). They also strengthen the inhabitants of the countryside economically. Caring farms can be a valuable complement to existing care and support services. However, to make this vision a reality, it is necessary to understand the complex context of their operation resulting from the combination of the agricultural sector and social assistance. This is important both for service providers and recipients of these services outside the institutional health and social care system. Experience from pilot projects implemented so far in Poland (Lubuskie 44 J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, A. Krzaczkowska, K. Jedynak, Innowacyjnie czyli jak? Lubuski model usług społecznych na terenach wiejskich, Zielona Góra, 2021. 45 J. Sempik, R. Hine, D. Wilcox (eds.), Green Care…, 2010, op. cit., pp. 113–118.

Caring farms – a tool for the senior policy implementation

77

Voivodeship, Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship) shows that the cooperation of farms with social welfare centers (SWC) is key important here. It consists of implementing the services ordered by them and is to limit the occurrence of the indicated problems, with a higher quality of actions taken (SWC control) and their lower costs. The intersectoral nature of the actors also emerges in the activities of care farms. Their staff may come from local social enterprises, community organizations, public institutions, private enterprises, farm advisory centers, or be recruited from residents. A vital element of each caring farm in the analyzed project is also the acquisition of volunteers. This model of creating care farms responds to the need to change the care system for the elderly and in difficult situations and modify its financing. The rural development perspective additionally indicates: – creating new jobs outside agriculture – sustainable development, – reduction of hidden unemployment, – entrepreneurship development in rural areas46. In addition, care farms may vary in size and type. They are as diverse as the people they support. However, they must provide a supervised, structured program of activities related to animal care, plant cultivation, gardening, arts and culinary activities. This should be based on providing healthcare, social care, or specialized education services for people from one or more vulnerable groups. It must also be about delivering personalized care services to its recipients. The main task of the farm is to provide services: – caring and nursing (help in meeting basic needs, hygiene treatments, food delivery), – activating and improving (individual and group activities of a therapeutic and inclusive nature, using farm resources), – supportive (e. g., information, education, support and counseling, contacts with institutions and organizations, assistance in contacts with medical services).47 Depending on the farm’s resources and the abilities of its participants, this program may focus on the implementation of zootherapy, nature therapy, silvoteraphy and other such types. As part of the provision of additional services, it is also essential to organize free time for participants, e. g., walks, handicraft workshops, games and other activities that cultivate local traditions. Partic46 J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, A. Krzaczkowska, K. Jedynak, Innowacyjnie czyli jak? Lubuski model usług społecznych na terenach wiejskich, Zielona Góra, 2021. 47 Małopolski Os´rodek Doradztwa Rolniczego, Jak załoz˙yc´ gospodarstwo opiekun´cze?, Karniowice 2018.

78

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller

ipation in green care classes usually involves therapy in a group of up to eight people. It can be financed commercially or in cooperation with the social welfare centers, e. g., by employing a farm resident as a carer by the SWC. The functioning of the farm may also be organized following the guidelines for the already existing forms of care: day residence houses, family nursing homes, and senior clubs48. Conducted literature analysis revealed that creating care farms has been recognized as an important action to increase public health (e. g., in the Netherlands, Norway and the UK). The issues that influence the recognition of care farming as an effective public health intervention include (1) the lack of sufficient funds for the provision of services in rural environments by social services, (2) the high cost of institutional care (in the case of Poland), (3) the lack of staff for the implementation of caring tasks at the place of residence49. Based on research conducted in the Netherlands, it can be concluded that the following are among the positive assessments of the use of green care: – community – farms are perceived as safe and cozy places where customers are accepted and respected, where they feel good and secure, and build trust, – context unrelated to care – the farm is a context of games and fun, ‘normal life’ not related to clients’ problems. It is a context in which farmers have the freedom to act independently of the protocols, and the wards of the farms can do the same. Institutionalized care does not provide such opportunities. Giving agency and the ability to decide about yourself, tasks during the day, and work schedule increases the independence of participants and builds commitment, – work – activities are performed on the farm that are real and useful. This primarily increases the activity and independence of the participants of the classes. It also makes it possible to postpone using institutional forms of care. In addition, it increases self-confidence and the willingness to participate in classes. Farm work must be done. Applicants are responsible for them. Without diligence and persistence in implementing tasks, there will be shortcomings. It builds responsibility and consistency in their implementation. – green surroundings provide an external, spacious and quiet environment that customers can withdraw to if they wish.

48 J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, A. Krzaczkowska, K. Jedynak, Innowacyjnie…, 2021, op. cit. 49 J. Hassink, M. van Dijk, Farming for health across Europe: comparison between countries, recommendations for research and policy agenda, [in:] Farming for Health: Green-care farming across Europe and the United States of America, Dordrecht 2006, pp. 347–357.

Caring farms – a tool for the senior policy implementation

79

– farmers’ attitudes – establishing relationships with people from the area of social exclusion, increasing sensitivity to others.50 Additionally, research conducted with clients of caring farms showed that they value being a part of the farming community and acquire a sense of value in these contacts. They also increase their social competencies by experimenting with the farmer’s non-judgmental attitudes, working at their own pace, experiencing various activities and connections with nature, caring for animals and participating in a group51.

Conclusions The subject of the study was the implementation of the care farms model in rural areas. It is a unique model of care which is an essential tool for the performance of the senior policy in many European countries. The analysis methods were literature studies and the analysis of existing documents, allowing for the possibility of characterizing the principles of organizing green care in social life. The analyses showed that there is increasing evidence of a positive relationship between exposure to nature and individual health52. The results show that exposure to nature improves mental health by reducing pre-existing stress levels and enhancing mood, offering both a ‘restorative environment’ and protection against future stresses53. Contact with nature also improves health by encouraging physical activity, facilitating social interactions, and providing opportunities for personal development. Care farms operating in rural areas perform all these functions within green care. Running this type of farm is currently considered an innovative approach to agriculture and farming in the countryside. Ensure the delivery of health, welfare and education services in restricted environments. The obtained results show 50 A. Hemingway, C. Ellis-Hill, E. Norton, What does care farming provide for clients? The views of care farm staff. “Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences” 79, 1, 2016. Available at: https:// www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.njas.2016.09.001 [access: 14. 05. 2022]. 51 Ibidem. 52 J. Pretty, How nature contributes to mental and physical health. “Spirituality and Health International” 5, 2004, pp. 68–78; W. Bird, Natural Thinking: Investigating the links between the Natural Environment, Biodiversity and Mental Health. Available at: http://www.rspb.o rg.uk/Images/naturalthinking_tcm9-161856.pdf [access: 14. 05. 2022]; A. Burls, W. Caan, Human health and nature conservation. “British Medical Journal” 2007, pp. 1221–1222. 53 S. Kaplan, The restorative benefits of nature: towards an integrative framework. “Journal of Environmental Psychology”, 15, 1995 pp. 169–182; T. Hartig, M. Mang, G. Evans, Restorative Effects of Natural Environment Experiences. “Environment and Behaviour” 23, 2003, pp. 3– 26.

80

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller

that its functioning implements the principle of deinstitutionalization of care and its provision in the place of residence. It extends the period of independence of seniors and postpones the use of institutional forms of social assistance. In addition, it helps the farming community maintain the viability of its farms and facilitates public contact with the environment. The same medium or environment can be used there for specific therapies and to promote broader economic goals. However, an essential premise for the operation of care farms is the fact that their activities are targeted at specific vulnerable groups and people and not at random participants who may be unaware of the ‘therapeutic’ intention. Only then is this therapy considered effective. The current and future demographic condition of Europe and individual countries is a challenge and, at the same time, an opportunity to be used in the development of social policy, including senior policy. The development of green care is a good response to the related crises. It will influence the undertaking of initiatives and tasks shaping positive conditions for a dignified and, above all, healthy entry into old age. Moreover, literature studies indicate that policymaking can have a positive effect when conducted with the participation of the intersectoral nature of the actors in rural areas, which will additionally provide tools for rural development. Finally, European countries should be prepared for any consequences of changes resulting from demographic forecasts and having an effect on the progressive aging of the population.

Bibliography Anaby D., Hand C., Bradley L., DiRezze B., Forhan M., DiGiacomo A. Law M., The effect of the environment on participation of children and youth with disabilities: a scoping review. “Disability and Rehabilitation” 35, 19, 2013, 1589–1598. Balibar E., Difference, Otherness, Exclusion. “Parallax” 11, 1, 2005, 19–34. Bandura A., Self-efficacy. “Harvard Mental Health Letter” 13, 1997, 4–7. Baptista I., E. Marlier, Fighting homelessness and housing exclusion in Europe: A study of national policies, European Social Policy Network, Brussels 2019. Bird W., Natural Thinking: Investigating the links between the Natural Environment, Biodiversity and Mental Health. Available at: http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/naturalthi nking_tcm9-161856.pdf [access: 14. 05. 2022]. Burchardt T., Le Grand J., Piachaud D., Degrees of Exclusion: Developing a Dynamic, Multidimensional Measure, [in:] J. Hills, J. Le Grand, D. Piachaud (eds.), Understanding Social Exclusion, New York 2002, 30–43. Burls A., Caan W., Human health and nature conservation. “British Medical Journal” 2007, 1221–1222. CBOS, Społeczna solidarnos´c´ z osobami w starszym wieku. Komunikat z badan´ nr 83/2012.

Caring farms – a tool for the senior policy implementation

81

Daatland S., Herlofson, K., ‘Lost Solidarity’ or ‘Changed Solidarity’. A Comparative European View of Normative Family Solidarity. “Ageing and Society” 23, 5, 2003, 537–560. Danna K., Griffin R., Health and well-being in the workplace: a review and synthesis of the literature. “Journal of Management” 25, 1999, 357–384. Ferdiana A., Post M., King N., Bültmann U., van der Klink J., Meaning and components of quality of life among individuals with spinal cord injury in Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. “Disability and Rehabilitation” 40, 10, 2017, 1183–1191. Fjeldavili, E., The Lay Beliefs about Farming for Health, in: J. Hassink, M. van Dijk (eds.): Farming for Health: Green-care farming across Europe and the United States of America, Dordrecht 2006, p. 73–90. https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/344947 [last accessed 24. 09. 2022]. Fra˛tczak-Müller J., Krzaczkowska A., Jedynak K., Innowacyjnie czyli jak? Lubuski model usług społecznych na terenach wiejskich, Zielona Góra, 2021. Fra˛tczak-Müller J., Innovative Housing Policy and (Vulnerable) Residents’ Quality of Life. “Frontiers in Psychology” 13/751208, 2022. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/ar ticles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.751208/full [access: 14. 05. 2022]. Fra˛tczak-Müller J., Rodzina, potrzeby, polityka społeczna, Warszawa 2014. Frumkin H., Healthy places: exploring the evidence. “American Journal of Public Health” 93, 2003, 1451–1456. Hassink, J., van Dijk, M., Farming for health across Europe: comparison between countries, recommendations for research and policy agenda, in: J. Hassink, M. van Dijk (eds.): Farming for Health: Green-care farming across Europe and the United States of America, Dordrecht 2006, p. 347–357. https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/344947 [last accessed 24. 09. 2022]. Hemingway A., Ellis-Hill C., Norton E., What does care farming provide for clients? The views of care farm staff. “Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences” 79, 1, 2016. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.njas.2016.09.001 [access: 14. 05. 2022]. Igel C., Brandt M., Haberkern K., Szydlik M., Specialization between Family and State. Intergenerational Time Transfers in Western Europe. “Journal of Comparative Family Studies” 40, 2, 2009, 203–226. Jappens M., van Bavel J., Regional Family Norms and Child Care by Grandparents in Europe. “Demographic Research” 27, 2012, 85–120. Hartig T., Mang M., Evans E., Garry W., Restorative Effects of Natural Environment Experiences. “Environment and Behaviour”, 23, 2003, 3–26. Kaplan S., The restorative benefits of nature: towards an integrative framework. “Journal of Environmental Psychology” 15, 1995, 169–182. Leitner S., Varieties of Familialism. The Caring Function of the Family in Comparative Perspective. “European Societies” 5, 4, 2003, 353–375. Maas J., Verheij R. A., Groenewegen P. De Vries S., Spreeuwenberg P., Green space, urbanity, and health: how strong is the relation?. “Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health”, 60, 7, 2006, 587–592. Małopolski Os´rodek Doradztwa Rolniczego, Jak załoz˙yc´ gospodarstwo opiekun´cze?, Karniowice 2018. McDowell I., Measuring Health. A Guide to Rating Scales and Questionnaires, Oxford 2006. Michon´ P., Praca matek w polityce krajów Unii Europejskiej, Poznan´ 2012. Nussbaum M. C., Sen A., The Quality of Life, Oxford 1993.

82

Joanna Fra˛tczak-Müller

Pretty J., How nature contributes to mental and physical health. “Spirituality and Health International” 5, 2004, 68–78. Ramkissoon H., Place Affect Interventions During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. “Frontiers in Psychology” 12/726685, 2021. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/ar ticles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.726685/full [access: 14. 05. 2022]. Saraceno C., Kalmijn M., A Comparative Perspective on Intergenerational Support. Responsiveness to Parental Needs in Individualistic and Familialistic Countries. “European Societies” 10, 3, 2008, 479–508. Saraceno C., Keck W., Towards an Integrated Approach for the Analysis of Gender Equity in Policies Supporting Paid Work and Care Responsibilities. “Demographic Research” 25, 2011, 371–406. Sempik J., Hine R., Wilcox D. (eds.), Green Care: A Conceptual Framework, A Report of the Working Group on the Health Benefits of Green Care, COST Action 866, Green Care in Agriculture, Loughborough 2010. Social Exclusion Unit, Mental Health and Social Exclusion, London 2004. Available at: http://www.socialinclusion.org.uk/publications/SEU.pdf [access: 14. 05. 2022]. Styrc M., Transfery finansowe i opieki w nieformalnych sieciach wsparcia, [in:] I. E. Kotowska, U. Sztanderska, I. Wóycicka (eds.), Aktywnos´c´ zawodowa i edukacyjna a obowia˛zki rodzinne w Polsce w ´swietle badan´ empirycznych, Warszawa 2007, 306–344. Szatur-Jaworska B., Błe˛dowski P., Dzie˛gielewska M., Podstawy gerontologii społecznej, Warszawa 2006. Szyszka M., Polityka rodzinna dopełnieniem solidarnos´ci rodzinnej. “Studia Socjologiczne” 2, 225, 2017, 241–266. Taywaditep K. J, Marginalization among the marginalized: Gay men’s anti-effeminancy attitudes. “Journal of Homosexuality” 42, 1, 2001, 1–28. Trafiałek E., Innowacyjna polityka senioralna XXI wieku. Mie˛dzy ageizmem, bezpieczen´stwem socjalnym i active ageing, Torun´ 2016. Van den Berg A., Hartig T., Staats H., Preference for nature in urbanised societies: stress, restoration and the pursuit of sustainability. “Journal of Social Issues” 63, 2007, 79–96. Vrugt A., Koenis S., Perceived self-efficacy, personal goals, social comparison, and scientific productivity. “Applied Psychology: An International Review” 51, 2002, 593–607. Williams D. R., McIntyre N., Place affinities, lifestyle mobilities, and quality-of-life, [in:] Muzaffer U., Richard P., Joseph S. (eds.), Handbook of Tourism and Quality-of-Life Research, Dordrecht 2012, 209–231. Wóycicka I., Model opieki w Polsce, [in:] I. E. Kotowska (ed.), Strukturalne i kulturowe uwarunkowania aktywnos´ci zawodowej kobiet w Polsce, Warszawa 2009, 99–117.

Cultural perspective

Magdalena Pokrzyn´ska / Izabela Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na

International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings” as a tool of transboundary socio-cultural policy

Introduction A festival is a series of artistic events, constituting one whole, taking place at a certain time and given a common name, constituting a review of achievements in a given field. It is a kind of celebration, an unusual time, experiences and events beyond everyday life (from Latin festivus – joyful, merry, festive). A folklore festival: “is one of the means to safeguard, to promote and to diffuse traditional culture, mainly through such genres of expressions as music, dance, games, rituals, customs, know-how of handicraft and other arts. To be a significant contribution to the maintenance and enhancement of cultural identity and diversity, a folklore festival has to be implemented in an appropriate cultural context”1. Thus, it belongs to the category of means through which society is influenced, it is a tool of broadly understood socio-cultural policy2.

The international folk festival is a multi-level phenomenon – it is something more than just a stage event. It constitutes a space for a live meeting of cultures, during which an ideological communitas is created, which, as in the case of the Olympic Games, calls for reaching out towards the other person, crossing the boundaries that divide people, respecting their identity and distinctiveness3. The essence of such events is the search for what is common, universal, acting across and despite borders. “The world of festivals is extremely colorful, vivid, multidimensional, and through the process of constant evolution it perfectly fits into the con-

1 Guidelines for International Festivals, Cioff International Center, Montreal 2005, p. 3. 2 K. Nowak, Mie˛dzy folklorem, regionalizmem a polityka˛. U z´ródeł festiwali góralskich w Polsce, [in:] H. Krasowska, E. Kłosek, M. Pokrzyn´ska, Z. Kowalski (eds.), Bukowina. Integracja społeczno-kulturowa na pograniczu, Slawistyczny Os´rodek Wydawniczy, Warszawa – Wrocław – Zielona Góra – Piła 2010, 77–85. 3 J. Dziadowiec, Festum folkloricum. Performatywnos´c´ folkloru w kulturze współczesnej. Rzecz o mie˛dzykulturowych festiwalach folklorystycznych, Narodowe Centrum Kultury, Warszawa 2016, p. 250.

86

Magdalena Pokrzyn´ska / Izabela Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na

temporary (inter)cultural reality” writes Joanna Dziadowiec4 in the summary of her research on the performativity of folklore in contemporary culture. The notion of transborderality is associated in sociology with “a set of phenomena or processes resulting from the neighbourhood of culturally, economically and civilisationally different societies or communities, a set of phenomena or processes occurring despite borders, across borders or thanks to borders, historically determined and having spatial and cultural reference”5. It is used to describe phenomena related to one-way or mutual interaction, accompanied by the flow of values. This process can be unilateral – then there is adaptation, or bidirectional – so there is exchange. Cross-border activities can be institutionalized or take the form of bottom-up and spontaneous acts. The systemic changes after 1989, which involved, among others, the empowerment of society, assume active participation of various entities in the creation of social order, their cooperation in defining the current situation (e. g., identifying social problems), creating visions for change and ways of achieving them6. The contemporary political situation in Central Europe enables free contacts with people from other countries and joint initiatives. The transformations taking place after the collapse of the communist systems in Central European countries include in the social layer such phenomena as the increased importance of citizens’ subjectivity, their activation and possibility of free association, and cross-border cooperation. There are also noticeable trends of reviving regional sentiments, increasing the importance of the so-called “small homelands”, and creating a “new localism” as a response to progressive globalization processes. These trends are expressed, inter alia, by social activity at the microstructural level; they can be seen in social movements leading to the crystallization of new social structures. A well-recognized case of cooperation across national borders is the activity of individual states or their institutions (e. g. local governments) that establish formal organizations (e. g. Euroregions) through which they pursue their interests. Among the various initiatives, grassroots, “intra-regional” forms of activity stand out, which, moreover, are directed at the sphere of values rather than interests. For example, a number of projects were undertaken by Polish migrants from Bucovina who settled in the so-called Recovered Territories after 1945.

4 Ibidem, p. 514. 5 L. Gołdyka, Wprowadzenie, [in:] L. Gołdyka (ed.), Transgranicznos´´c w perspektywie socjologicznej – kontynuacje, Lubuskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Zielona Góra, 1999, pp. 10–11. 6 I. Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na, Bezrobocie i bieda jako społeczne koszty “wielkiej zmiany”. “Rocznik Lubuski” 36, 2, 2011, 71–85; I. Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na, W pułapce własnych ograniczen´. Poczucie braku sprawstwa i autoidentyfikacja jako uwarunkowania ich sytuacji z˙yciowej. “Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecin´skiego. Studia Sociologica” 21, 2010, pp. 131–146.

International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings”

87

Research conducted in the post-war Bucovina migrant community proves the presence of a cross-border orientation component in their attitudes. Bucovina is a geographical and historical land on the Ukrainian-Romanian border. This region is a multicultural, multiethnic mosaic formed as a result of numerous migrations and settlement processes, which gained in intensity at the dawn of the 19th century. Bucovina attracts interest because of the special “spirit” of this region. In the course of history, a specific type of regional (and at the same time cross-border, multinational) culture and the characteristic personality traits of its inhabitants – the “Bucovinians” – people of diverse ethnic affiliation, characterized by a wide range of cultural and linguistic competence (it could be said that their knowledge and skills “went beyond” the culture of their own group, giving the opportunity to undertake interactions of a cross-border nature) – have developed here. The metaphorical term homo bucovinensis was coined to describe the inhabitants of this region, a product of the 19th-century idea of “Bucovinism”, an ideology that sought to integrate the multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Bucovina into a single territorial community. Transcultural processes, multiculturalism and multilingualism are still present in the region. The changeability that characterizes the contemporary post-industrial world makes it difficult (or completely impossible) to maintain a stable individual identity and to continue it throughout life7. One of the most important features of postmodern social life (important from the identity point of view) is the fact that its order is based on knowledge. It is connected with the fact that an increasing number of people adopt a research-reflective orientation. Man becomes a subject who deliberately undertakes actions the object of which is not only the objective socio-cultural reality, but also their self-awareness. It is appropriate to ask how these objective definitions of openness translate into openness in the sense of consciousness – how man builds “his world” today – who and what he or she includes in it, who and what he or she excludes from it, where he or she locates it, what criteria he or she uses in this categorization and what actions he or she takes to create this world.

International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings” The eponymous “Bucovinian Meetings” is an international folklore festival, a colorful celebration of folklore, one of the largest cross-border cultural events that has been held periodically in Central Europe in recent decades. The genesis of the festival dates back to the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a turbulent time of social changes in Poland, the liberation of subjectivity, a sense of empower7 Z. Bokszan´ski, Toz˙samos´ci zbiorowe, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2006.

88

Magdalena Pokrzyn´ska / Izabela Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na

ment and taking action in this direction. It was also a time when more or less formal memory groups were established (e. g. folk groups, associations). These activities gain particular significance in postmigration areas of western Poland – they are one of the currents of emerging identity of place, grassroots formation of communities8. The participants of the first edition of the Festival were Polish ensembles of Bucovinian origins, a Polish group from Romania and a Ukrainian ensemble from Chernivtsi (in total nine ensembles). In subsequent years the festival grew and developed its formula; the participants of “Bucovinian Meetings” became ensembles representing all ethnic groups connected with the historical Bucovina from various countries of Europe and the United States of America. Taking into account the momentum with which the Festival is carried out, expressed, among others, in festival statistics, this event can be classified as one of the largest cultural events in Europe. The festival is carried out annually in several European countries, in Poland alone (the leading partner) it has three national editions (one in Greater Poland and two in Lower Silesia – in places of clusters of post-migration Bucovina communities). From the beginning of the Festival until 2021, one hundred and eighteen editions were held in: Poland, Romania, Moldova, Germany and Slovakia. They were attended by 58640 participants9, including: 10757 people from Poland, 14255 from Ukraine, 22254 from Romania, 8388 from Hungary, 1186 from Slovakia, 144 from Germany, 1130 from Moldavia, 5 from the USA, 424 from Serbia, 6 from Slovenia, 46 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 45 from the Czech Republic (statistics in the archives of the IFF “Bucovinian Meetings”). The groups that take part in the Festival constitute its multicultural nature. They represent different socio-cultural environments and places. This diversity is related to the national and ethnic origin of the participants, their country and place of residence (city/rural), their origin and type of relation to Bucovina, religious confession, age, the type of repertoire performed by the ensemble, the stage seniority of the group, its number and the degree of professionalism of performance. The festival does not have a contest formula, thanks to which there 8 D. Bazun´, I. Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na, M. Pokrzyn´ska, Od pamie˛ci indywidualnej do pamie˛ci zbiorowej. Na przykładzie pamie˛ci o matkach Sybiraczkach, [in:] H. P. Müller, M. Zielin´ska (eds.), Transgranicznos´c´ w perspektywie socjologicznej. Migracje przymusowe w Europie: przesiedlenia, wysiedlenia, wype˛dzenia, deportacje. Róz˙ne punkty widzenia, Lubuskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Zielona Góra, 2012, pp. 237–263.; M. Pokrzyn´ska, Bukowin´czycy w Polsce. Socjologiczne studium rozwoju wspólnoty regionalnej, Uniwersytet Zielonogórski, Zielona Góra 2010. 9 This number represents the total number of people performing on stage. Due to the fact that many ensembles have been participating in the Festival for many years, sometimes in one year in different editions, some of their members were counted more than once. However, this number is important because it shows the scale of the event.

International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings”

89

is no atmosphere of competition and rivalry, but rather an atmosphere of community. The IFF “Bucovinian Meetings” is a real meeting of people who are very different from one another, but who have something in common. It is, among others, love for folklore, active attitude to life, involvement in social life, sense of responsibility for memory, transmission of culture and condition of cultural heritage. By the time of the pandemic10 (i. e. in the years 1991–2019), in all editions of the Festival there were a total of 2891 stage presentations of cultural heritage in the form of dialect, songs, dances, music, customs and rituals, traditional ritual costumes and everyday clothing, various objects, skills and behaviors belonging to the sphere of religious and everyday life, usually carrying a heavy symbolic load. The participants present their own culture, in which they participate through their birth and place of residence, immaterial and material heritage, of which they are active heirs. During this time, people from Romania (1047 presentations), Ukraine (716 presentations), Poland (485), Hungary (474), Slovakia (69), Moldova (64), Serbia11 (29), Germany (8), Bosnia and Herzegovina (4), USA (2), Czech Republic (2), and Slovenia (1 performance) presented their cultural heritage.12 The objectives of the International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings” consist of: – showing the richness of Bucovina folk culture in its multinational aspect, making a review of ensembles presenting singing, dancing, music, rituals and folk customs of Bucovina, – preserving Bucovinian folklore in Bucovina and among Bucovinian emigrants in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia – for whom “Bucovinian Meetings” provide an opportunity for direct contact with Bucovina and its contemporary inhabitants,

10 During the pandemic years, the Festival took the form of online or small meetings among representatives. For this reason, for the purposes of this article, data is presented from before the lock-down, from the time when all presentations were traditional performances on stage in front of an audience present. 11 Serbia was formed in 2006 after the breakup of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006), previously Serbian participants in the Festival were residents of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003). 12 For more on the Festival see: H. Krasowska, Bukowin´skie Spotkania 1991–2019: transgraniczna animacja kultury i nauki, [in:] H. Krasowska, M. Pokrzyn´ska, E. TrochimiukWróblewska (eds.), Bukowina. Wspólne dziedzictwo kulturowe i je˛zykowe, Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Fundacja Slawistyczna, Muzeum Etnograficzne w Zielonej Górze – Ochli, Regionalne Centrum Kultury – Fabryka Emocji w Pile, Warszawa – Zielona Góra – Piła 2020, pp. 263–280.

90

Magdalena Pokrzyn´ska / Izabela Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na

– making it easier for the people of Bucovina to get to know and understand each other’s cultures and history, as well as the contribution that each nation has made to the creation of the region’s traditions, – stimulating the process of creating an awareness of the Bucovina regional community, especially among young people, – integration of Bucovinians through artistic presentations and direct contacts of the festival participants, – regional and international cultural cooperation, – Bringing European nations closer together and learning about them through the ensembles representing them, – organization of a large, international event, showing the importance of culture in the process of understanding and cognition, – presentation of Bucovina’s supranational values, which are manifested, among other things, in understanding and respect for, and tolerance of, each other’s nationalities and in good neighborly coexistence, – promoting Bucovina as an example of the possibility of harmonious understanding and cooperation while preserving individual cultural and national identity (after: Porozumienie…). The above-mentioned objectives are included in the Agreement on the realization of the International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings”, which has been signed since 1999. The parties to it every year are local government institutions and organizations from different European countries. In 2022, the signatories of the Agreement are eleven entities from Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Hungary: Pila Community, Regional Cultural Centre in Pila, Community and City of Jastrowie, City of Luban, Community of Dzierz˙oniów, Regional Administration in Chernivtsi (Ukraine), City Council in Chernivtsi, Suceava District Council (Romania), City Council of Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Cultural Centre “Bucovina” in Suceava and National Union of Bucovina Secleres in Bonyhád (Hungary). A total of 6 editions are planned for 2022 at different dates and locations. Thanks to close cooperation in developing common promotional materials, uniform formula and graphic design for all editions, the symbolic coherence of the entire project is preserved – an event stretched over a long period of time (editions take place from spring to autumn), implemented in different spaces and organized by entities differing in terms of culture. The partners take together most of the decisions related to the implementation of the event, including the selection of teams to participate, they also make sure that every year the place of signing the Agreement is different (in 2022 it was Câmpulung Moldovenesc). The initiator and director of the International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings” is Zbigniew Kowalski, ethnographer for over thirty years connected with the Regional Cultural Center – Fabryka Emocji in Pila, which is the main

International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings”

91

Photo 1. Signing of the Agreement online: 10. 03. 2021 (Pila) [from: IFF “Bucovinian Meetings” archive].

Photo 2. Signing of the Agreement online: 10. 03. 2021 (Chernivtsi) [from: IFF “Bucovinian Meetings” archive].

Photo 3. Signing of the Agreement in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, 22. 01. 2022 [from: IFF “Bucovinian Meetings” archive].

92

Magdalena Pokrzyn´ska / Izabela Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na

organizer of the Festival, coordinating all its editions. This institution collects materials on Bucovina – its history and traditions. This undertaking enjoys great interest of various entities from the local and supra-local environment (national media). The archives of the IFF “Bucovinian Meetings” contain over 3500 journalistic materials (reports, accounts, interviews, reviews, etc.) from Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldavia, Serbia, and Germany. Parallel to the folklore festival, the concept of international conferences devoted to Bucovina issues has been developing, initiated by Prof. Kazimierz Feleszko – a Slavist, a linguist born in Bucovina, a man of borderland in terms of genealogy, ethnicity, culture and language). The Bucovinian conferences have been part of the Festival since 1991, complementing this popular event with an intellectual component. They take place every five years, bringing together scholars from various countries. This is how the organizer of these conferences himself describes it: “It was there that, for the first time after the war and the dramatic disintegration of the ‘Bucovina family of nations’, which could one day be an example to the world of harmonious coexistence of different ethnic groups, their representatives gathered again officially for a common undertaking. […] This first meeting of representatives of the peoples of divided Bucovina took on symbolic significance in the face of the rising tide of nationalism and intolerance in our part of Europe”13. Conferences are still held today. In 2019, the eighth conference of the series, which in 2009 took the name Bucovinian Scientific Meetings, took place. Their themes are linked to the phenomenon of multiethnic Bucovina – its heritage and present day – and touch on such issues as social integration, tolerance, unity in diversity, multilingualism, community, dialogue, crossing borders, borderlandness. A recurring theme is the attempt to find an answer to the question about the phenomenon of Bucovina, which ultimately led to the creation of a community of respectful differences. Discussions on history, culture, literature, language take place in a truly interdisciplinary (humanities, social sciences) and international group of Bucovina scholars from Germany, Ukraine, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Israel, Austria, the United States of America, Moldova, Slovakia, and Poland14. From the Bucovina conferences embedded in the festival project grows the Bucovinian Festival of Science, which has accompanied the event since 2015. The Festival participants’ great interest in Bucovina-related papers and post-conference volumes contributed to its existence. From year to year, the Bucovinian Festival of Science grows and “emancipates”. It is invited to places not connected 13 K. Feleszko, Słowo wste˛pne, [in:] K. Feleszko, J. Molas (eds.), Bukowina: Wspólnota kultur i je˛zyków, Zakład Je˛zyków Słowian´ski Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Wojewódzki Os´rodek Kultury w Pile, Warszawa 1992, p. 5. 14 For more on the series of Bucovina conferences w Jastrowie, see: H. Krasowska 2020, pp. 271– 278.

International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings”

93

with the IFF “Bucovinian Meetings”. Local government institutions and social organizations actively participate in the organization of this event. In this way, it becomes a joint project of many entities (local government institutions, cultural centers, associations, universities, individuals), subscribing to the idea of multiplying the cultural capital of local communities by going beyond the walls of universities with knowledge and lifelong learning. Bucovinian Festival of Science is, like the other two undertakings, realized in an international, interdisciplinary group. So far, it has taken place in Poland and Ukraine. In the current year 2022, the Romanian edition is also planned15.

Conclusions The IFF “Bucovinian Meetigns” is a phenomenon (re)constructing the ideas of Bucovina regionalism from over a hundred years ago. It promotes the values of tolerance and understanding as well as the myth of homo bucovinensis, i. e. “a man open to all surrounding cultures and actively participating in them”16. Bucovinian ideas are expressed in metaphorical terms of Bucovina: “Europe in miniature”, “Switzerland of the East”, “family of nations”. For over thirty years, thanks to the efforts of many people and institutions involved in its organisation, the Festival has been becoming a kind of “space for dialogue”, where these ideas are successfully revitalised, becoming a germ of further steps towards understanding across borders and building a community that transcends them. The IFF “Bucovinian Meetigns” not only results from multilateral transborder cooperation, but also becomes an impulse for new contacts and contributes to strengthening transnational ties. The festival provides a platform for activities aimed at discovering and protecting the Bucovina heritage. The realization of this joint project and gathering around its objectives, ideas stemming from the values belonging to the Bucovinian tradition, become an inspiration for further activities, going beyond the area of festival cooperation. As a result of the positive experiences of cooperation related to the Festival, several towns have signed partnership agreements to this end, e. g. Jastrowie (Poland) with Bonyhád (Hungary), Vashkivtsi (Ukraine) with Câmpulung Moldovenesc (Romania). Since prof. K. Feleszko and Z. Kowalski have initiated annual meetings in Jastrow to reintegrate the Bucowina community, the two Bukowina projects, artistic and scientific, have overlapped and influenced each other. These undertakings, continued and developed in subsequent years, have contributed not 15 For more on the Bucovinian Festival of Science see: M. Pokrzyn´ska 2020. 16 K. Feleszko, S´ladem Homo bucovinensis, [in:] K. Feleszko (ed.), Bukowina po stronie dialogu. “Pogranicze”, Sejny 1999, pp. 4–5.

94

Magdalena Pokrzyn´ska / Izabela Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na

only to the formation of a cross-border multinational Bucovina community (Pokrzyn´ska 2010, 169, 178), but also to the integration of representatives of the humanities from Central and Southeast European countries, employees of public administration and cultural institutions, and members of folklore ensembles participating in the Festival. Thus, an international social network has crystallized, which is largely informal, real and deep interpersonal relations, and partly formalized. It provides many opportunities for cooperation, based on it friendships and marriages are made, youth exchanges are carried out, joint workshops to support intergenerational transmission, aid activities are carried out (in the face of war humanitarian aid is provided), teams of international research projects are created, etc. The series of Bucovinian conferences, along with the Festival, forms a specific whole, a kind of a single scientific and cultural undertaking. Its two planes, artistic and scientific, overlap and influence each other. They constitute a great animation undertaking, in which formalized activities of public institutions and grass-roots activities of “ordinary” people meet. Its effects are visible in social structures. Festival participants experience changes in their understanding of the world and their life opportunities. In their opinion, the Festival influences the formation of the Bucovinian symbolism and attitudes towards it (by members of the Bucovinian community as well as the wider society), affects the state of knowledge about Bucovina and changes the assessment of the Bucovinian culture and community. The event also has an important function in the lives of its individual participants. The influence of the Festival is especially marked in the identity sphere of the members of the regional community (positive self-image of the Bucovinian). The ludic and aesthetic function of the Festival should also be mentioned17. The festival influences intercultural and intergenerational bonds, which is connected with the cognitive aspect of “Bucovinian Meetings” (overcoming stereotypes and ways of conceptualizing the world). It is a space for meeting representatives of very different socio-cultural worlds (cultural integration). It gives an opportunity for direct interaction between them. Periodicity and longterm character of this project create good conditions for real cognition and participation in these everyday separate worlds, bringing them closer to each other. From a formal perspective, it is possible to notice the institutionalization of cross-border contacts between collective (offices, cultural centers, artistic groups participating in the organization of the festival) and individual (particular participants of the festival) entities (functional integration). By promoting the tra´ wierc´ wieku “Bukowin´skich Spotkan´” – idea integracji na17 H. Krasowska, M. Pokrzyn´ska, C rodów Europy S´rodkowej i jej realizacja. “Wielowiekowe bogactwo polsko-rumun´skich zwia˛zków historycznych i kulturowych”, Zwia˛zek Polaków w Rumunii, Suceava, 2014, pp. 440–453.

International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings”

95

ditional transnational axio-normative system of mythical/ancient Bucovinian Meetings universalistic and integrative cultural ideas. Festival organizers, in Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia and Germany, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, work out common principles and try to put them into practice together (normative integration). The festival affects all four levels of integration: cultural, functional, communicative, and normative. The so-called “big history” is reflected in microhistories. This is how one can look at the post-war history of Bucovina and the fate of migrants from this region: war and division of Bucovina, exodus, disintegration, communism, attempts to preserve memory in a foreign environment, attempts to rebuild the community, etc. Also in the history of the “Bucovinian Meetings” it is possible to notice more general trends in culture, social life, including politics (the importance of obtaining opportunities for subjective action). The idea of the Bucovinian festival is a part of the trend, which appeared in Central Europe as a result of the decentralization and decommunization processes after 1989, consisting in the return to historical memory, widely understood folklore, authentic heritage, but also new, created traditions. These forms are today promoted and used in the processes of shaping a new formula of regions, defined as certain cultural wholes18. It is a project in which intentional activities of subjects from all levels of structure (micro, mezzo and macro) meet. These are subjective activities of various categories of citizens (mainly of Central European countries) – participants of the Festival, i. e. ensembles, guests, scientists, actively creating its scenic and off-stage reality. These are also institutions and organizations from the local and regional level, i. e. the Festival organizers, who are the signatories of the Agreement. These are also universities and scientific units involved in the organization of Bucovinian Scientific Meetings and Bucovina Festival of Science. Finally, these are the national and international institutions, which through financial support of the ludic, scientific and educational events included in the scenario of the Festival, implement a far-reaching policy strategy at the macrostructural level. In this way the International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings”, understood as a whole, together with all its accompanying events and with the ideas behind it, becomes a tool through which the socio-cultural reality is changed, cross-border interaction networks are created, and the attitudes of individuals, their cognitive horizons and social identities are formed.

18 I. Bukraba-Rylska, W. J. Burszta, W Polsce lokalnej. Mie˛dzy uczestnictwem w kulturze a praktykami kulturowymi, [in:] I. Bukraba-Rylska, W. J. Burszta (eds.), Stan i zróz˙nicowanie kultury wsi i małych miast w Polsce. Kanon i rozproszenie, Narodowe Centrum Kultury, Warszawa 2011, pp. 25–26.

96

Magdalena Pokrzyn´ska / Izabela Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na

Bibliography Bazun´ D., Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na I., Pokrzyn´ska M., Od pamie˛ci indywidualnej do pamie˛ci zbiorowej. Na przykładzie pamie˛ci o matkach Sybiraczkach, [in:] H. P. Müller, M. Zielin´ska (eds.), Transgranicznos´c´ w perspektywie socjologicznej. Migracje przymusowe w Europie: przesiedlenia, wysiedlenia, wype˛dzenia, deportacje. Róz˙ne punkty widzenia, Lubuskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Zielona Góra, 2012, 237–263. Bokszan´ski Z., Toz˙samos´ci zbiorowe, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2006. Bukraba-Rylska, I., Burszta, W. J., W Polsce lokalnej. Mie˛dzy uczestnictwem w kulturze a praktykami kulturowymi, [in:] I. Bukraba-Rylska, W. J. Burszta (eds.), Stan i zróz˙nicowanie kultury wsi i małych miast w Polsce. Kanon i rozproszenie, Narodowe Centrum Kultury, Warszawa 2011, 15–51. Dziadowiec J., Festum folkloricum. Performatywnos´c´ folkloru w kulturze współczesnej. Rzecz o mie˛dzykulturowych festiwalach folklorystycznych, Narodowe Centrum Kultury, Warszawa 2016. Feleszko K., Słowo wste˛pne, [in:] K. Feleszko, J. Molas (eds.), Bukowina: Wspólnota kultur i je˛zyków, Zakład Je˛zyków Słowian´ski Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Wojewódzki Os´rodek Kultury w Pile, Warszawa 1992, 5–6. Feleszko K., S´ladem Homo bucovinensis, [in:] K. Feleszko (ed.), Bukowina po stronie dialogu. “Pogranicze”, Sejny 1999, 4–6. Gołdyka, L., Wprowadzenie, [in:] L. Gołdyka (ed.), Transgranicznos´´c w perspektywie socjologicznej – kontynuacje, Lubuskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Zielona Góra, 1999, 9–11. Guidelines for International Festivals, Cioff International Center, Montreal 2005. Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na I., Bezrobocie i bieda jako społeczne koszty “wielkiej zmiany”. “Rocznik Lubuski” 36, 2, 2011, 71–85. Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na I., W pułapce własnych ograniczen´. Poczucie braku sprawstwa i autoidentyfikacja jako uwarunkowania ich sytuacji z˙yciowej. “Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecin´skiego. Studia Sociologica” 21, 2010, 131–146. ´ wierc´ wieku “Bukowin´skich Spotkan´” – idea integracji Krasowska H., Pokrzyn´ska M., C narodów Europy S´rodkowej i jej realizacja. “Wielowiekowe bogactwo polsko-rumun´skich zwia˛zków historycznych i kulturowych”, Zwia˛zek Polaków w Rumunii, Suceava, 2014, 440–453. Krasowska H., Bukowin´skie Spotkania 1991–2019: transgraniczna animacja kultury i nauki, [in:] H. Krasowska, M. Pokrzyn´ska, E. Trochimiuk-Wróblewska (eds.), Bukowina. Wspólne dziedzictwo kulturowe i je˛zykowe, Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Fundacja Slawistyczna, Muzeum Etnograficzne w Zielonej Górze – Ochli, Regionalne Centrum Kultury – Fabryka Emocji w Pile, Warszawa – Zielona Góra – Piła 2020, 263–280. Nowak K., Mie˛dzy folklorem, regionalizmem a polityka˛. U z´ródeł festiwali góralskich w Polsce, [in:] H. Krasowska, E. Kłosek, M. Pokrzyn´ska, Z. Kowalski (eds.), Bukowina. Integracja społeczno-kulturowa na pograniczu, Slawistyczny Os´rodek Wydawniczy, Warszawa – Wrocław – Zielona Góra – Piła 2010, 77–85. Pokrzyn´ska M., Bukowin´czycy w Polsce. Socjologiczne studium rozwoju wspólnoty regionalnej, Uniwersytet Zielonogórski, Zielona Góra 2010.

International Folk Festival “Bucovinian Meetings”

97

Pokrzyn´ska M., Bukowin´ski Festiwal Nauki: integracyjny wymiar edukacji, [in:] H. Krasowska, M. Pokrzyn´ska, E. Trochimiuk-Wróblewska (eds.), Bukowina. Wspólne dziedzictwo kulturowe i je˛zykowe, Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Fundacja Slawistyczna, Muzeum Etnograficzne w Zielonej Górze – Ochli, Regionalne Centrum Kultury – Fabryka Emocji w Pile, Warszawa – Zielona Góra – Piła 2020, 281–288. Pokrzyn´ska M., Competition or cooperation? Local and regional culture in Western Poland as an object of state policy and the goal of social movements (example of the Lubuskie region), [in:] A. Kruglasˇov (ed.), Vlada ta upravlinnâ. Zbirnik naukovih prac’: Za materialami VI Mizˇnarodnoi naukovoi konferencii “Municipal’ni cˇitannâ imeni Antona ˇ ernivci 2020, 71–87. Kohanovs’kogo”, Bukrek, C Porozumienie w sprawie realizacji 33. Mie˛dzynarodowego Festiwalu Folklorystycznego “Bukowin´skie Spotkania” w Polsce, na Ukrainie, w Rumunii i na We˛grzech zawarte 22. 01. 2022 roku. Available at: https://bukowina.rck.pila.pl/index.php/175-33/33pl/733porozumienie-33-pl.html [access: 25. 04. 2022]).

Stefan Dudra

Religious policy in Poland after 1989

Introduction The religious policy in a broad sense defines the attitude of the state towards existing churches and religious associations. In Ryszard Michalak’s terms, it consists of: “a set of actions of a conceptual, programmatic and executive nature, undertaken by a homogeneous subject of administrative power or a complex entity of power (e. g. party-state) towards entities representing and creating religious life (religious associations and people)”1. In contemporary Poland, it is an element of the broadly understood internal policy of the state with simultaneous reference to the norms of international law2. The communist system introduced in 1944, based on atheistic ideology, was inherently hostile to religion and churches and religious associations. In postwar Poland, in accordance with Soviet models, “the Church, like all other subjects of the social system, was ultimately to become a dummy on the public scene dominated by the communist party”3. The main goal of those in power was their subordination and instrumental use in the implementation of the policy in its various areas, both internal and international. The aim of this article is to analyze the religious policy of the state in relation to churches and religious associations after the democratic changes in Poland. It also takes up the issue of changes taking place in the state administration, which is responsible for religious issues. The introduction also defined the main assumptions of the confessional policy carried out in the period of the People’s Republic of Poland. The communist authorities aimed to control all activities of individual churches and religious associations, to shape among the church hierarchy, clergy 1 R. Michalak, Polityka wyznaniowa pan´stwa polskiego wobec mniejszos´ci religijnych w latach 1945–1989, Zielona Góra 2014, p. 5. 2 See more: D. Góra, K. Łabe˛dz´, P. Pochyły, Polityka wyznaniowa. Perspektywa III RP, Kraków 2019. 3 A. Dudek, R. Gryz, Komunis´ci i Kos´ciół w Polsce (1945–1989), Kraków 2006, p. 6.

100

Stefan Dudra

and believers the attitude of “loyalty to the state” and acceptance of the newly created economic and socio-political policy. Of course, the main ideological enemy was the Roman Catholic Church (as the largest religious community). Other churches and religious associations were subordinated to the authorities and treated instrumentally. Religious communities were brought under the supervision and control of the state religious administration. It was formed by the party and administrative authorities and the security apparatus. The Polish Workers’ Party (PPR), and from 1948 the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR), watched over the elimination of religious life from public space. It also determined the priorities for the anti-religious offensive. The entire religious apparatus was subordinated to it4. Until 1989, in addition to the Office for Religious Affairs, the supervision of religious issues, due to its specific competency, was carried out by other state administration bodies. The most important ones included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Upbringing, the Ministry of Culture and Arts, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice and the Main Office of Press and Publicity Control (since 1981, the Main Office of Publication and Publicity Control). In the political system of the People’s Republic of Poland (1944–1989), all structures responsible for religious policy were a kind of a communicating vessel, the aim of which was to restrict the activities of churches and religious associations and, at a later stage, to take total control over them. Total supervision covered all spheres of religious and non-religious life. The supervisory powers of the religious administration bodies were of a very general nature, which created a wide scope for interpretation of individual provisions. In principle, the aim was to create an atheistic society. The authorities interfered in the internal affairs of individual churches, aiming to create the desired attitudes and political behavior of the clergy5. The confessional policy of state authorities until 1989 was dominated by representatives of a Marxist worldview, representing hostility to religion, treated as a temporary phenomenon. Secularization of the state, understood as its atheization, was promoted6. These were permanent components of religious policy. One of the elements of the secularization of society was the methodical restriction of the rights of churches and religious associations to carry out their 4 On anti-religious activities in People’s Poland see: M. Brodala, A. Lisiecka, T. Ruzikowski, Przebudowac´ człowieka. Komunistyczne wysiłki zmiany mentalnos´ci, Warszawa 2001; Ł. Marek, M. Bortlik-Dz´wierzyn´ska, Za Marksem bez Boga. Laicyzacja z˙ycia społecznego w Polsce w latach 1945–1989, Katowice 2014. 5 M. Pietrzak, Prawo wyznaniowe, Warszawa 1995, p. 223. 6 J. Dziobek-Roman´ski, Uznawanie zwia˛zków religijnych w Polsce (1944–1989) narze˛dziem dyskryminacyjnej polityki władz, Lublin 2004, p. 259.

Religious policy in Poland after 1989

101

pastoral activities freely. To this end, administrative and criminal repressions and propaganda fought were used7. Of course, this process was to be controlled, monitored and possibly modified by the party authorities. Laicization in the People’s Republic of Poland was based on the process of indoctrination and the imposed atheistic program of cultural development of social relations. Society, instead of religion, was to be consolidated around Marxist-Leninist ideas. Culture and social life were to be devoid of the religious element. The aim was to desemantize religious symbols and profane religious values. The goal was for society to adopt non-religious worldview attitudes. It was to undergo a process of secularization in the broadest sense of the term8. The religious policy implemented after 1945 was a consequence of the post-war change of Poland’s ethnic structure. The attitude towards religious minorities was a resultant of the current state policy. In general, the goal was to marginalize and remove them from the public sphere. This goal was not fully achieved.

Religious policy after the democratic changes in Poland The democratization that began in 1989 forced churches and religious associations to define their place in the new social and political conditions. In the People’s Republic of Poland their activity was directed mainly at maintaining and defending the conditions enabling religious and organizational activities9. To a lesser extent, due to the rationing policy of the state, non-religious activities were carried out. With the change in the political situation there was a need to define its place in the emerging reality. This was all the more important because the political groups that emerged in the first years did not have clearly defined programs for religious matters. In general, they all supported freedom of conscience and religion and the freedom to perform religious functions. They took a different view of the relations between the state and religious associations10. As a result of the ongoing democratic changes, the first decade (1989–1999) was a 7 A. Dziurok, Wste˛p, [in:] Metody pracy operacyjnej aparatu bezpieczen´stwa wobec kos´ciołów i zwia˛zków wyznaniowych 1945–1989, ed. A. Dziurok, Warszawa 2004, pp. 17–19. 8 See: P. Mazanka, Z´ródła sekularyzacji i sekularyzmu w kulturze europejskiej, Warszawa 2003; K. Dobbelaere, Sekularyzacja. Trzy poziomy analizy, Kraków 2008, pp. 49–57. 9 M. Pietrzak, Polityka wyznaniowa III Rzeczypospolitej w latach 1999–2001 (próba diagnozy), “Acta Universitatis Wratislavensis. Prawo”, 2010, No. 311, p. 367. 10 In general, the left-wing, Solidarity, post-communist and liberal parties supported the system of separation, the neutrality of the state and the equality of religions. Right-wing groupings questioned the above solutions, seeking to grant the Roman Catholic Church a privileged legal position, expressed by the phrase from the March Constitution: “the chief position among the equal confessions”, M. Pietrzak, Polityka wyznaniowa III Rzeczypospolitej w latach 1999–2001…, p. 369.

102

Stefan Dudra

stage of building religious law in the new political conditions. It was a period of intensive state activity in the field of religion (May acts, the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, Concordat, numerous acts significantly influencing the shape of the existing religious law). Non-Roman Catholic Churches, observing the domination of the Roman Catholic Church in public life, feared that the principle of the equality of religions might be undermined. This could affect the process of diminishing their ability to exercise religious freedom and freedom of opinion11. Their rights were to be secured by the Act on Guaranteesg of Freedom of Conscience and Religion of May 1989. At the same time, it was to become an element of transition from nondemocratic to democratic system. It made a breakthrough in the Polish religious law in terms of its construction from norms restricting the followers of different religions and beliefs to norms giving freedom of realization of different identities in matters of faith and life views. At the threshold of democracy, Poland received a law that guaranteed authentic freedom of conscience and religion12. Tadeusz J. Zielin´ski described this law as the “Magna Charta” of ideological freedoms in Poland. In his justification, he stressed that it was a guarantor of the broadest ideological freedoms, and not only of religious freedoms; at the moment of its enactment it was not only innovative, but also modern; it was constructed in such a way that without detriment to its core, it could be supplemented by new regulations concerning additional guarantees of freedom of conscience and religion13. The Act on Guarantees of Freedom of Conscience and Religion set forth the general norms concerning freedom of conscience and religion, as well as state-church relations, which until then had remained outside the sphere of legal regulations. It provided statutory guarantees concerning, inter alia, the right to choose whether or not to profess a religion, to change the religion and the worldview, and the equality of all churches and religious associations in relation to the law, irrespective of the form of regulation of their legal status. It was the announcement of the change of the social and political system in Poland. It forestalled the end of the non-democratic system, bringing Poland into the framework of a democratic state in which religious policy is implemented within the limits set by the law14. The system of establishing church legal persons 11 J. Osuchowski, Stosunki wyznaniowe w Polsce na tle transformacji ustrojowej, Warszawa 1996, p. 72. 12 T. J. Zielin´ski, Ustawa o gwarancjach wolnos´ci sumienia i wyznania z 1989 r. jako “magna charta” swobód ´swiatopogla˛dowych w Polsce, [in:] Prawo wyznaniowe w Polsce (1989–2009). Analiza-dyskusje-postulaty, ed. D. Walencik, Katowice-Bielsko-Biała 2009, p. 64. 13 Ibidem, p. 53. 14 A. Czohara, Periodyzacja polityki wyznaniowej w III Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, [in:] Prawo wyznaniowe w Polsce (1989–2009). Analiza-dyskusje-postulaty, ed. D. Walencik, KatowiceBielsko-Biała 2009, pp. 28–29.

Religious policy in Poland after 1989

103

changed radically. Michał Pietrzak aptly put it that the concession system was replaced by the declaration and information system15. At the same time, in the first half of the 1990s, for a variety of reasons, the denominational policy was a resultant of the implementation of liberal provisions of the religious legislation (increase in the number of religious associations entered in the register, concretization of the rights obtained by persons belonging to churches and religious associations, e. g. in the matter of obtaining exemptions from work or study on days of celebrating religious holidays) and decisions remaining contrary to their provisions (placing Catholic religious symbols in public buildings, the introduction of the protection of Christian values in the public mass media – which constituted an element of preventive censorship). Later, respect for the principle of equality of religions was restored. This was done by partially extending the rights that the Roman Catholic Church had obtained to other churches and religious associations16. Among others, 11 particular denominational acts regulating the relations between the state and churches and denominational associations were passed (modelled as to their subject, scope and systematic content on the Catholic Act of 1989)17, the principles of statechurch relations were formulated in the new Constitution of the Republic of Poland (2 April 1997) and the act on guarantees of freedom of conscience and religion was thoroughly amended (26 June 1997). In general, by the end of the nineties of the last century, laws were adopted regulating the rights of citizens on the grounds of religious denomination and normalizing the legal status of churches and religious associations18. Since 2000, the state has been less active in regulating religious issues. The additions and changes introduced (e. g. customs regulations, insurance regulations) did not disturb the previously established essence and system of statechurch relations. The latter entered the stage of benefiting from the established system of denominational law (e. g. on the principle of symmetry, the state equipped them with the rights that the Roman Catholic Church obtained under the Concordat)19. Poland’s accession to the European Union (1 May 2004), de15 M. Pietrzak, Prawo wyznaniowe, Warszawa 2013, p. 273; see also: H. Misztal, Osobowos´c´ cywilnoprawna kos´ciołów i innych zwia˛zków wyznaniowych, [in:] Prawo wyznaniowe, ed. A. Mezglewski, H. Misztal, P. Stanisz, Warszawa 2011, p. 142 and following. 16 J. Krukowski, Polskie prawo wyznaniowe, Warszawa 2006, p. 36. 17 Separate acts were obtained by: Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (1991), EvangelicalAugsburg Church, Evangelical-Reformed Church (1994), Christian Baptist Church, Evangelical-Methodist Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Polish-Catholic Church (1995), Catholic Mariavite Church, Old Catholic Mariavite Church, Union of Jewish Religious Communities, Pentecostal Church (1997), see: M. Winiarczyk-Kossakowska, Ustawy Rzeczypospolitej o stosunku pan´stwa do kos´ciołów chrzes´cijan´skich, Warszawa 2004. 18 A. Czohara, Periodyzacja polityki wyznaniowej w III Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej…, pp. 35–45. 19 J. Krukowski, Polskie prawo wyznaniowe…, p. 36, 40.

104

Stefan Dudra

spite the fact that according to the EU law, the regulation of the freedom of conscience and religion as well as state-church relations is the exclusive competence of the member states, changed the political and legal environment of the religious policy. Nowadays, the entities responsible for the religious policy in Poland are the Parliament (at the stage of formulating the law) and the government (at the stage of implementing the law and representing the state in the current affairs of the policy)20. Despite the progressive democratization of social life, there are areas of discrimination against non-Catholic faiths. For example, with respect to the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church this concerns, among others, celebrating religious holidays that are not statutory days off from work or school. They may be granted time off at their request, but on the condition that they work off the holiday and without the right to additional pay on public holidays or overtime. It remains an open question to develop other mechanisms of celebrating their own holidays by finding legal solutions that do not involve “working off”21. Another problem is the possibility of releasing students from school on Orthodox holidays celebrated according to the Julian calendar (e. g. Easter, Christmas). Youth regulations allowed students to be excused from school on these days, provided that they compensated for their arrears in education. In practice, this meant organizing additional classes on other days free from school. Janusz Kochanowski, the Polish Ombudsman, pointed out that making up missed classes could also take the form of independent study by the student, followed by verification by the teacher22. Another important issue is the question of organization of religion classes by schools and the lack of adequate care for students who do not participate in these classes (this applies both to families of non-believers and followers of religious communities), who, due to the small number of their believers, were not able to guarantee religious education in public schools (this issue was raised, among others, by the Ombudsman in 2009)23. Assessing the functioning of limits restricting the right to religious education for representatives of minority churches, Michał Pietrzak rightly pointed out that the regulation of the Minister of Na-

20 A. Czohara, Periodyzacja polityki wyznaniowej w III Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej…, p. 27. 21 P. A. Leszczyn´ski, Regulacja stosunków mie˛dzy pan´stwem a nierzymskokatolickimi Kos´ciołami i innymi zwia˛zkami wyznaniowymi okres´lona w art. 25 ust. 5 Konstytucji RP, Gorzów Wielkopolski 2012, p. 306. 22 Kos´cioły i mniejszos´ci religijne w Polsce w działalnos´ci Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich. Informacja dra Janusza Kochanowskiego z 16 listopada 2009 r.. Available at: www.rpo.gov.pl /pl/content/informacje-roczne-o-dzialalnosci-rpo [access: 10. 09. 2014]. 23 P. A. Leszczyn´ski, Regulacja stosunków mie˛dzy pan´stwem a nierzymskokatolickimi Kos´ciołami…, p. 310.

Religious policy in Poland after 1989

105

tional Education introducing the limits, has “higher legal force” than the wording of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland24. Another element of discrimination is the invisibility of non-Roman Catholic churches and religious associations in the public space (there are cases of omitting their representatives from ecumenical services, marginalization of information about functioning non-Catholic parishes in the local press)25. The preference for the presence of the Roman Catholic Church in public media is visible and dominant in relation to other churches and religious associations. Controversy was also caused by changes in the provisions of the firefighter’s funeral ceremony, the original provisions of which provided for the presence of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church only26. De facto democracy cannot be based on a majority formula. This is due to the pluralistic nature of modern societies, which are diverse in terms of, among others, worldview, culture and ethnicity. The need to protect minority rights (one of the basic features of democracy) imposes certain limitations on the majority mechanism used in democracy27. Moreover, the majority argument cannot and should not be abused in public debates, because it is generally contrary to the broad idea of democracy and the model of an inclusive state, which includes various groups in the activities that make up civil society. Nowadays, a necessary condition is the implementation of the existing religious law to the functioning of minority churches and religious associations.

Religious administration after 1989 The system of supervision over the activities of churches and religious associations changed after 1989. After the dissolution of the Office for Religious Affairs (the decision was made by the Parliament on 23 November 1989)28, religious matters were transferred to the Office of the Council of Ministers (URM). Within 24 M. Pietrzak (rec.), Małgorzata Winiarczyk-Kossakowska, Pan´stwowe prawo wyznaniowe w praktyce administracyjnej, Warszawa 1999, p. 127. “Pan´stwo i Prawo”, 2001, 56, vol. 2 (660), p. 91. 25 P. A. Leszczyn´ski, Regulacja stosunków mie˛dzy pan´stwem a nierzymskokatolickimi Kos´ciołami…, p. 308. 26 As a result of the Ombudsman’s intervention, the provisions of this ceremony were given a new content (consulted with the Orthodox and Lutheran Churches), J. Kochanowski, Kos´cioły i mniejszos´ci religijne w Polsce w działalnos´ci Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich (tekst został wygłoszony na spotkaniu Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich Janusza Kochanowskiego i reprezentantów oddziałów i komisji PRE w Centrum Luteran´skim w Warszawie w dniu 16 listopada 2009 r. (in the author’s possession). 27 See: K. Daniel, Argument wie˛kszos´ciowy a ustawodawstwo ´swiatopogla˛dowe, [in:] Prawo i ład społeczny. Ksie˛ga Jubileuszowa dedykowana Profesor Annie Turskiej, Warszawa 2000, pp. 188– 197. 28 Act of 23 November 1989 – entered into force on 11 December 1989, Journal of Laws 1989, No. 64, item 387.

106

Stefan Dudra

its structure, the tasks regarding relations with churches and religious associations were performed by the Minister – Head of the Office of the Council of Ministers with the assistance of the Office for Religious Affairs. It did not start operating until 1 March 1990. At that time, the state team consisted of employees of the Office, which was being liquidated29. Then, the supervision over all churches and religious associations was taken over by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration (MSWiA), within which the Department of Religious Affairs was established. Its activities were focused on managing the Church Fund, servicing the Property Commission, preparing drafts of legal acts and maintaining contacts with church authorities. Voivodes performed the function of religious administration bodies in the field. In July 1993, a draft reform of public administration appeared, which envisaged, among other things, the transfer of matters relating to state-church relations to the General Directorate for Religious Affairs. It was to be a central organ of state administration (the work was to be headed by a director general appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister). The project was not implemented due to new, early parliamentary elections. On 1 January 1997, regulations reforming the structure of the chief bodies of public administration came into force. The Office of the Council of Ministers was abolished and the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration was made the chief administrative body responsible for religious denominations (the Office for Religious Affairs of the former URM in an unchanged structure was transferred to the newly created Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration)30. From 1997 to 2011, religious affairs were located within the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. In March 2002, the Religion Department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs was liquidated as a separate organisational unit for religious matters. The National Minorities Department located in the Public Administration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration was transferred to the Religion Department creating a new unit – the Religion and National Minorities Department. Further transformations were connected with the Act on National and Ethnic Minorities passed in January 2005. It amended the law on departments of government administration by introducing the department ’Religious Denominations and National and Ethnic Minorities’ in place of the department ‘Religious Denominations’. The existing Team for National and Ethnic Minorities’ Culture in the structure of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage was subordinated to the Minister of Internal

29 M. Winiarczyk-Kossakowska, Ustawy III Rzeczypospolitej o stosunku pan´stwa do kos´ciołów chrzes´cijan´skich…, p. 131. 30 A. Czohara, Periodyzacja polityki wyznaniowej w III Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej…, pp. 34–39.

Religious policy in Poland after 1989

107

Affairs and Administration and the Department of Religious Denominations and National and Ethnic Minorities was created in the Ministry31. As a result of subsequent changes in the structure of the supreme bodies of public administration, religious denominations and national and ethnic minorities were transferred (21 November 2011) to the newly created Ministry of Administration and Digitization. The next reform of the government’s administrative and economic center again placed them (as of November 2015) in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. The Department of Religious Denominations and National and Ethnic Minorities was in charge of handling the religious denominations department. The scope of its activities included matters relating to relations between the state and churches and religious associations, the Church Fund and cooperation with the Social Insurance Institution in matters of insurance for clergy, the register of churches and other religious associations. In addition, organizational and technical support for the commission for the return of property of the Roman Catholic Church and other churches and religious associations, the Joint Commission for Representatives of the Government and the Polish Episcopate and joint commissions of the government and authorities of other churches and religious associations32. The detailed scope of activities of the Department of Religious Denominations and National and Ethnic Minorities has been specified in Order No. 5 of 27 December 2011 of the Minister of Administration and Digitization33. Currently the Department of Religious Denominations and National and Ethnic Minorities has 28 full-time employees, of which only 14 full-time employees deal with issues of religious denominations, including the activities of the Church Fund are handled by 10 full-time employees, and the issues of churches and religious associations are handled by 4 full-time employees. Such staffing does not allow for monitoring of religious issues, as well as analytical and conceptual work34. The Joint Commission of Representatives of the Government and the Polish Ecumenical Council (PRE) deals with current problems concerning the development of relations between the state and non-Catholic churches and associations35. It was established in 1991 on the basis of an earlier agreement between 31 Ibidem, pp. 42–43. 32 K. Walczuk, Rza˛dowa administracja wyznaniowa w Polsce. “Studia z Prawa Wyznaniowego”, 2006, vol. 9, p. 249. 33 Journal of Laws. Minister of Administration and Digitization, item 5, par. 24. 34 See: S. Dudra, Polski Autokefaliczny Kos´ciół Prawosławny w obszarze polityki wyznaniowej oraz polityki narodowos´ciowej Polski Ludowej i III Rzeczypospolitej, Warszawa 2019, pp. 92– 93. 35 The Commission operates under Article 16, paragraph 2 of the Act of 17 May 1989 on Guarantees of Freedom of Conscience and Religion. It is modeled on the Joint Commission of Representatives of the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Bishops’ Conference, see: P. Borecki, Cz. Janik, Komisja Wspólna Przedstawicieli Rza˛du RP i Konferencji

108

Stefan Dudra

Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and representatives of the PRE. Its establishment was “an expression of equal rights of all Churches and a proof of respect for their identity”36. In the initial period 10 meetings were held (the discussion topics included issues related to the legal regulation of churches and religious associations, equal rights of minority churches in the face of the prospect of entry into force of the Concordat of 1993 and works related to the preparation of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland)37. In 2000 there was a 10-year break in the activity of the Joint Commission (since 2008 there have been actions taken in order to reactivate it). Finally, it resumed its activities in 2010 (meetings are held once a year)38. The subject of the work were the issues raised by the Church and the government. They concerned, among others, educational issues (religious education in public schools, including the status of clergy serving as religion teachers), financial and property issues and regulating the legal situation of churches, including the reform proposed by the government to finance religious associations, the presence of churches in the public media and participation in state ceremonies, as well as issues related to the international policy of the state (including the Polish presidency of the European Union in 2011 and issues related to the position of the government on the Centre Against Expulsions created in Berlin). Other recent important topics have included educational reform and the operating conditions of the Christian Academy of Theology in Warsaw39. The Joint Commission has become a permanent instrument of cooperation between the public authorities and the churches gathered in PRE. In the government administration, apart from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, religious issues are also dealt with by regional offices. These issues are mainly the responsibility of the departments for civil affairs and migration. It must be stressed that the role of the government administration in religious issues has been limited mainly to registration and other similar activities (such as certifying legal personality).

36

37 38 39

Episkopatu Polski oraz inne kolegialne formy relacji mie˛dzy pan´stwem a zwia˛zkami wyznaniowymi w zarysie, [in:] Komisja Wspólna Przedstawicieli Rza˛du RP i Konferencji Episkopatu Polski w archiwaliach z lat 1989–2010, ed. P. Borecki, Cz. Janik, Warszawa 2011, p. 26. Cit. after T. J. Zielin´ski, Komisja Wspólna Przedstawicieli Rza˛du RP i Polskiej Rady Ekumenicznej – status prawny i działalnos´c´ ze szczególnym uwzgle˛dnieniem lat 2010–2013, [in:] Ku Słowu, ku Kos´ciołowi, ku ´swiatu. Ksie˛ga pamia˛tkowa ofiarowana Arcybiskupowi Jeremiaszowi (Janowi Anchimiukowi) w 70. rocznice˛ urodzin, ed. K. Wojciechowskiej i W. Konacha, Warszawa 2013, p. 608. Ibidem, pp. 609–610. Komunikat po posiedzeniu Komisji Wspólnej Przedstawicieli Rza˛du RP i PRE dnia 15 paz´dziernika 2010 r. [access: 10. 09. 2013]. T. J. Zielin´ski, Komisja Wspólna Przedstawicieli Rza˛du RP i Polskiej Rady Ekumenicznej…, pp. 614–618.

Religious policy in Poland after 1989

109

Conclusion The system changes that took place after 1989 created an opportunity for comprehensive development of churches and religious associations. First of all the internal conditions of their functioning were modified. They gained full independence in conducting internal policy concerning both personnel issues and further development. The acts of 17 May 1989 became the basis, which widened the possibilities of their activity. In the reality of the political changes taking place, the interaction between the state and churches and religious associations was/is determined by the norms of the law in force. Apart from basic religious activity, their main goal was to become part of the legal system securing possibilities of functioning in the changed socio-political reality and exercising the principle of freedom of conscience and religion. In addition, expanding their presence in the public space (media, military, hospitals, prisons, state and professional pastoral care) became a priority. In general, after 1989 the stage of interference by government administration bodies in the internal affairs of churches and religious associations (characteristic of the communist state) was rejected and closed40. Churches and religious associations function on the basis of the state law and in accordance with the internal law.

Bibliography Borecki P., Cz. Janik, Komisja Wspólna Przedstawicieli Rza˛du RP i Konferencji Episkopatu Polski oraz inne kolegialne formy relacji mie˛dzy pan´stwem a zwia˛zkami wyznaniowymi w zarysie, [in:] Komisja Wspólna Przedstawicieli Rza˛du RP i Konferencji Episkopatu Polski w archiwaliach z lat 1989–2010, ed. P. Borecki, Cz. Janik, Warszawa 2011. Brodala M., A. Lisiecka, T. Ruzikowski, Przebudowac´ człowieka. Komunistyczne wysiłki zmiany mentalnos´ci, Warszawa 2001. Czohara A., Periodyzacja polityki wyznaniowej w III Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, [in:] Prawo wyznaniowe w Polsce (1989–2009). Analiza-dyskusje-postulaty, D. Walencik (ed.), Katowice-Bielsko-Biała 2009. Daniel K., Argument wie˛kszos´ciowy a ustawodawstwo ´swiatopogla˛dowe, [in:] Prawo i ład społeczny. Ksie˛ga Jubileuszowa dedykowana Profesor Annie Turskiej, Warszawa 2000. Dobbelaere K., Sekularyzacja. Trzy poziomy analizy, Kraków 2008. Dudek A., R. Gryz, Komunis´ci i Kos´ciół w Polsce (1945–1989), Kraków 2006. Dudra S., Polski Autokefaliczny Kos´ciół Prawosławny w obszarze polityki wyznaniowej oraz polityki narodowos´ciowej Polski Ludowej i III Rzeczypospolitej, Warszawa 2019. Dziobek-Roman´ski J., Uznawanie zwia˛zków religijnych w Polsce (1944–1989) narze˛dziem dyskryminacyjnej polityki władz, Lublin 2004.

40 K. Walczuk, Rza˛dowa administracja wyznaniowa w Polsce…, p. 266.

110

Stefan Dudra

Dziurok A., Wste˛p, [in:] Metody pracy operacyjnej aparatu bezpieczen´stwa wobec kos´ciołów i zwia˛zków wyznaniowych 1945–1989, A. Dziurok (ed.), Warszawa 2004. Góra D., K. Łabe˛dz´, P. Pochyły, Polityka wyznaniowa. Perspektywa III RP, Kraków 2019. Kochanowski J., Kos´cioły i mniejszos´ci religijne w Polsce w działalnos´ci Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich (tekst został wygłoszony na spotkaniu Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich Janusza Kochanowskiego i reprezentantów oddziałów i komisji PRE w Centrum Luteran´skim w Warszawie w dniu 16 listopada 2009 r. (in the author’s possession). Komunikat po posiedzeniu Komisji Wspólnej Przedstawicieli Rza˛du RP i PRE dnia 15 paz´dziernika 2010 r. [access:10. 09. 2013]. Kos´cioły i mniejszos´ci religijne w Polsce w działalnos´ci Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich. Informacja dra Janusza Kochanowskiego z 16 listopada 2009 r., www.rpo.gov.pl/pl/con tent/informacje-roczne-o-dzialalnosci-rpo [access: 10. 09. 2014]. Krukowski J., Polskie prawo wyznaniowe, Warszawa 2006. Leszczyn´ski P.A., Regulacja stosunków mie˛dzy pan´stwem a nierzymskokatolickimi Ko´sciołami i innymi zwia˛zkami wyznaniowymi okres´lona w art. 25 ust. 5 Konstytucji RP, Gorzów Wielkopolski 2012. Marek Ł., M. Bortlik-Dz´wierzyn´ska, Za Marksem bez Boga. Laicyzacja z˙ycia społecznego w Polsce w latach 1945–1989, Katowice 2014. Mazanka P., Z´ródła sekularyzacji i sekularyzmu w kulturze europejskiej, Warszawa 2003. Michalak R., Polityka wyznaniowa pan´stwa polskiego wobec mniejszos´ci religijnych w latach 1945–1989, Zielona Góra 2014. Misztal H., Osobowos´c´ cywilnoprawna kos´ciołów i innych zwia˛zków wyznaniowych, [in:] Prawo wyznaniowe, ed. A. Mezglewski, H. Misztal, P. Stanisz, Warszawa 2011. Osuchowski J., Stosunki wyznaniowe w Polsce na tle transformacji ustrojowej, Warszawa 1996. Pietrzak M., Winiarczyk-Kossakowska M., Pan´stwowe prawo wyznaniowe w praktyce administracyjnej, Warszawa 1999. “Pan´stwo i Prawo”, 2001, 56, vol. 2 (660). Pietrzak M., Polityka wyznaniowa III Rzeczypospolitej w latach 1999–2001 (próba diagnozy). “Acta Universitatis Wratislavensis. Prawo”, 311, 2010. Pietrzak M., Prawo wyznaniowe, Warszawa 1995. Pietrzak M., Prawo wyznaniowe, Warszawa 2013. Walczuk K., Rza˛dowa administracja wyznaniowa w Polsce. “Studia z Prawa Wyznaniowego”, 9, 2006. Winiarczyk-Kossakowska M., Ustawy Rzeczypospolitej o stosunku pan´stwa do kos´ciołów chrzes´cijan´skich, Warszawa 2004. Zielin´ski T. J., Komisja Wspólna Przedstawicieli Rza˛du RP i Polskiej Rady Ekumenicznej – status prawny i działalnos´c´ ze szczególnym uwzgle˛dnieniem lat 2010–2013, [in:] Ku Słowu, ku Kos´ciołowi, ku ´swiatu. Ksie˛ga pamia˛tkowa ofiarowana Arcybiskupowi Jeremiaszowi (Janowi Anchimiukowi) w 70. rocznice˛ urodzin, ed. K. Wojciechowskiej i W. Konacha, Warszawa 2013. Zielin´ski T. J., Ustawa o gwarancjach wolnos´ci sumienia i wyznania z 1989 r. jako “magna charta” swobód ´swiatopogla˛dowych w Polsce, [in:] Prawo wyznaniowe w Polsce (1989– 2009). Analiza-dyskusje-postulaty, ed. D. Walencik, Katowice-Bielsko-Biała 2009.

Arkadiusz Tyda

U.S. migration policy in the 19th and 20th centuries

The United States and the colonial society that preceded it were created by successive waves of immigration from all corners of the globe. America became home to these people, but it also grew stronger because of them. The purpose of this paper is to present the migration policies of the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Since the dawn of history, people have moved in response to population growth, climate change, or the expansion of production and trade1. Migrations have repeatedly changed their nature and intensity, including those related to the continent of North America2, also the migration policy of the United States has evolved over the years. The first part of this paper will discuss definitional issues and the typology of migration, because in order to undertake research on migration, it is necessary to clarify what is meant by the term “migration”. However, the bibliography on this definition, its history and theory is very extensive. It should be stipulated that due to the limited size of the text and the multiplicity of research perspectives explaining mobility behavior, the article is not a systematic review of them. The beginning point for the author will be the sociological definition of migration, given by Krystyna Slany. According to her, they are: “(…) physical movement carried out for a specific purpose, a) a change of residence, b) a change of territory (settlement unit, country), c) moving from one community to another, d) a change of social and cultural environment. (…) migration or wandering will be called such facts of deliberate spatial displacement of the population, which result from a change of place of residence or stay and take place between settlement units within the boundaries of territorial units of the country, state or go beyond its political boundaries”3.

1 S. Castels, M. J. Miller, Migracje we współczesnym ´swiecie, Warszawa 2011, p. 107. 2 H. Kubiak, K. Slany, Migracje [in:] Encyklopedia socjologii, (ed.) Z. Bokszan´ski, A. Kojder, Warszawa 2002, p. 244. 3 K. Slany, Mie˛dzy przymusem a wyborem. Kontynentalne i zamorskie emigracje z krajów Europy S´rodkowo-Wschodniej (1939–1989), Kraków 1995, p. 22; see also: M. Nowicka, Europa jako

112

Arkadiusz Tyda

Based on this statement, as well as on the considerations of Jerzy Z. Holzer or Leslie P. Moch, Adam Walaszek sees an advantage in the maximum simplification of the definition of migration. He believes that taking after Jan and Leo Lucassen that migration is: “a permanent, or semi-permanent change of residence”4 allows to escape from the discussion about its duration, the amount of movement or the reason for which it was undertaken5. Dictionaries of the Polish language define migration as “a movement of people within a country or from one country to another”, “wandering, resettlement”, “a movement of people aimed at changing their place of residence permanently or periodically”, referring to the Latin migratio or migrare, which means “to wander, resettle”6. For us, a migrant is any person involved in migration. The adjectives “foreign”, “international” or “cross-border” indicate that these are migrations from the territory of one country to another and serve to distinguish them from internal migration. For simplicity, unless otherwise noted, the word migration in this work means movement abroad. Foreign migration belongs to the more general phenomenon of international mobility (movement, mobility), which includes all types of movements, including those related to short and very short stays abroad7. While the term “migration” means the movement of people, “emigration” indicates the consequences of this movement: exile (staying in emigration), settlement or colonization (remaining in emigration). Moreover, in the Polish language, the word “emigration” can mean both movement, leaving the native country, permanent or temporary settlement outside the homeland, but also an increasingly used term is “diaspora”, which refers to the community of emigrants and their descendants. “Emigration” can also possibly refer to waves of emi-

4

5 6

7

wspólna przestrzen´ społeczna – metodologiczne kwestia badania społeczen´stwa i integracji społecznej w Europie na przykładzie mobilnos´ci przestrzennej. “Studia Europejskie”, 3, 2007. J. Lucassen, L. Lucassen, Migration, Migration History, History. Old Paradigms and New Perspectives, [in:] Migration, Migration History, History. Old Paradigms and New Perspectives, (ed.) J. Lucassen, L. Lucassen, Bern-Berlin 1999, p. 32. They were inspired by the theories of Everett S. Lee, see: E. S. Lee, A Theory of Migration, [in:] Migration, (ed.) J. A. Jackson, Cambridge 1969, p. 285. A. Walaszek, Migracje Europejczyków 1650–1914, Kraków 2007, p. 22. W. Wysoczan´ski, Siatka poje˛ciowa migracji w uje˛ciu je˛zykowym, [in:] Migracje. Dzieje, typologia, definicja, (ed.) A. Furda, W. Wysoczan´ski, Wrocław 2006; E. Rzetelska-Feleszko, Je˛zykoznawstwo wobec problematyki migracji, [in:] ibidem. For a detailed discussion of definitions and types of migration see: A. Górny, P. Kaczmarczyk, Uwarunkowania i mechanizmy migracji zarobkowych w ´swietle wybranych koncepcji teoretycznych, “CEFMR Working Paper”, Warsaw 2003. Naturalists also use the term migration to refer to the movement of animals and plant species. In recent decades the most common form of foreign mobility has been tourism, which is not included in migration, D. Stola, Kraj bez wyjs´cia? Migracje z Polski 1949–1989, Warsaw 2010, p. 11.

U.S. migration policy in the 19th and 20th centuries

113

gration (e. g., the Great Emigration, post-March emigration). “Immigration” means the same phenomenon as “emigration” but seen from the side of the country of arrival. Emigration (or out-migration) is “leaving one’s native country and settling permanently or temporarily outside one’s homeland”, while immigration is “the influx of a foreign population into a country in order to settle there temporarily or permanently”. Emigration to the U.S. means settlement trips to this country, and emigration in the U.S. means emigrants settled there8. Until recently, the term “migration”, and especially “emigration”, was associated with emigration for settlement, i. e. a long-term stay in a foreign country. This perception was influenced by mass European migrations of the 19th century, which usually meant permanent resettlement, as well as by the fact that such types of migration attracted the attention of state authorities and researchers to a greater extent than temporary migrations. The length of time that an exile stays abroad is a key feature of migration. According to UN guidelines, long term migration is assumed to last at least 12 months and short term migration between 3 and 12 months, although some countries take two months as the lower limit. However, it should be taken into account that due to the growing complexity of migration and the diversity of its forms, definitions do not keep up with the phenomena they are supposed to name and classify9. The difficulty of pursuing an effective migration policy that introduced some sense of harmony into American society was made more difficult by the peculiarities of the society itself. Although the United States became a world power precisely because of the influx of people from all over the world, social and political attitudes toward immigrants were always contradictory, including hostile. The first immigrants to colonial America came from England, France, Germany, and other northwestern European countries. They sought economic opportunity and political freedom in the “new world”, but often relied on the labor of African slaves to farm land taken from Native Americans. Descendants of these early European immigrants were sometimes negatively disposed toward subsequent generations of European immigrants who came to the United States in the late 19th century from Italy, Poland, Russia, and other parts of southeastern Europe. Descendants of these immigrants, in turn, often took poorly to the growing numbers of immigrants from Latin America, Asia, and Africa who

8 Ibidem, p. 11–12. 9 In order to better align the concepts with the phenomena under study, modified, broader definitions of migration have been increasingly used in the last decade or so, see, e.g: Ludzie na hus´tawce. Migracje mie˛dzy peryferiami Polski i Zachodu, (ed.) E. Jaz˙win´ska-Motylska, M. Sokólski, Warsaw 2001.

114

Arkadiusz Tyda

began arriving in the second half of the 20th century10. It can be said that the older generations of immigrants (usually already largely Americanized) did not want to share the goods found in the United States with the newly arrived representatives of the next generation, often from other parts of the world. The massive colonization and urbanization of North America occurred during the 19th century. The industrial revolution and industrialization that took place in Western Europe would not have been possible without the investment of colonial profits. In Great Britain the development of large factories and the agrarian revolution contributed to depriving the dispossessed farmers and craftsmen of their previous forms of income, which in turn caused mass emigration to the United States11. Dariusz Stola reports that as many as 66% of migrants crossing the ocean between 1800 and 1860 came from Great Britain. The following decades saw mass migrations from areas that industrialization later took hold of – Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Eastern Europe. It is estimated that in the peak years of the migration of the so-called second wave, which fell between 1861 and 1920, 30 million people came to the United States12. In the last quarter of the 19th century, overseas migration was dominated by the need for unskilled labor. This emigration came mainly from southern and central-eastern Europe. Beginning in 1892, ships with newcomers arrived at Ellis Island Harbor. Europeans who arrived in the United States before World War I crossed the Atlantic Ocean on overloaded ships and in unsanitary conditions. Most traveled in the lowest class cabins where disease was rampant, water supplies were scarce, and food spoiled quickly. After a difficult journey, frightened passengers were gathered in the large lobby of the main port building. Then they underwent medical examinations – often the first in their lives. They were also asked many questions, focusing on their health history and their plans to stay in the United States. The thought that a wrong answer or a coughing fit might be enough to send them back to Europe caused a lot of stress among the emigrants13. The newcomers, however, were helped by the fact that U.S. law placed few obstacles in the way of emigration. Most of them were allowed to stay. Only carriers of infectious diseases and those with incomplete documents were detained. Migration was considered in the United States of America as one of the basic personal privileges of man. Although some restrictions began to be introduced, especially on naturalization, they mainly concerned non-European 10 W. A. Ewing, Opportunity and Exclusion: A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Policy, American Immigration Council. Available at: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/resea rch/opportunity-and-exclusion-brief-history-us-immigration-policy (access: 30. 01. 2021). 11 M. Wójcik-Z˙oła˛dek, Współczesne procesy migracyjne: definicje, tendencje, teorie. “Studia BAS”, 40, 4, 2014, p. 18. 12 S. Castles, M. J. Miller, op. cit., p. 113. 13 P. R. Magocsi, The Carpatho-Rusyn Americans, New York-Philadelphia 1989, pp. 42–43.

U.S. migration policy in the 19th and 20th centuries

115

immigrants14. One of the first documents restricting migration was the “Alien and Sedition Acts” of 1798. It consisted of 4 separate laws: “Naturalization Act”, under which newcomers could apply for U.S. citizenship not after 5 but after 14 years (however, the provision was abolished in 1802); “Alien Friends Act” – allowed the president to send back any foreigner when he threatened national security (the provision was abolished after only 2 years); “Alien Enemies Act” – did not allow visitors from countries with which the U.S. was currently in armed conflict; “Sedition Act” – prohibited visitors from publishing writings that defamed the U.S. (the act was abolished in 1801)15. Generally speaking, the acts provided for restrictions on political enemies or people who threatened public order. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the acts relating to emigrants were mainly aimed at encouraging the arrival in the United States of America16. Many emigrants left their homeland in the hope that in the “new world” they would be able to farm. Rumors circulated in Europe that large tracts of land were free in the western provinces of Canada and the northern and central regions of the United States, and both countries encouraged their settlement. The “Homestead Act”17, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1862, granted to any citizen or anyone intending to take U.S. citizenship 160 acres (about 65 hectares) of uninhabited lands belonging to the state and then the ability to buy them at a nominal value after 5 years of inhabiting them (these lands had previously belonged to Indians). Never after that the conditions of settlement in the USA were so favorable. However, those who used it were obliged to serve in the army of the North during the Civil War, which was the main purpose of issuing the act. The document also contributed to the settlement of the western part of the country, the territorial expansion of the USA, the assimilation of natives and the development of agriculture18. It should be noted that the second half of the 19th century was a particular period of economic and economic boom for the United States of America19. 14 P. Matera, R. Matera, Stany Zjednoczone i Europa. Stosunki polityczne i gospodarcze 1776– 2004, Warsaw 2007, pp. 96–97. 15 Alien and Sedition Acts (1798), National Archives. Available at: https://www.archives.gov/m ilestone-documents/alien-and-sedition-acts?_ga=2.190838895.579899049.1658419988-95494 8599.1658419988 (access: 10. 02. 2022). 16 A. Broz˙ek, Polonia amerykan´ska 1854–1939, Warszawa 1977, p. 25. 17 Homestead Act (1862), National Archives. Available at: https://www.archives.gov/milestone -documents/homestead-act?_ga=2.206265747.1051157477.1658342409-1424141233.16583424 09 (access: 10. 02. 2022). 18 K. Osborn, The Ukrainian Americans, New York-Philadelphia 1989, p. 39. 19 In the last quarter of the 19th century, the United States entered a new stage of development. At that time, the foundations of a monopoly economy were formed. There was a rapid development of the productive forces, which accompanied the concentration of production and the centralization of capital. Huge enterprises were created, striving to monopolize production and markets. In 1904, large companies, whose annual value of production ex-

116

Arkadiusz Tyda

Widespread development, railroads and the acquisition of new land for cultivation meant that American grain flooded European markets and caused an agricultural crisis there, thus forcing more groups to emigrate for work purposes. As a result, the United States of America became the world’s leader in agricultural production from the mid-19th century onward, growing at twice the rate of Europe at the time. As the world population grew, however, the structure of employment changed – farming was abandoned in favor of work in industry or services. At the time of the formation of the United States, about 90% of people were engaged in agriculture, while in 1870 only half of Americans worked on the land. The structure of employment there to a large extent resembled the German or French ones. The United States of America was then the second country after Great Britain in terms of industrial production20. At the beginning of the 1860s, the United States also became the world’s second largest coal producer, with an annual output of 16 million tons21. In addition, oil began to be produced on a large scale (4 million hectoliters in 1865), and gold deposits were discovered in California, Colorado and Nevada22. The emigrants usually had no knowledge of the direction in which the American economy was developing, but they soon discovered that the United States of America offered not only jobs for farmers, but also full-time jobs in the cities: in factories, mines, or foundries23. Earnings in the USA were often 10 or 15 times higher than in their home countries24. In North America, one could earn in an hour sums that in Europe would take a whole day to earn. One dollar was worth five Austrian crowns, which was a considerable sum at the time. Freedom of speech and religion, as well as the opportunity to access education, also encouraged travel25. Their predecessors

20

21 22 23 24 25

ceeded one million dollars, provided 38% of all manufacturing, while already in 1914 they produced almost half of all output. The percentage of national income produced by agriculture declined from 30% to 21%., J. Skodlarski, R. Matera, Gospodarka ´swiatowa. Geneza i rozwój, Warsaw 2004, pp. 135–137; S. Pollard, C. Holmes, Documents of European Economic History, vol. 2, London 1968, pp. 323–324; P. Matera, R. Matera, op. cit., pp. 97–98. As late as the early 1800s, the U.S. did not rank at the top of any statistics. At that time it was economically dependent on Europe, and the focus on agricultural expansion meant that industrial production mainly met local needs. The situation changed from the middle of the century, when steam machines were increasingly introduced in the USA, P. Matera, R. Matera, op. cit., pp. 71–72. However, the score of the leader of this classification, Great Britain, was 5 times higher, ibidem, p. 72. In 1870, the GDP of the United States was about $2,500, ranking 4th behind Great Britain ($3,800), the Netherlands, and Belgium, A. Madison, The World Economy. A Millennia Perspective, Paris 2002, p. 264. E. T. Baranko, Carpatho-Rusyn Heritage, Detroit 1990, p. 25. K. Osborn, op. cit., p. 40. Emigration Conditions In Europe, Senate Documents, 61st Congress, 3rd Session, Washington, 1911, XII, 270, Harvard Library. Available at: https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/immig

U.S. migration policy in the 19th and 20th centuries

117

paved the way and became role models. They offered help and gave advice on where and how to migrate. Neighborly relations were strengthened, and examples were set not only by representatives of the same nation. The social consciousness of the emigrants grew. Hope and the desire to improve their lot explain, to a large extent, the sometimes risky departure from their homeland abroad. Stanisław Szczepanowski saw emigration primarily as a chance to survive, to avoid starvation, but also to gain experience and money: “If they are to starve to death at home, I would a hundred times prefer them to emigrate to America. Let the hundredth one return with some capital and experience, it becomes a germ of new thoughts and ideas in the stagnant mass of our rural population. (…) For almost without exception emigration is proof of awakened energy and popular enterprise and greater racial vitality. Not only would I not complain about this emigration, but on the contrary, I would set it as an example of our intelligentsia struggling for the miserable jobs of court and county clerks. At least half of all our young people should seek their fortune abroad, compete with foreigners and return home with money and experience. In this way they will become a real benefit, not a burden. Each such young Pole placed abroad is a victim delivered from death by starvation, and there will always be enough left at home for the poor clerks and paper-pushers All we have to do is to make sure that those who emigrate temporarily do not forget about their country”26.

We can therefore conclude that there was social understanding, consent, and even encouragement to leave their homeland, including among the intelligentsia27. Often after returning the emigrant became a more respected member of the community, which he had previously left28. The departure could be discouraged by its cost. However, thanks to the introduction of steamboats, year after year it became more feasible for more and more people to raise funds for the journey, although raising the necessary amount of money still required a lot of effort29.

26 27 28 29

ration-to-the-united-states-1789-1930/catalog/39-990067936310203941 (access: 22. 03. 2022); W. C. Warzeski, Byzantine Rite Rusins in Carpatho-Ruthenia and America, Virginia 1971, p. 97. S. Szczepanowski, Ne˛dza Galicji w cyfrach i program energicznego rozwoju gospodarstwa krajowego, Lwów 1888, p. 92. F. Stasik, Polska emigracja zarobkowa w Stanach Zjednoczonych Ameryki 1865–1914, Warsaw 1985, p. 40; K. Duda-Dziewierz, Wies´ małopolska a emigracja amerykan´ska. Studium wsi Babice powiatu rzeszowskiego, Warsaw-Poznan´ 1938, p. 49. F. Stasik, Polska emigracja zarobkowa w Stanach Zjednoczonych Ameryki 1865–1914, Warszawa 1985, p. 40; K. Duda-Dziewierz, Wies´ małopolska a emigracja amerykan´ska. Studium wsi Babice powiatu rzeszowskiego, Warsaw-Poznan´ 1938, p. 49. P. Matera, R. Matera, op. cit., p. 70.

118

Arkadiusz Tyda

Funds to pay for the trip were obtained in several ways. The exiles borrowed at very high interest rates, sold land, and if they had relatives in America, they could usually count on financial support from them30. Europeans were encouraged to emigrate not only by relatives describing the United States in their correspondence, or re-emigrants returning to their homeland. Already in the nineteenth century, agents working for American railroad companies were active in recruiting cheap labor. New (especially Eastern European) emigrants were also sought by Pennsylvania mine owners. They were to take jobs for striking Germans, Welsh and Irish – already established in the US and finding it increasingly difficult to accept the terms offered by American employers. Many agents acted unscrupulously and cheated mostly illiterate people who could not read the contracts they signed31. On the other hand, the lack of detailed regulations governing emigration did not hinder emigration, creating no barriers in this regard32. The new emigrants accepted jobs with starvation wages in health-threatening conditions and were not afraid of hard physical effort. Moreover, they could be expelled at any time (e. g., in the event of a downturn in the economy). The burden of high debt, incurred to pay for their trip overseas, meant that they could not back out of their decision and return to their hometowns33.

30 E. Balch, Our Slavic Fellow Citizens, New York 1910, pp. 135–137. 31 From the very beginning, emigration agents were the heroes of scandals publicized by the press. The stereotype of an agent quickly emerged as a symbol of all the dangers that lurked in order to deceive and exploit emigrants, M. Starczewski, Z dziejów emigracji zarobkowej: agenci emigracyjni na ziemiach polskich przed 1914 r. “Przegla˛d Historyczny”, vol. CIII, book. 1, 2012, p. 47. A. Gucka tries to break the negative stereotype of emigration agents. She points out that emigrants deprived of agents’ care would be doomed to an even more uncertain fate. She emphasizes that the opinions about them that appeared in the press usually had a sensational and scandalizing tone, suggesting an unspecified conspiracy. According to her, they owed their bad reputation primarily to gossip, they did not earn exorbitant amounts of money, and most of them believed in the rightness of the cause they represented. The author emphasizes that the legal system of the time and the naivety of some of the exiles were complicit in this situation, A. Gucka, Obraz emigracji polskiej na łamach “Dziennika Poznan´skiego” (1859–1939) i “Kuriera Poznan´skiego” (1872–1939), Warsaw 2005, p. 137. 32 Some documents were written only in English, a language unknown to newcomers, even for those who could read. They condemned emigrants to long-term labor in exchange for transportation to the United States. There were worse consequences, however. In 1898, for example, 365 emigrants were loaded onto a ship to Hawaii, where they became slaves on sugar plantations. They regained their freedom only after several years, when information about their misery was published in North America by the Ukrainian press, K. Osborn, op. cit., p. 44. 33 The first immigration act, according to which under the contract signed with the prospective immigrant, he received money for travel to the U.S., and after arriving in the country and finding work, he would pay back the debt incurred, was passed in 1864, A. Broz˙ek, op. cit., p. 25.

U.S. migration policy in the 19th and 20th centuries

119

For American employers they represented a type of worker close to the ideal, which is why the old emigration was so hostile to the newcomers34. Often as strikebreakers they felt the dislike of those taking part in these protests. The attitude of the strikers can be justified by the fact that due to the arrival of their replacements they did not win their demands. Instead of the introduction of raises, there was an even greater reduction in wages. As the strength of the Molly Maguires organization waned in the 1870 s35, the dominant group in the anthracite mine region of Pennsylvania became the Slavs36. Such liberal immigration policies increased the flow of foreigners into the U.S., resulting in the first anti-immigrant “Know Nothing” movement explicitly directed against Catholics among the native population: “Know Nothing” – was a response and protest towards immigrants from Ireland37. Usually it quickly became apparent how unrealistic the plan was to get rich easily and return home to lead a comfortable life. Their occupations were destructive to their health: they worked long hours beyond the normal working hours, inhaled dust in the mines, chemicals in the factories. Climate change also had a bad effect on them. The humid air and fluctuating temperatures were very different from those in their home countries. The emigrants usually could not afford to live in comfortable conditions, so their houses often did not meet sanitary requirements38. Between 1860 and 1900, the population of the United States of America grew from 30 million to 75 million. Under the pressure of American workers, the government began to implement the first significant restrictions, thus beginning 34 P. J. Best, Cztery opcje narodowej identyfikacji karpatorusin´skich imigrantów w Ameryce Północnej od póz´nego XIX do wczesnego XXI wieku (szkic oraz studium przypadku), [in:] Łemkowie, Bojkowie, Rusini – historia, współczesnos´c´, kultura materialna i duchowa, (ed.) S. Dudra, B. Halczak, R. Drozd, I. Betko, M. Smigel’, vol. IV, part 1 and 2, Słupsk-Zielona Góra 2012, p. 39–40. Among the Slavs, emigrants from Bohemia and Moravia, who were relatively well educated and had a certain amount of cash, had the best luck. They usually started their stay in North America by buying a house, ibidem, p. 40. 35 The Molly Maguires was a 19th century secret organization whose members were mostly American miners of Irish descent. These Pennsylvania mine workers fought for their rights against their employers. They often used violence and broke the law, W. Coleman, Molly Maguire Riots, Richmond 1936, pp. 1–25; W. G. Broehl, The Molly Maguires, Harvard 1964; K. Kenny, Making Sense of the Molly Maguires, Oxford 1998. 36 Large-scale emigration of Slavs to North America occurred later than peoples from Western Europe. The first Slavs to emigrate were the Czechs and Poles in the first half of the nineteenth century, while after 1865 other Slavic groups, including the Lemkos, began to emigrate more intensively, M. B. Kuropas, The Ukrainians in America, Minneapolis 1972, p. 37. 37 A. Broz˙ek, op. cit., p. 26. 38 M. B. Kuropas, To preserve a heritage. The Story of the Ukrainian Immigration in the United States, New York 1984, p. 7; B. Horbal, Lemko Studies. A Handbook, New York 2010, p. 283; J. Davis, The Russians and Ruthenians in America. Bolsheviks or Brothers, New York 1922, pp. 42–43.

120

Arkadiusz Tyda

a new wave of modification of U.S. emigration policy. There was a project to implement the “Foran Act”. This document was to prohibit the entry into the United States of America of unskilled workers (some exceptions were made for actors and artists)39. At that time, the so-called “doctrine of emigration selection”, promoted by Senator Henry Cabot-Lodge, was in force. He sought to ensure that newcomers demonstrated an appropriate degree of education. This was supposed to reduce the influx of people from Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe. This project, however, met with a wave of protests and was dismissed due to a presidential veto40. It did, however, signal a change in the trend of emigration law. Due to the public’s reluctance towards foreigners, the U.S. government gradually began to impose restrictions on migration. In 1882, the first ethnic group act was passed – it included the Chinese (“Chinese Exclusion Act”). Chinese laborers were brought in to help build railroads or to work as farmers and factory workers. The relatively large group of Chinese who settled in some parts of the country caused a negative reaction from the local community, who felt threatened by the “yellow peril”. This led to the passage of a congressional act that not only prohibited further immigration by the Chinese, but also excluded the ability of descendants of the incoming Chinese to obtain U.S. citizenship. This embargo existed until 1943, when it was repealed as a gesture of friendship to Chiang Kai-shek41. Another law in 1882 prohibited mentally unbalanced persons from taking public assignments. The “Immigration Act” of 1903 excluded the emigration of sick persons, “polygamists, beggars, criminals and anarchists”. In part of the socalled “Gentlemen’s Agreement” of 1906–1907, the United States of America and Japan agreed that passports to the United States would be granted only to family members of American citizens of Japanese ancestry42. In 1907, higher head taxes were introduced, and many deportations occurred. The Immigration Commission was also established at that time. Its work resulted in the passage of a number of laws. By October 1911, it had produced a report that contained new guidelines for emigrants. Henceforth, the father of a family had to have at his disposal the sum of $50 upon reaching the shores of the “new world”. Limits were placed on 39 Foran Act. Available at: http://immigration-online.org/12-alien-contract-labor-act-foran-ac t-united-states-1885.html (access: 15. 12. 2012). 40 A. Broz˙ek, op. cit., p. 27. 41 Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), National Archives. Available at: https://www.archives.gov/mile stone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act?_ga=2.110622529.579899049.1658419988-95494859 9.1658419988 (access: 20. 02. 2022). 42 B. Sakson, Po drugiej stronie Oceanu. Nowi emigranci z Polski w metropolii Chicagowskiej. “CMR Working Papers”, 63 (5), Warsaw 2005, p. 10; J. Balicki, E. Fra˛tczak, C. B. Nam, Mechanizmy przemian ludnos´ciowych – globalna polityka ludnos´ciowa, Warszawa 2003, p. 197.

U.S. migration policy in the 19th and 20th centuries

121

the annual number of arrivals of each nationality. It was also planned to: exclude the immigration of unskilled persons arriving without family; set immigration limits for individual ports; increase the amount of money to be shown by immigrants when they docked in an American port; increase the taxation of immigrants; and vary the taxation of immigrants according to family status. It was thought that people who could not read and write in a European language would not be allowed to immigrate. However, the so-called “literacy test” – which tested reading and writing skills – did not meet with the approval of the authorities. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft were opposed to this type of selection43. The turn of the 20th century was thus a period when the U.S. authorities began to seek greater control over where the immigrant population came from. It was not until 1899 that they began to census immigrants on the basis of nationality44. World War I, however, virtually blocked the transatlantic flow of people until 1920. After that period it was still not easy to come to the USA, because the authorities of this country introduced restrictions on emigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. Thus, the chain of migration that had already been established for about 50 years was broken45. From 1870 to 1920, 27 million people came to the USA46. In 1921, Congress passed the “Quota Act”. The document determined the maximum number of emigrants of each origin, setting a limit from all countries, whose residents since 1910 already exceeded 3% of the population of the United States of America. However, the desired results were not achieved, as the set number was too high for some states anyway. The restrictive orders were expanded and finalized in 1924 in the form of the “National Origins Act”47. Its purpose was to reduce the number of emigrants from Southern and Eastern European countries, who made up a high percentage in the early 20th century. The allowable number of newcomers was reduced from 3% to 2%. It also moved the date of counting existing emigrants from 1910 to 1890. This document, along with the “Asian Exclusion Act”, became part of the “Immigration Act of 1924” (the “Johnson-Reed Act”). This act ended the liberal emigration policy of the United States48. 43 A. Broz˙ek, op. cit., pp. 27, 30. 44 Until then, for example, the size of the Galician emigration blended with the number of emigrants from all over Austria-Hungary, T. E. Fitzgerald, The Orthodox Church, Westport, Connecticut-London 1995, p. 28. 45 P. R. Magocsi, The Carpatho-Rusyn Americans, New York-Philadelphia 1989, p. 41. 46 J. H. Erickson, Orthodox Christians in America, New York 1999, p. 57. 47 B. Sakson, op. cit., p. 10. 48 As the U.S. borders closed, more Carpatorusyns settled in Canada – about 10,000. In the 1920s and 1930s, a significant percentage of that number were Lemkos, P. R. Magocsi, The Carpatho-Rusyn Americans…, p. 42.

122

Arkadiusz Tyda

In 1929, the great economic crisis began. There was a sharp decline in production, bankruptcies of entrepreneurs, mass unemployment and a decline in the income of the population. In 1933 there was an economic revival, but overcoming the effects of the crisis lasted until 1938. The outbreak of World War II interrupted the migration process completely, but after the war people started to migrate again. However, the reasons for leaving their hometowns were different than before. Before the war, people were usually forced by poverty to leave49. After 1945, however, it was often the desire to find a political refuge that drove them away. The newcomers also differed from the earlier ones in the level of education. Researchers point to new determinants of international mobility in the second half of the 20th century. The scale of migration is not diminishing, but actually increasing, due to decolonization, the postwar economic boom and the growing demand for cheap labor, as well as the rapid growth of temporary or circular migration. Migration issues have become the subject of active state policies. Globalization, armed conflicts, political and religious persecution, uneven development of countries and regions cause people to change their places of residence in search of a better life. More and more often migrants move from one country to another several times during their lives50. “Immigration and Nationality Act” known as the “McCarren-Walter Act” of 1952 maintained maximum numbers of immigrants of various origins51, but over time there was a liberalization of U.S. immigration policy. In 1965, the “Immigration Act” was introduced, which abolished restrictions on the number of immigrants in terms of nationality. It eliminated the system of national emigration quotas introduced in the 1920s and replaced it with general quotas for the eastern and western hemispheres. Contrary to the claims of its promoters, the reform turned out to be a turning point in the history of emigration to the United States, in particular it opened the gates to a massive legal influx of people from Latin America and Asia. This policy contributed to the formation of the myth of North America as a paradise for immigrants, creating enclaves of “people of their own”, since one of its important components is family reunification, which was emphasized in the Act of 196552. Those with close relatives (parents, children, spouse) with U.S. citizenship were given the highest preferences and eligibility for immigrant visas beyond the limits. Lower preferences were given to distant relatives. Permanent resident aliens were given the right to bring in family members.

49 50 51 52

In the case of Protestants, it was a flight from religious persecution. M. Wójcik-Z˙oła˛dek, op. cit., p. 10. B. Sakson, op. cit., p. 10. Ibidem, p. 10; K. Slany, op. cit.; K. Iglicka, Wizy do USA. Mity, fakty, rekomendacje, Warszawa 2008, p. 3.

U.S. migration policy in the 19th and 20th centuries

123

Also favorably treated were scientists, artists, and skilled workers needed by the American economy53. “The Refugee Act of 1980 standardized the process of admitting refugees to the United States. The law established a definition of who could be considered a refugee and provided for an initial refugee admission limit of 50,000. However, the act also authorized the President of the United States to exceed this limit for humanitarian reasons after appropriate consultation with the Judiciary Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives. A refugee was defined as any person who is outside his country of nationality (or in the case of a non-citizen, outside the country in which he last resided) and who is unable or unwilling to return to such a country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group54. Another important law was passed in 1986. “Immigration Reform and Control Act” aimed to change the immigration system and reduce illegal immigration. The law prohibited employers from knowingly hiring people who were not authorized to work in the United States and established a system to verify the legal status of workers. Funding was increased for The Immigration and Naturalization Service55 and the U.S. Border Patrol to more effectively enforce immigration law. The act also granted legalization to millions of illegal immigrants, mostly from Latin America, who met certain conditions56. In 1996, the “Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act” was introduced. The law authorized more resources to strengthen and seal the border, such as building a new fence near San Diego, California, and increasing the number of immigration officers to investigate employer violations of immigration law and human smuggling, among other things. The act introduced civil penalties for attempting to cross the border illegally. It also changed the process for removing people who are in the country without legal authorization, prohibiting legal re-entry for a specified period of time and introducing an

53 On U.S. immigration policy see: R. Daniels, Guarding the Golden Door. American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882, New York 2004; G. M. Stephenson, A History of American Immigration, 1820–1924, Boston 1926. On the effects of the reform on Poles see: M. P. Erdmans, Opposite Poles. Immigrants and Ethnics in Polish Chicago, 1976–1990, University Park, Pa. 1998, pp. 57–59. 54 The Refugee Act, Office of Refugee Resettlement. Available at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/o rr/policy-guidance/refugee-act (access: 30. 01. 2021). 55 The Immigration and Naturalization Service was divided into three separate agencies in 2003: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) oraz US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 56 W. A. Ewing, op. cit.

124

Arkadiusz Tyda

expedited removal procedure. The law also placed new restrictions on the asylum application process57. The intensification of migration processes in the 20th century was not only a consequence of migration in the 19th century, but was also associated with the unprecedented development of infrastructure, transportation and media, and economic prosperity. It was also the result of totalitarian regimes and two world wars, accompanied by mass escapes, evacuations from the front, displacements and deportations on an unprecedented scale58. The migration policy of the country, at first completely liberal, based on the conviction that migration is one of the basic personal privileges of an individual, later became more restrictive. The following decades brought new difficulties that American politicians had to face. Introducing restrictions was supposed to be, among others, a reaction to the economic, social and political situation in the country and in the world. Nevertheless, the United States in the 20th century, just as in the 19th, remained the main, if not the dream destination for a considerable number of migrants from all over the world who wanted to see if their “American dream” would come true.

Bibliography Alien and Sedition Acts (1798), National Archives. Available at: https://www.archives.go v/milestone-documents/alien-and-sedition-acts?_ga=2.190838895.579899049.1658419 988-954948599.1658419988 (access: 10. 02. 2022). Balch E., Our Slavic Fellow Citizens, New York 1910. Balicki J., E. Fra˛tczak, C. B. Nam, Mechanizmy przemian ludnos´ciowych – globalna polityka ludnos´ciowa, Warszawa 2003. Baranko E. T., Carpatho-Rusyn Heritage, Detroit 1990. Best P. J., Cztery opcje narodowej identyfikacji karpatorusin´skich imigrantów w Ameryce Północnej od póz´nego XIX do wczesnego XXI wieku (szkic oraz studium przypadku), [in:] Łemkowie, Bojkowie, Rusini – historia, współczesnos´´c, kultura materialna i duchowa, (ed.) S. Dudra, B. Halczak, R. Drozd, I. Betko, M. Smigel’, vol. IV, part 1 and 2, Słupsk-Zielona Góra 2012. Broehl W. G., The Molly Maguires, Harvard 1964. Broz˙ek A., Polonia amerykan´ska 1854–1939, Warszawa 1977. Caro L., K. Englisch, Emigracja i polityka emigracyjna ze szczególnym uwzgle˛dnieniem stosunków polskich, Poznan´ 1914. Caro L., Nowe drogi, Poznan´ 1908. 57 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, 110 STAT. 3009–546, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLA W-104publ208/pdf/PLAW-104publ208.pdf (access: 10. 02. 2022). 58 M. Wójcik-Z˙oła˛dek, op. cit., p. 10.

U.S. migration policy in the 19th and 20th centuries

125

Castels S., M. J. Miller, Migracje we współczesnym ´swiecie, Warszawa 2011. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), National Archives. Available at: https://www.archives.go v/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act?_ga=2.110622529.579899049.165841998 8-954948599.1658419988 (access: 20. 02. 2022). Coleman W., Molly Maguire Riots, Richmond 1936. Daniels R., Guarding the Golden Door. American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882, New York 2004. Davis J., The Russians and Ruthenians in America. Bolsheviks or Brothers, New York 1922. Duda-Dziewierz K., Wies´ małopolska a emigracja amerykan´ska. Studium wsi Babice powiatu rzeszowskiego, Warszawa-Poznan´ 1938. Emigration Conditions In Europe, Senate Documents, 61st Congress, 3rd Session, Washington, 1911, XII, 270, Harvard Library. Available at: https://curiosity.lib.harvard.ed u/immigration-to-the-united-states-1789-1930/catalog/39-990067936310203941 (access: 22. 03. 2022). Erdmans M. P., Opposite Poles. Immigrants and Ethnics in Polish Chicago, 1976–1990, University Park, Pa. 1998. Erickson J. H., Orthodox Christians in America, New York 1999. Ewing W. A., American Immigration Council. Available at: https://www.americanimmigra tioncouncil.org/research/opportunity-and-exclusion-brief-history-us-immigration-po licy (access: 30. 01. 2021). Fitzgerald T. E., The Orthodox Church, Westport, Connecticut-London 1995. Foran Act. Available at: http://immigration-online.org/12-alien-contract-labor-act-foran -act-united-states-1885.html (access: 15. 12. 2012). Górny A., P. Kaczmarczyk, Uwarunkowania i mechanizmy migracji zarobkowych w ´swietle wybranych koncepcji teoretycznych, “CEFMR Working Paper”, Warszawa 2003. Gucka A., Obraz emigracji polskiej na łamach “Dziennika Poznan´skiego” (1859–1939) i “Kuriera Poznan´skiego” (1872–1939), Warszawa 2005. Homestead Act (1862), National Archives. Available at: https://www.archives.gov/milestone -documents/homestead-act?_ga=2.206265747.1051157477.1658342409-1424141233.165 8342409 (access: 10. 02. 2022). Horbal B., Lemko Studies. A Handbook, New York 2010. Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, 110 STAT. 3009–546, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/con tent/pkg/PLAW-104publ208/pdf/PLAW-104publ208.pdf (access: 10. 02. 2022). Iglicka K., Wizy do USA. Mity, fakty, rekomendacje, Warszawa 2008. Kenny K., Making Sense of the Molly Maguires, Oxford 1998. Kuropas M. B., The Ukrainians in America, Minneapolis 1972. Kuropas M. B., To preserve a heritage. The Story of the Ukrainian Immigration in the United States, New York 1984. Lee E. S., A Theory of Migration, [in:] Migration, (ed.) J. A. Jackson, Cambridge 1969. Lucassen J., L. Lucassen, Migration, Migration History, History. Old Paradigms and New Perspectives, [in:] Migration, Migration History, History. Old Paradigms and New Perspectives, (ed.) J. Lucassen, L. Lucassen, Bern-Berlin 1999. Ludzie na hus´tawce. Migracje mie˛dzy peryferiami Polski i Zachodu, (ed.) E. Jaz˙win´skaMotylska, M. Sokólski, Warszawa 2001. Madison A., The World Economy. A Millennia Perspective, Paris 2002.

126

Arkadiusz Tyda

Magocsi P. R., The Carpatho-Rusyn Americans, New York-Philadelphia 1989. Matera P., R. Matera, Stany Zjednoczone i Europa. Stosunki polityczne i gospodarcze 1776– 2004, Warszawa 2007. Moch L. P., Dividing Time. An Analytical Framework for Migration History Periodization, [in:] Migration, Migration History, History. Old Paradigms and New Perspectives, (ed.) J. Lucassen, L. Lucassen, Bern-Berlin 1999. Moch L. P., Moving Europeans. Migration in Western Europe Since 1650, Bloomington, Ind. 1992. Nowicka M., Europa jako wspólna przestrzen´ społeczna – metodologiczne kwestia badania społeczen´stwa i integracji społecznej w Europie na przykładzie mobilnos´ci przestrzennej. “Studia Europejskie”, 3, 2007. Osborn K., The Ukrainian Americans, New York-Philadelphia 1989. Pollard S., C. Holmes, Documents of European Economic History, vol. 2, London 1968. Praszałowicz D., K. A. Makowski, A. A. Zie˛ba, Mechanizmy zamorskich migracji łan´cuchowych w XIX wieku: Polacy, Niemcy, Z˙ydzi, Rusini, Kraków 2004. Rzetelska-Feleszko E., Je˛zykoznawstwo wobec problematyki migracji, [in:] Migracje. Dzieje, typologia, definicja, (ed.) A. Furda, W. Wysoczan´ski, Wrocław 2006. Sakson B., Po drugiej stronie Oceanu. Nowi emigranci z Polski w metropolii Chicagowskiej. “CMR Working Papers”, 63 (5), Warsaw 2005. Skodlarski J., R. Matera, Gospodarka ´swiatowa. Geneza i rozwój, Warszawa 2004. Slany K., Mie˛dzy przymusem a wyborem. Kontynentalne i zamorskie emigracje z krajów Europy S´rodkowo-Wschodniej (1939–1989), Kraków 1995. Starczewski M., Z dziejów emigracji zarobkowej: agenci emigracyjni na ziemiach polskich przed 1914 r. “Przegla˛d Historyczny”, vol. CIII, 1, 2012. Stasik F., Polska emigracja zarobkowa w Stanach Zjednoczonych Ameryki 1865–1914, Warszawa 1985. Stephenson, G. M., A History of American Immigration, 1820–1924, Boston 1926. Stola D., Kraj bez wyjs´cia? Migracje z Polski 1949–1989, Warszawa 2010. Szczepanowski S., Ne˛dza Galicji w cyfrach i program energicznego rozwoju gospodarstwa krajowego, Lwów 1888. The Refugee Act, Office of Refugee Resettlement. Available at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/o rr/policy-guidance/refugee-act (access: 30. 01. 2021). Udziela S., Ziemia łemkowska przed półwieczem. Zapiski i wspomnienia z lat 1888–1893, Lwów 1934. Walaszek A., Migracje Europejczyków 1650–1914, Kraków 2007. Warzeski W. C., Byzantine Rite Rusins in Carpatho-Ruthenia and America, Virginia 1971. Wójcik-Z˙oła˛dek M., Współczesne procesy migracyjne: definicje, tendencje, teorie. “Studia BAS”, 40 (4), 2014. Wysoczan´ski W., Siatka poje˛ciowa migracji w uje˛ciu je˛zykowym, [in:] Migracje. Dzieje, typologia, definicja, (eds.) A. Furda, W. Wysoczan´ski, Wrocław 2006.

Anna Ratke-Majewska

Narratives of Memory in the Foreign Policy Sector: the Case of Poland after 2015 – Selected Aspects

Sectoral policies can be understood as systems of implementation of the state’s strategic objectives1. Thus, when considering the sector of Polish foreign policy after 2015 (indicating the electoral victory of the Law and Justice party in the parliamentary and presidential elections), attention should first be paid to the issue of strategy, understood as the art of achieving general long-range goals. Foreign policy strategies of the Polish state under the Law and Justice party’s rule have been outlined by specific declarations and documents clearly presenting the directions of further long-term activities of the Polish authorities in their relations with other countries. An important role in the area of both formulation and implementation of Poland’s strategic assumptions after 2015, in turn, began to be played by narratives of memory, i. e. stories about past events, which are not only an expression of the memory of their authors, but also a tool for the construction of the memory contents of their recipients2. Therefore, the aim of the presented text is to answer the question: how have narratives of memory been used in the Polish foreign policy sector after 2015? In order to answer this question, a presentation is made of the declarative side of the strategy, on the one hand, and the practical side, relating to the sphere of implementation of strategic goals, on the other.

1 See among others: Zarza˛dzanie strategiczne rozwojem, J. Górniak, S. Mazur (eds.), Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego, Warszawa 2012; A. Noworól, Instrumenty lokalnej polityki os´wiatowej. “Zarza˛dzanie publiczne”, 3, 19, 2012, pp. 139–150. 2 See: A. Assmann, Mie˛dzy historia˛ a pamie˛cia˛. Antologia, M. Saryusz-Wolska (ed.), Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa 2013, pp. 48–49; J. Le Goff, Historia i pamie˛´c, Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa 2007, pp. 25–26; M. Halbwachs, Społeczne ramy pamie˛ci, PWN, Warszawa 1969, pp. 55–57.

128

Anna Ratke-Majewska

Poland’s foreign policy strategy after 2015 and narratives of memory The assumptions according to which Poland’s foreign policy would be formulated under the rule of the Law and Justice party were presented three months after this party’s election victory, appearing in Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski’s exposé of January 2016. It became noticeable that Poland was oriented towards strengthening its international position, also through the generally indicated promotion of the Polish raison d’état, national memory and historical narrative3. This direction was confirmed and strengthened by the subsequent exposé, delivered a year later, in which Minister Waszczykowski noted: “Polish foreign policy has also changed its character. We have restored its subjectivity and the proper hierarchy of priorities, taking the broad interests of our country as its starting point. […] Instead of standing on the sidelines and supporting the main players, we ourselves have entered the international arena”4.

In the area of the planned use of the memory narratives in foreign policy, he pointed out in turn: “We are still all too often confronted with cases of intentional or unintentional misrepresentation of the facts from Polish history, especially with incidents of presenting the victims of World War II as perpetrators or accomplices. We will be determined to put an end to lies and historical manipulations and the atmosphere of consent for them”5.

In the area of Polish diaspora policy, moreover, Witold Waszczykowski stressed the need to increase the historical education of the young generation. Nonetheless, he considered the main goal of Polish diplomacy in 2017 to be, above all, taking care of Poland’s good name and image. “In the current year, the most important directions of activities include the promotion of Polish political thought and history, Poland’s contribution to the world heritage of humanism, promotion of creative and innovative Poland”6 – he noted, while adding: “we will devote much attention to the Polish historical narrative in the world”7. Fulfilling this goal was to strengthen Poland’s positive reputation (understood as a perception that is consistent with historical facts) so that the Polish state could take its rightful place in the history of Europe and the world. Minister Waszczykowski 3 Pełna tres´´c expose Witolda Waszczykowskiego, Rp.pl. Available at: https://www.rp.pl/poli tyka/art11222611-pelna-tresc-expose-witolda-waszczykowskiego [access: 26. 04. 2022]. 4 M. S´widerska, Exposé ministra Waszczykowskiego, EURACTIV.pl. Available at: https://www.e uractiv.pl/section/polityka-zagraniczna-ue/press_release/minister-witold-waszczykowski-opriorytetach-polskiej-dyplomacji-w-2017-roku/ [access: 26. 04. 2022]. 5 Ibidem. 6 Ibidem. 7 Ibidem.

Narratives of Memory in the Foreign Policy Sector: the Case of Poland after 2015

129

also stressed that certain international activities had already been undertaken (especially those aimed at combating the falsehoods regarding Poland’s responsibility for the organization and operation of Nazi German death camps during World War II, including the publication of the film “Words Matter” by the Polish embassy in Washington through social media). These activities were to be continued, occurring alongside foreign promotion of the achievements of prominent figures from Polish history (such as Tadeusz Kos´ciuszko, Józef Piłsudski, and Józef Haller)8. Thus, it is noticeable that the Foreign Minister’s exposé of 2017, comparing it to the one of the previous year, devoted much more attention to the issue of international use of Polish memory narratives, created by the authorities for strictly defined purposes. All this, however, should be seen as a harbinger of a broader, long-term action plan reflected in the document Polish Foreign Policy Strategy 2017–2021, which was drafted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and approved by the Council of Ministers. The document proclaimed that the tasks of Polish foreign policy in the indicated period will focus around three interrelated priorities, namely security, growth and a high standing9. The last of the mentioned priorities, perceived in the Strategy… as a factor enabling the creation of a positive perception of Poland and providing an opportunity to boost Poland’s credibility on a European and global scale10, assumed in turn a broad use of narratives of memory. Stressing the fundamental importance of image, the document indicated that the picture of Poland abroad should be rooted in tradition and at the same time open to modernity. Most importantly, however, it must be treated as one of the elements of the Polish foreign policy strategy, harmonizing with the goals of national security, economic growth and social development11.

8 Ibidem. 9 Polish Foreign Policy Strategy 2017–2021, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland. Available at: https://www.gov.pl/attachment/869184c0-bd6f-4a20-b8af-a5c8190350a1 [access: 27. 04. 2022]. 10 It is worth noting that the framework outline of Poland’s foreign policy objectives in earlier years was defined in the document entitled Priorities of Polish Foreign Policy 2012–2016. However, there was no mention there of the intention to build a high standing and international authority of the Polish state. Boosting Poland’s image, on the other hand, was included in The Plan of Activities of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for 2022, which can be seen as evidence of the continuity of direction taken in the Polish Foreign Policy Strategy 2017–2021. See: Plan działalnos´ci Ministra Spraw Zagranicznych na rok 2022, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych. Available at: https://www.gov.pl/web/dyplomacja/plan-dzialalnosci-ministra-spraw-zagranic znych [access: 27. 04. 2022]; Priorytety Polskiej Polityki Zagranicznej 2012–2016, Biuro Bezpieczen´stwa Narodowego. Available at: https://www.bbn.gov.pl/download/1/9620/prpol.pdf [access: 27. 04. 2022]. 11 Polish Foreign Policy…, pp. 20–25.

130

Anna Ratke-Majewska

The postulated tasks of promoting Poland’s values abroad included nurturing Polish identity around the world and taking care of Poland’s cultural heritage and Polish sites of memory (especially in Eastern Europe). In order to create the desired external image of the Polish state, it was pointed out that the promotion of Poland as an innovative and modern entity should be accompanied by historical diplomacy focused on highlighting Polish input into the development of European civilization (and 2018, which marks the 100th anniversary of Poland’s regaining independence, was to be a perfect occasion for this). The second important direction of activity for Polish historical diplomacy was considered to be counteracting falsification of history and combating “defective codes of memory” resulting from ignorance, prejudice or bad will. The cure for these negative phenomena was to be reliable information about Poland’s contribution to the victory over Nazism and Communism and about the losses Poland suffered from both totalitarian systems (including strengthening the memory of Poles – the Righteous Among the Nations)12. An important reputational task of Polish foreign policy became therefore the breaking of the “false but widespread argument that Poland is at least passively responsible for the Holocaust”13, so that the main slogan promoted by Polish historical diplomacy in this regard was to be that the condition “sine qua non of the Holocaust was the partition of the Polish state by the German Third Reich and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics”14. Moreover, the third important postulate in the area of building the image of Poland based on the memory narratives was to fight against erroneous formulations, such as the term “new democracy” used internationally in relation to Poland. Here, the arguments were based on the following assumptions: “Poland has one of the longest democratic and parliamentary traditions in the world, albeit one that was forcefully interrupted by foreign powers on more than one occasion. Poles formed one of the first civic republics in the modern era, and they shared this tradition with the other nations that made up the First Polish Republic. Moreover, as soon as Poland regained independence and Poles regained the civic freedoms lost under foreign domination, Poland became one of the first countries in Europe to bestow equal political rights on both men and women”15.

It is worth adding that when speaking in the Strategy… about building the image of Poland in connection with the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of independence, it was recommended to take into account the activities planned under the “Niepodległa” (Independent Poland) Program16. What did this pro12 13 14 15 16

Ibidem, p. 24. Ibidem. Ibidem. Ibidem. Multiannual “Niepodległa” Program for 2017–2022 is a document regulating the principles for preparing the celebrations of the centenary of regaining independence by Poland. The

Narratives of Memory in the Foreign Policy Sector: the Case of Poland after 2015

131

gram assume in terms of using narratives of memory in the foreign policy sector? First of all, the stories about Poland’s regaining of independence, which were planned to be built for promotion in the international environment, were to serve the purpose of constructing an external perception of the Polish state. This is because the document entitled Multiannual “Niepodległa” Program for 2017– 2022 diagnosed that the foreign image of Poland suffers from many deficits (it is not coherent, attractive and distinctive). Among the factors that distinguish Poland from other countries, in turn, were listed such elements as Polish history with its freedom aspirations, the “Solidarity” movement and Poland’s role in overthrowing Communism, as well as patriotism and attachment to the homeland. This, along with other studies referred to in the document, made it possible to conclude that intensive promotional activities should be undertaken in order to make Poland and Polish culture identified by foreigners with the desirable set of features (i. e. to be perceived as “distinctive”, “unique”, “authentic”, “full of energy” and “dynamic”). Therefore it was diagnosed that the implementation of the Program… could strengthen the positive connotation of Poland with independence, energy, boldness and uniqueness, building the picture of a country that is proud of its history, achievements and most outstanding personages. It was also expected that international activities would help to create an image of Polish culture in the perspective of values with which Poles identify themselves, while strengthening the internal bonds between Polish citizens and the state17. At the same time, it should be noted that the tasks planned in this document, as well as in the declarations described earlier, were reflected in the actions of authorities at all levels. The involvement of state institutions in building the reputation and authority of the Polish state focused on a wide range of activities. Therefore, it is worthwhile to focus primarily on the most significant and frequently undertaken ones.

The direction of memory narratives – Polish traditions of freedom and resistance to the Soviet and German totalitarianism In this direction, three basic themes can be observed in the Polish foreign affairs: (1) Polish ways of regaining independence in 1918 and maintaining it after the First World War (including the Polish-Bolshevik War and the victory of 1920), program was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland on May 24, 2017 and amended on August 21, 2018. See: Program Wieloletni “Niepodległa” na lata 2017–2022, Niepodległa – stulecie odzyskania niepodległos´ci. Available at: https://niepodlegla.gov.pl/bi p/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/PW-Niepodleg%C5%82a-sierpie%C5%84-2018.pdf [access: 28. 04. 2022]. 17 Ibidem, pp. 30–33.

132

Anna Ratke-Majewska

(2) the tradition of Polish democracy, as well as (3) Polish resistance to totalitarianism – both during the Second World War and after it (including the activities of the Polish resistance underground movement and workers’ strikes). Numerous institutions and organizations pursuing the government’s strategic goals (including diplomatic missions, research and education centers, specialized websites, or state museums offering articles and materials in many languages, as well as virtual tours and exhibitions intended for foreign audiences)18 have been involved in promoting the subject of Poland’s past. However, the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) was particularly active and carried out very extensive projects promoting Polish narratives of memory. It deserves particular attention because of the scale of its activities – where, in addition to traditional initiatives (meetings, lectures and publications), extensive use was made of the achievements of mass culture. The broad public was addressed with animated short film productions, which were widely echoed in the international environment and gained significant recognition. The first of such productions was the animated film “The Unconquered”19, premiered in 2017. Speaking in the language of pop culture, it showed the struggle of Polish people for freedom from the first day of World War II until the fall of Communism in Europe in 1989. The 50-year-long fight of Poles for freedom was presented in the film by a protagonist who, on the one hand, is the personification of the struggle, while on the other hand, in every scene he refers to historical figures (such as, among others, Home Army soldier and Auschwitz prisoner and organizer of the resistance movement Witold Pilecki, head of the children’s department of the Council to Aid Jews at the Government Delegation for Poland “Z˙egota” Irena Sendler, commander of the 303 Squadron Witold Urbanowicz, or political emissary and author of reports about the Holocaust Jan Karski). The film was to carry strong emotions, leaving room for non-literalism, meaningful symbols and poetic mood20. Adam Hlebowicz, Deputy Director of the IPN’s National Education Office, said about this production: “This is a voice of a sovereign state that had the fourth largest army in the war, suffered the greatest losses and was the only one to fight in the conflict from the first to the last

18 History of independence, “Niepodległa” – Poland. The Centenary of Regaining Independence. Available at: https://niepodlegla.gov.pl/en/about-niepodlegla/. Access: 06. 05. 2022; Polska w Twoim domu, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych. Available at: https://www.gov.pl/web/dy plomacja/polska-w-twoim-domu. Access: 06. 05. 2022; Wykaz wybranych projektów i programów edukacyjnych dla Polonii, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych. Available at: https:// www.gov.pl/attachment/f 7482743-8f38-497e-8628-240069e1fe55. Access: 06. 05. 2022. 19 The Unconquered, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/ne ws/4547,The-Unconquered.html [access: 06. 05. 2022]. 20 ‘The Unconquered’ premiere, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.go v.pl/en/news/954,039The-Unconquered039-premiere.html [access: 06. 05. 2022].

Narratives of Memory in the Foreign Policy Sector: the Case of Poland after 2015

133

day. Without the Polish perspective one cannot fully understand the course or the consequences of World War II”21.

The animation was released in several languages (English, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian)22, while in 2019 it received an award in the post-production category during Connections New York (June 5–6, 2019)23. The film was distributed during meetings, school lessons abroad and via the Internet, and by reaching the most diverse corners of the world, it stimulated discussions on Polish history24. Among the following short animated films intended for foreign and domestic audiences (especially viewers of the younger generation) and aimed at promoting Polish narratives of memory in an attractive way, two productions are worth mentioning: “Game for Independence” (2018) and “Unconquered: Trying Times” (2019). The first of the listed animations was prepared for the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Poland’s independence. The production showed the struggle of Poles for freedom after the Partitions, which were the result of the policies of the three invaders (Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary) that blocked the Polish nation from regaining its sovereignty. The film focused on three independence activists, statesmen and political leaders: Józef Piłsudski, Roman Dmowski and Ignacy Jan Paderewski, highlighting their concepts of the Polish road to national sovereignty and a renewed existence on the world map. The production was made in two language versions (Polish and English)25. The second mentioned animated film on the Polish past, also a result of promoting the issue of Poland’s regaining independence, i. e. “Unconquered: Trying Times”, was a prequel of the already described animation from 2017 (“Unconquered”). The task of this production was to present the problem of struggle for borders in the years 1918–1921 (along with the Polish-Bolshevik war theme, which closes with a slogan exposing the Polish contribution to the development of European 21 Ibidem. 22 Ibidem. 23 An award for the IPN production “The Unconquered”, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/1972,An-award-for-the-IPN-production-quotThe-U nconqueredquot.html [access: 07. 05. 2022]. 24 A. Głowacka, Niezwycie˛z˙eni – odbiór filmu IPN w Polsce i za granica˛. Case study, Brand 24. Available at: https://brand24.pl/blog/niezwyciezeni-jak-wygladal-odbior-filmu-ipn/ [access: 07. 05. 2022]; The film “The Unconquered” to be screened in Polish schools in Canada – April– May 2018, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/11 11,The-film-quotThe-Unconqueredquot-to-be-screened-in-Polish-schools-in-Canada-Apri. html [access: 07. 05. 2022]. 25 “Game for Independence” – an educational film prepared by the IPN, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/1489,Game-for-Independence-an-ed ucational-film-prepared-by-the-IPN.html?sid=38ac0064ece908263915d84aa6f685b2 [access: 09. 05. 2022].

134

Anna Ratke-Majewska

civilization: “Europe is spared the bloodshed of the Communist revolution”26), as well as to show the issue of rebuilding the independent Second Polish Republic in the years 1918–1939. The animation, intended to evoke positive and warm emotions, reached again hundreds of thousands of viewers in the country and abroad, becoming part of the Polish pop culture brand, presenting in an eyecatching and communicative way the Polish narratives of memory27.

The direction of memory narratives – Poles were saving Jews from the Holocaust during World War II A distinct trend in narrating Poland’s past was the one emphasizing that during World War II Poles were rescuing Jews from the Holocaust and that the number of Polish Righteous Among the Nations is the highest among all other countries. This narrative direction was to serve both the fight against false phrases appearing for years outside Poland’s borders (such as “Polish concentration camps” instead of “German Nazi concentration camps”), dementing the thesis of Polish responsibility for the Holocaust, and the popularization of information in the fight against ignorance and prejudice (which was assumed in the Polish Foreign Policy Strategy 2017–2021). The issue of combating disinformation in the matter of the Holocaust and Polish-Jewish relations during the Second World War has been in the orbit of attention of the Polish authorities for years28, but after 2015 its importance has significantly increased. Among those who rescued Jewish people, a broader group than the number of Polish Righteous began to be officially included. Indeed, in 2016, President Andrzej Duda noted: “Thanks to hundreds of thousands of Poles who saved Jews during World War II, the Polish nation was able to survive with dignity”29. In 2018, however, the Polish Parliament, on the initiative of the President, established the National Day of Remembrance for Poles Saving

26 The premiere of Unconquered: Trying Times, 28 June 2019, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/1975,The-premiere-of-Unconquered-Trying-Times-2 8-June-2019.html [access: 09. 05. 2022]. 27 Ibid. See also: Informacje o działalnos´ci IPN w okresie 1 stycznia 2019 r. – 31 grudnia 2019 r., Instytut Pamie˛ci Narodowej. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/o-ipn/informacje-o-dzialalno s/96366,w-okresie-1-stycznia-2019-r-31-grudnia-2019-r.html [access: 09. 05. 2022]. 28 See: Co robimy?, POLIN Polscy Sprawiedliwi. Available at: https://www.sprawiedliwi.org.pl/ [access: 10. 05. 2022]. 29 Duda: Dzie˛ki Polakom ratuja˛cym Z˙ydów nasz naród przetrwał godnie, Interia wydarzenia. Available at: https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/kraj/news-duda-dzieki-polakom-ratujacym-zydo w-nasz-narod-przetrwal-god,nId,2164865 [access: 10. 05. 2022].

Narratives of Memory in the Foreign Policy Sector: the Case of Poland after 2015

135

Jews under German Occupation (which falls on March 24)30. The topic of combating ignorance and “defective codes of memory” about the attitudes of Poles in the face of the Holocaust has also been mentioned in political statements in the context of Polish-German relations (as indicated by President Duda’s words in 2019, spoken during the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of World War II, in which he stated that the Germans, by leaving an extermination machine on Polish soil, humiliated the Poles)31. It is worth mentioning that in 2018, in connection with the establishment of the aforementioned National Day of Remembrance for Poles Saving Jews, a spot was created about the Ulm family (Józef, Wiktoria and their six children) from Markowa, a village in the Podkarpacie region, who were shot on March 24, 1944, by German gendarmes for hiding their Jewish neighbors. The spot was supposed to honor the memory of those who rescued Jews from the Holocaust, at the same time spreading the knowledge about the reality of the German occupation in Poland (where helping Jews was punishable by death) and promoting the new Remembrance Day. The spot met with significant, also foreign, acclaim thanks to its English-language version, though it did not match the success of the animation “Unconquered” (and “Unconquered: Trying Times”)32.

Summary Narratives of memory in the foreign policy sector of Poland began to play an important role after 2015. They were primarily directed at shaping a positive image of the Polish state and society, as having respect for the life and dignity of the human individual and their freedom, as well as expressing uncompromising opposition in the face of injustice and tyranny. Above all, activities were devoted to emphasizing the virtues of Poles, unyielding patriots who defended their values even at the cost of their lives. Importantly, multimedia tools were widely used to convey this type of content, with short animations and spots intended to 30 Narodowy Dzien´ Pamie˛ci Polaków ratuja˛cych Z˙ydów pod okupacja˛ niemiecka˛, POLIN – Muzeum Historii Z˙ydów Polskich. Available at: https://www.polin.pl/pl/narodowy-dzien-p amieci-polakow-ratujacych-zydow [access: 10. 05. 2022]. 31 Prezydent Andrzej Duda: Niemcy poniz˙yli Polaków pozostawiaja˛c na naszej ziemi machine˛ zagłady, Dziennik.pl. Available at: https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/wydarzenia/artykuly/606 551,prezydent-andrzej-duda-ii-wojna-swiatowa-niemcy-poniezenie-polska-machina-zaglad y.html [access: 10. 05. 2022]. 32 IPNtv: 24 March National Day of Remembrance of Poles who saved Jews, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsp-a54SFFc&ab_channel=IPNtvPL (access: 10.05. 2022); Narodowy Dzien´ Pamie˛ci Polaków ratuja˛cych Z˙ydów pod okupacja˛ niemiecka˛, Instytut Pamie˛ci Narodowej. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/narodowy-dzien-pamieci/140408,Polacy-ratujac y-Zydow-pod-okupacja-niemiecka-Jozef-i-Wiktoria-Ulmowie.html [access: 10. 05. 2022].

136

Anna Ratke-Majewska

attract viewers (both domestic and foreign) and encourage them to deepen their knowledge of Poland’s past. Thus, the narratives of memory were used to reinforce the favorable and attractive for the audience self-presentation of the Polish state, primarily in order to raise its international authority. At least in part, these actions can be regarded as successful.

Bibliography An award for the IPN production “The Unconquered”, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/1972,An-award-for-the-IPN-production-quot The-Unconqueredquot.html [access: 07. 05. 2022]. Assmann A., Mie˛dzy historia˛ a pamie˛cia˛. Antologia, M. Saryusz-Wolska (ed.), Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa 2013. Co robimy?, POLIN Polscy Sprawiedliwi. Available at: https://www.sprawiedliwi.org.pl/ [access: 10. 05. 2022]. Duda: Dzie˛ki Polakom ratuja˛cym Z˙ydów nasz naród przetrwał godnie, Interia wydarzenia. Available at: https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/kraj/news-duda-dzieki-polakom-ratujacym -zydow-nasz-narod-przetrwal-god,nId,2164865 [access: 10. 05. 2022]. “Game for Independence” – an educational film prepared by the IPN, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/1489,Game-for-Independencean-educational-film-prepared-by-the-IPN.html?sid=38ac0064ece908263915d84aa6f685 b2 [access: 09. 05. 2022]. Głowacka A., Niezwycie˛z˙eni – odbiór filmu IPN w Polsce i za granica˛. Case study, Brand 24. Available at: https://brand24.pl/blog/niezwyciezeni-jak-wygladal-odbior-filmu-ipn/ [access: 07. 05. 2022]. Halbwachs M., Społeczne ramy pamie˛ci, PWN, Warszawa 1969. History of independence, “Niepodległa” – Poland. The Centenary of Regaining Independence. Available at: https://niepodlegla.gov.pl/en/about-niepodlegla/ [access: 06. 05. 2022]. Informacje o działalnos´ci IPN w okresie 1 stycznia 2019 r. – 31 grudnia 2019 r., Instytut Pamie˛ci Narodowej. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/o-ipn/informacje-o-dzialalnos/ 96366,w-okresie-1-stycznia-2019-r-31-grudnia-2019-r.html [access: 09. 05. 2022]. IPNtv: 24 March National Day of Remembrance of Poles who saved Jews, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsp-a54SFFc&ab_channel=IPNtvPL [access: 10. 05. 2022]. Le Goff J., Historia i pamie˛´c, Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa 2007. Narodowy Dzien´ Pamie˛ci Polaków ratuja˛cych Z˙ydów pod okupacja˛ niemiecka˛, Instytut Pamie˛ci Narodowej. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/narodowy-dzien-pamieci/1404 08,Polacy-ratujacy-Zydow-pod-okupacja-niemiecka-Jozef-i-Wiktoria-Ulmowie.html (access: 10. 05. 2022). Narodowy Dzien´ Pamie˛ci Polaków ratuja˛cych Z˙ydów pod okupacja˛ niemiecka˛, POLIN – Muzeum Historii Z˙ydów Polskich. Available at: https://www.polin.pl/pl/narodowy-d zien-pamieci-polakow-ratujacych-zydow [access: 10. 05. 2022].

Narratives of Memory in the Foreign Policy Sector: the Case of Poland after 2015

137

Noworól A., Instrumenty lokalnej polityki os´wiatowej. “Zarza˛dzanie publiczne”, 3, 19, 2012, 139–150. Pełna tres´c´ expose Witolda Waszczykowskiego, Rp.pl. Available at: https://www.rp.pl/poli tyka/art11222611-pelna-tresc-expose-witolda-waszczykowskiego [access: 26. 04. 2022]. Plan działalnos´ci Ministra Spraw Zagranicznych na rok 2022, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych. Available at: https://www.gov.pl/web/dyplomacja/plan-dzialalnosci-mini stra-spraw-zagranicznych [access: 27. 04. 2022]. Polish Foreign Policy Strategy 2017–2021, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland. Available at: https://www.gov.pl/attachment/869184c0-bd6f-4a20-b8af-a5c8190350a1 [access: 27. 04. 2022]. Polska w Twoim domu, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych. Available at: https://www.go v.pl/web/dyplomacja/polska-w-twoim-domu [access: 06. 05. 2022]. Prezydent Andrzej Duda: Niemcy poniz˙yli Polaków pozostawiaja˛c na naszej ziemi machine˛ zagłady, Dziennik.pl. Available at: https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/wydarzenia/artykul y/606551,prezydent-andrzej-duda-ii-wojna-swiatowa-niemcy-poniezenie-polska-mac hina-zaglady.html [access: 10. 05. 2022]. Priorytety Polskiej Polityki Zagranicznej 2012–2016, Biuro Bezpieczen´stwa Narodowego. Available at: https://www.bbn.gov.pl/download/1/9620/prpol.pdf [access: 27. 04. 2022]. Program Wieloletni “Niepodległa” na lata 2017–2022, Niepodległa – stulecie odzyskania niepodległos´ci. Available at: https://niepodlegla.gov.pl/bip/wp-content/uploads/sites/ 2/2018/09/PW-Niepodleg%C5%82a-sierpie%C5%84-2018.pdf [access: 28. 04. 2022]. S´widerska M., Exposé ministra Waszczykowskiego, EURACTIV.pl. Available at: https:// www.euractiv.pl/section/polityka-zagraniczna-ue/press_release/minister-witold-waszc zykowski-o-priorytetach-polskiej-dyplomacji-w-2017-roku/ [access: 26. 04. 2022]. The film “The Unconquered” to be screened in Polish schools in Canada – April–May 2018, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/new s/1111,The-film-quotThe-Unconqueredquot-to-be-screened-in-Polish-schools-in-C anada-Apri.html [access: 07. 05. 2022]. The premiere of Unconquered: Trying Times, 28 June 2019, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/1975,The-premiere-of-Unconque red-Trying-Times-28-June-2019.html [access: 09. 05. 2022]. ‘The Unconquered’ premiere, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https:// ipn.gov.pl/en/news/954,039The-Unconquered039-premiere.html [access: 06. 05. 2022]. The Unconquered, Institute of National Remembrance. Available at: https://ipn.gov.pl/en/ne ws/4547,The-Unconquered.html [access: 06. 05. 2022]. Wykaz wybranych projektów i programów edukacyjnych dla Polonii, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych. Available at: https://www.gov.pl/attachment/f 7482743-8f38-497e-862 8-240069e1fe55 [access: 06. 05. 2022]. Zarza˛dzanie strategiczne rozwojem, J. Górniak, S. Mazur (eds.), Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego, Warszawa 2012.

Social perspectives

Anna Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo

Centre for social services. Prospects for strengthening local and individual agency

Increasing the quality of life of the inhabitants of local communities is nowadays associated with the development of social services, extending their offer, improving the quality and accessibility. Changes in the perception and organization of services are a manifestation of changes in the approach to social policy, especially in the field of supporting residents. One of the important impulses for positive changes in Poland may be the Act on the Implementation of Social Services by the Centre of Social Services (the Act),1 which entered into force in Poland in 2019. The implementation of its assumptions is to be based on the principle of universality, subjectivity, quality, comprehensiveness, cooperation, subsidiarity and strengthening social ties. In this list and the proposed detailed organizational solutions it is possible to see the source of not only the improvement of the functioning of the support system in Poland, but also wider changes. In the article I consider the potential and limitations of the assumptions of the Act to strengthen the agency of local communities and their residents in introducing positive changes in their own environment.2 It is worth emphasizing that the sense of agency in the local dimension has been particularly high since the 1990s. It is recognized as one of the key factors in social and individual development. The aim of the article is to indicate the ways of the potential impact of the Act on social service centres (SSC or centre) on strengthening the agency of local communities and their inhabitants in introducing positive changes in their own environment. In it, I try to answer the following questions: What solutions introduced by the Act are conducive to strengthening local and individual agency? How can they influence local communities and their inhabitants? What are the potential limitations of this impact? 1 Act on the Implementation of Social Services by the Social Service Center, Journal of Laws No. 2019 item 1818. 2 Spadek poczucia podmiotowos´ci obywatelskiej. Komunikat z badan´, Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej, Warszawa 2022, https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2022/K_039_2 2.PDF, [access: 08. 05. 2022].

142

Anna Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo

The article is a review-theoretical and consists of three parts. In the first, I discuss the importance of agency from an individual and local perspective, and their relationship with social structures. Then I present the sources of empowerment strengthening proposed by me, contained in the Act on the Implementation of Social Services by Social Service Centres. The last part contains a discussion covering both the factors and barriers to the impact of the Act on the agency of citizens and the communities they live in.

Agency in an individual and local perspective Agency is an important factor in local development. It is the basis for formulating common goals and launching activities aimed at their implementation. Local development is nowadays perceived as a process accompanied by an increase in social cohesion and an improvement in the quality of life of various social groups and categories. It is seen as a long-term, non-unified, multi-dimensional, planned, and self-sustaining process of transforming the structures of the local system.3 “The main goal of local development perceived in this way is to increase quality life of the local community (…) with a lot of freedom in defining it, but at the same time generating values useful for the commune’s environment”.4 It is a complex process influenced by numerous factors, both internal and external. Internally, the directions of local development result from the values represented by its main actors and other participants in the process, they are based on knowledge, they result from the ability of institutions and organizations to take action and create relationships strengthening this feature, etc. Its scope is determined by the needs of the local community, which may relate to the labour market and economy, safety, health, technical infrastructure, social cohesion, natural environment, spatial order, opportunities for personal and civic development, etc. Local development is externally conditioned by, inter alia, supra-local structures (regional, national, supranational) and the conditions they create. The key ones include law-making and introducing systemic changes, such as the possibility of replacing social welfare centers with social service centers in Poland. Such an approach to local development shows its relationship with agency. What is important for its course is the interaction of individual and collective entities and related structures. Agency from an individual perspective is defined as intentional action, i. e. the capability to set goals (i. e. intention), plan their 3 A. Sztando, Lokalna i ponadlokalne polityki rozwoju lokalnego – istota, rodzaje i spójnos´´c. “Roczniki Nauk Społecznych” 9, 45, 2017, pp. 25–52. 4 Ibidem, p. 28.

Centre for social services. Prospects for strengthening local and individual agency

143

pursuit and attainment in the future (i. e. action planning; foresight), and allow behaviour to be guided by goal pursuit (i. e. action-regulation).5 Agency is considered here as a condition for an individual to transform the existing state of affairs.6 It assumes the intentionality of reflective actions and autonomous entities, which leads to the formation of new desired results. In the collective perspective, agency is the sum of the actions of individuals to bring about change7 or society’s ability to transform itself.8 It is a condition for activating social capital. The community that has the knowledge of its needs and problems, as well as the resources to solve them, is empowered. “Agency is necessary for citizens to be able to adapt to their socio-cultural environment, and more importantly to respond and transcend tragedy and crisis. It fosters social action that allows citizens to acquire rights and resource”.9 The causative local communities appear in systems based on self-government, with decentralized patterns of decision-making on the directions of activities and the means used to implement them, including financial resources.10 Local governments have a chance to be effective if, on the one hand, the freedom to choose the norms and values shaping their actions is guaranteed and, on the other hand, they are able to diagnose their problems, formulate goals that are important to them, and activate and use the resources necessary for their implementation. The literature on the subject points to the relationship between agency and social structures. The choices of individual and collective entities follow the existing conditions and limitations. Findings regarding the relationship between agency and social structures can be found, among others in the considerations of Anthony Giddens and Pierre Bourdieu. According to the theory of structuring, actions are rooted in the existing rules and structural resources.11 However, there 5 I. Schoon, J. Heckhausen, Conceptualizing Individual Agency in the Trasition from School to Work: A Social-Ecological Development Perspective. “Adolescent Research Review” 4, 2019, p. 137; J. Onyx, P. Bullen, Measuring Social Capital in Five Communities. “Journal of Applied Behavioral Science”, 36, 1, 2000, p. 29. 6 D. L. Harvey, Agency and Community: a Critical Realist Paradigm. “Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior” 32, 2, 2002, p. 173. 7 A. Kolasa-Nowak, Sprawczos´c´ i przeszłos´c´ w socjologicznych analizach polskiego społeczen´stwa. “Studia Socjologiczne” 3, 238, 2020, p. 80. 8 I. Szlachcicowa, O. Nowaczyk, A. Mrozowicki, Sprawstwo a dylematy współczesnych nauk społecznych. Wprowadzenie, [in:] A. Mrozowicki, O. Nowaczyk, I. Szlachcicowa (eds.), Sprawstwo. Teorie, metody, badania empiryczne w naukach społecznych, Kraków 2013, p. 10; J. Koralewicz, M. Ziółkowski, Mentalnos´´c Polaków. Sposoby mys´lenia o polityce, gospodarce i z˙yciu społecznym kon´ca lat osiemdziesia˛tych, Poznan´ 1990, p. 34. 9 L. Newman, A. Dale, The Role of Agency in Sustainable Local Community Development. “Local Enviroment” 10, 5, 2005, p. 483; P. Horvath, Agency and Social Adaptation. “Applied Behavioral Science Review” 6, 2, 1998, pp. 137–154. 10 G. Grzelak, Wokół idei samorza˛du regionalnego pomorza. “Studia Socjologiczne” 3, 198, 2010, pp. 203–220. 11 A. Giddens: Stanowienie społeczen´stwa. Zarys teorii strukturacji, Poznan´ 2003.

144

Anna Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo

is space for the actors’ reflection. It occurs thanks to the discursive environment of activities. In P. Bourdieu’s theory of social practices, individual agency has a social origin and is not separate from the structural context. The dispositions to act and think are embedded in structures. In the concept of habitus, however, a certain autonomy of individuals is perceived. It is related to the mechanisms of habitus formation. “Assuming that the habitus is the result of the stratified past, it can be concluded that new experiences change it. Then it can be understood as a mixture of free action and limitations, which conscious and reflective authors creatively transform and adjust to their goals”.12 Actions are never fully determined and leave a lot of space for creative solutions.13 Agency refers to the relationship between autonomous action and existing social structures over time. This relationship is mutual. The operation of individual and collective entities takes place under certain conditions, which include the norms and values inherent in culture, patterns of behaviour, but also institutions and organizations. Their impact on the freedom of individuals and groups is reduced thanks to the ability of subjects to make choices. These decisions have a feedback effect on structures, transforming them into directions given by actors of social life, implementing their values and interests. The process of interaction of agency and structures takes the shape of a spiral. One of the determinants of decision-making are the norms represented by legal provisions. An example discussed in this article is the Act on the Implementation of Social Services by a Social Services Centre.

Social service centres – sources of agency In line with the thesis formulated at the beginning of these considerations, apart from shaping the ways of satisfying the needs of local community residents and solving their problems, the Act contains the conditions influencing the strengthening of the agency of local communities and its residents. They are manifested in (1) leaving freedom to local communities in making decisions about the choice of objectives, (2) the need to involve residents in the decision-making process on the directions of activities undertaken for the development of social services, and (3) strengthening the non-governmental sector by creating conditions for growth involvement of NGOs in meeting the needs of residents.

12 G. Steinmetz, Bourdieusian Field Theory and the Reorientation of Historical Sociology, [in:] T. Medvetz, J. J. Sallaz (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Pierre Bourdieu, Oxford 2015. 13 P. Bourdieu, From Rules to Strategies, [in:] Pierre Bourdieu, In Other Words: Essays Towards a Reflexive Sociology, Stanford 1990, pp. 59–75.

Centre for social services. Prospects for strengthening local and individual agency

145

Subjectivity of local communities Agency is about making choices and taking strategies in specific circumstances that take into account not only existing structures but also the interests and orientations of many actors. The Act on the Implementation of Social Services by a Social Service Centre creates conditions for making decisions and formulating development strategies in a wide range. The most important of them concern the creation of a social service centre, the selection of priority needs of residents and the methods of satisfying them. The strategic goal of the Act is to integrate, develop and expand the availability of social services. However, the implementation of its postulates, according to the authors’ intention, is to take place in the process of “progressing social change”.14 Establishing a SSCs is an optional task for communes. The decision to bring them to life rests with the local authorities. This means freedom in deciding to establish centres, following the example of bottom-up initiatives registered before the entry into force of the Act, created in recognition of the needs of residents and the readiness of local communities to act to satisfy them beyond the legal framework (e. g. universality). The basis for the SSC activity provided for in the Act are social service development programme The Act does not define strategic goals. In point 2 of Art. 5 it indicates their source. It is a diagnosis of the needs and potential of the local government community carried out by the SSC. This provision requires taking actions to learn about the quality of life of the inhabitants and factors contributing to its improvement, and then making a decision on the priority directions of community activities. Similarly, the act only defines the scope of services provided by SSC, but does not specify what exactly should be included in the centre’s offer. Final decisions belong to the local community and should be made based on a social diagnosis. The Act creates a framework for how the centre provides social services. In this point, it indicates the need to ensure appropriate standards and quality of social services. However, in point 2, Art. 7 it lists possible social service providers. It is a commune office or its other organizational units, including a centre, non-governmental organization or other entity provided for in the Act on Public Benefit and Volunteer Work, a private enterprise or an entity performing medical activities specified in the relevant act. The procedure for selecting entities belonging to the non-governmental or private sector providing social services is determined by the relevant legal provisions. Defining possible service providers and the 14 M. Rymsza, Biała ksie˛ga CUS, Czyli krótka historia prac prowadzonych w latach 2017–2021 w Narodowej Radzie Rozwoju i Kancelarii Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej nad przygotowaniem i wdraz˙aniem prezydenckiej inicjatywy ustawodawczej, [in:] M. Rymsza (ed.), Centrum usług społecznych: od koncepcji do wdroz˙enia przepisów ustawy, Warszawa 2021, pp. 15– 32.

146

Anna Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo

procedure for selecting them as presented above is related to agency in two ways. Firstly, although it indicates certain frames (limitations), it nevertheless provides for freedom of choice within them. This choice is dictated by internal conditions, such as local customs or the offer of the non-governmental sector. Secondly, it gives local communities the opportunity to create ways to implement the offer of social services by undertaking efforts to improve their quality and create conditions for their implementation (e. g. SSC as a service provider).

Involvement of residents The Act strengthens the sense of control and motivation to influence the inhabitants’ own fate and environment by paying particular attention to the participatory way of making decisions about the directions of development of social services. I am referring to civic participation, which means the participation of citizens in decision-making. The Act provides for the involvement of residents in decision-making processes through their (1) active participation in social diagnosis and (2) cooperation by the preparation of the social service development programme, (3) informing the local community about the course and effects of its implementation. The condition for the sense of agency is self-knowledge, creating an autoconcept – a certain vision of oneself and one’s surroundings.15 Knowledge is a necessary condition for active participation in the life of the local community, because it allows people to become aware of and understand their role in social processes and supports the motivation to act.16 “To have agency, actions must be intentional, agents must have the ability to make choices; for example, the opportunity to be creative, and they must be able to monitor the effects of their agency”.17 The starting point for creating social service development programme is social diagnosis. According to the authors of the act, it should be participatory.18 The prerequisite for a good diagnosis is, among others, consulting with residents the principles of its management and content both before and after its start, providing ways of reaching information about their needs, opinions and 15 L. Myszka-Strychalska, Znaczenie poczucia sprawstwa w procesie aktywnos´ci i partycypacji społecznej młodziez˙y. “Rocznik Pedagogiczny” 43, 2020, p. 41. 16 K. Kajdanek, J. Pluta, Aktywnos´c´ lokalna w przestrzeni publicznej a potencjał grup interesu. “Przegla˛d Socjologiczny” 1, 2016, pp. 101–124. 17 T. Dietz, T. R. Burns, Human Agency and the Evolutionary Dynamics of Culture. “Acta Sociologica” 35, 1992, p. 189. 18 Ł. Waszak, Z. Wejcman, Współpraca mie˛dzysektorowa w ramach usług społecznych, [in:] M. Rymsza (ed.), Centrum usług społecznych: od koncepcji do wdroz˙enia przepisów ustawy, Warszawa 2021, p. 260.

Centre for social services. Prospects for strengthening local and individual agency

147

ideas, and even including some residents in the process of diagnosis as coresearchers (e. g. seniors studying the situation of seniors).19 This is achieved by the use of various research methods. However, qualitative methods (interviews, diagnostic workshops, research walks) play a key role. Compared to quantitative methods, they allow for active participation of research participants in the formulation of opinions and observations using their own meanings. Conversely, the inhabitants gain knowledge and awareness of the needs and potential of their own local government community. The effect of including residents in the diagnosis is often drawing attention to the presence of social services in the community and the knowledge about the possibility of using them. The proposal of methods involving groups of residents and their role as researchers also leads to the production of a common image of the state of social services and the desired directions of their development, strengthens interest and motivation to use them and involvement in improving their quality. Determining the needs and potential of a local government community with the participation of residents allows their preferences to be taken into account in the social services development program. The dissemination of the model of participatory management of local communities in Poland also favours the involvement of residents in the work of teams preparing development documents.20 This inclusion is generally representative. Involving residents in the creation of programme implements the principle of subjectivity stipulated in the Act, it consists in taking into account the welfare of people using social services, in particular the need to respect their subjectivity and safety.21 Leaders of individual groups of residents and representatives of non-governmental organizations are involved. This opens the field for community members and the local community to acquire experience and models of broad participation of residents in making key decisions. Additionally, the social services development programme is available on the website of the Public Information Bulletin of the commune and centre.22 The commune is also obliged to prepare and share information on the implementation of the social services programme.23 An important element of the report are the results of program implementation monitoring and programme evaluation 19 D. Bazun´, J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, M. Jaskulska, M. Kwiatkowski, A. Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo, Diagnoza potrzeb i potencjału społecznos´ci lokalnej w zakresie usług społecznych, [in:] M. Rymsza (ed.), Centrum usług społecznych: od koncepcji do wdroz˙enia przepisów ustawy, Warszawa 2021, p. 267. 20 D. Kryn´ski, A. Uss-Lik, B. Szczepan´ska, Od miasta dla samochodów do zielonej oazy? Partycypacyjny model polityki miejskiej a kształtowanie sie˛ grup interesu. “Studia Socjologiczne” 2, 237, 2020, pp. 83–110. 21 Act, Art. 13, point 1. 22 Act, Art. 5, point 5. 23 Act, Art. 6.

148

Anna Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo

based on its implementation measures. In this way, residents gain access to knowledge about changes in social services, necessary both to apply for the possibility of using them and to influence their organization in the commune.

Development of the non-governmental sector The Act on the provision of social services by the social services centre influences the increase in the agency of local communities also by defining the conditions for the development of the non-governmental sector. NGOs perform a number of functions.24 From the perspective of the analyzes presented in this text, it is important that they provide a variety of services, introduce citizens to politics and administration, monitor policy and encourage participation at the community level. NGOs are an important service provider in Poland.25 They carry out their tasks flexibly and innovatively. First of all, due to legal and organizational conditions, unlike local government units, they have the option of adjusting their offer to the needs of individual recipients and working closely with them. Indication in the Act of non-governmental organizations as one of the providers of social services26 opens the way to an even closer partnership between them and local governments. In this way, it influences the increase in the level of agency of local communities, because an important aspect of it is the ability to implement activities enabling the achievement of one’s own goals. The Act indicates that the cooperation of the centre with non-governmental organizations should take into account the sovereignty of the parties, partnership as well as effective and fair competition and transparency. The conditions for the implementation of tasks by the social service centre defined in this way affect (1) the expansion of relations between the public administration and representatives of the third sector. They introduce a good climate for the development of cross-sectoral cooperation, showing the direction and nature of activities to local government administration. (2) This leads to the strengthening of existing entities and (3) the emergence of new ones. Non-governmental organizations that provide more services with a broader scope gain a more stable position on the market. As a result, their economic and organizational development is possible. The increase in the scope of services outsourced to representatives of the third sector also creates an area for new entities to emerge. In this way, the potential of the local government community to meet its own needs and solve perceived problems is 24 B. Iwankiewicz-Rak, Organizacje pozarza˛dowe w Polsce – działalnos´c´ usługowa na rzecz społeczen´stwa. “Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu” 355, 2014, p. 24. 25 Ibidem, p. 24. 26 Act, art. 7, pkt 2.

Centre for social services. Prospects for strengthening local and individual agency

149

strengthened. Strengthened and more numerous entities are ready to respond to the changing conditions of the functioning of local communities.

Discussion Agency is understood as a process of intentional actions that takes place in a specific social environment, uses its possibilities in the conditions of limitations created by social structures and institutions. Like many complex phenomena, social structures and co-evolve agency.27 The Act on the Implementation of Social Services by the Centre of Social Services is presented here as an example of an institutional factor contributing to the strengthening of the agency of local communities and their inhabitants for positive transformations within them. This impact is possible thanks to the definition of favourable conditions for (1) acquiring and deepening knowledge about one’s own environment, (2) involving local communities and their representatives in the decision-making process on the directions of development of social services, and (3) creating cross-sectoral links and increasing the potential of the non-governmental sector in municipalities. The basis of conscious action is knowledge of your own needs and problems, but also of possible solutions to them. The necessity to make decisions about the directions of development of social services based on a participatory diagnosis favours the fulfilment of this condition. A diagnosis understood in this way affects both decision-makers and residents. The first ones gain access to knowledge enabling the appropriate adjustment of the offer of services to the needs of residents, thanks to which it is possible to organize them adequately, rationally spend funds and have a real impact on improving the quality of life of the residents. The second, awareness of the processes taking place in their own environment and knowledge of their rights. However, not every diagnosis brings about the above-mentioned effects.28 It is necessary to ensure its multi-facetedness instead of one-sidedness, comprehensiveness instead of fragmentation, diversification of research methods instead of limiting them, especially to quantitative methods, participation instead of top-down arrangements, practicality instead of superficiality and detachment from the needs of residents.29 27 G. R. Musolf, Social Structure, Human Agency, and Social Policy. “International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy” 23, 6/7, 2003, pp. 1–12. 28 J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, Ła˛cza˛ nas wspólne cele. Analiza zasad uspołecznienia procesów programowania strategicznego gmin i powiatów. “Rocznik Lubuski: Co nas ła˛czy? Nauki społeczne wobec podzielonego s´wiata” 43, 2, 2017, pp. 49–63. 29 D. Bazun´, J. Fra˛tczak-Müller, M. Jaskulska, M. Kwiatkowski, A. Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo, Diagnoza…, op. cit., p. 267.

150

Anna Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo

The Act, although developed by state institutions, assigns a leading role in making decisions on the directions of development of social services to local selfgovernment communities. In its content, it only defines the areas in which one should strive to improve the offer and quality of services. The selection of the priority areas and the type of necessary services is up to the local communities. In this way, the Act encourages local communities to self-determination by expanding their prerogatives in the scope of determining social services to be implemented and creates conditions for the implementation of decisions made by defining the principles of SSC functioning. An ambiguous role in strengthening the agency of local communities is played by basing the development of social services on their own potential. Although I see the source of its amplification in this solution, I also see some limitations. One of them is the insufficient organizational (lack of contractors for social services), financial (lack of appropriate resources) and human resources (lack of appropriate specialists, e. g. a local community organizer) capabilities that are necessary to start transformations and implement solutions. Social services in Poland are provided by offices and organizational units of communes, private and non-governmental organizations. The Act on the Implementation of Social Services by a Social Service Centre also mentions the above-mentioned entities among service providers. Thanks to this, it determines the direction in which the potential of local government communities should be developed, strengthens the existing cross-sectoral cooperation and opens the field for the emergence of new connections. As a result, the potential of the entire local community increases, which gains better opportunities to respond to changing living conditions and achieve its own goals. However, self-government communities differ in terms of the degree of cooperation, especially with representatives of the non-governmental sector. One of the factors of the differences is the unequal level of cross-sectoral cooperation in smaller and larger population centres. It is the result of the lack of properly prepared social service providers. In Poland, there is an overrepresentation of private and non-governmental entities in large urban agglomerations and their shortage in smaller towns. In addition, non-governmental organizations from smaller local communities are less likely to carry out permanent activities and hire the appropriate staff. This is due to limited demand in smaller markets. The activity of SSC therefore depends on its geographic location. This suggests that the development of the potential of local government communities and the strengthening of the level of agency are related to the earlier conditions of their functioning. There is a risk of a widening gap between communities with significant causative potential, having the possibility of using the new solutions contained in the Act, and smaller communities, among which deficits in this area were previously observed.

Centre for social services. Prospects for strengthening local and individual agency

151

Recapitulation Agency is one of the important factors in the development of local communities. It is accompanied by the knowledge and awareness of entities motivated to take action to transform their environment. Agency shows mutual dependence on the social structure and institutions. The structures define its conditions (boundaries) in which decisions are made about actions. Undertaking them leads to changes and also affects the structures and changes in their impact on the causative entities. The Act on the Implementation of Social Services by the Social Services Centre defines the rules of shaping the ways of satisfying the needs of local community residents and solving their problems. This document contains conditions influencing the strengthening of the agency of local communities and its inhabitants. One of them is the freedom to decide on the implementation of the act and the nature of the solutions applied by local communities. The second concerns the inclusion of residents in the decision-making process on the directions of activities undertaken for the development of social services. The third one is conducive to strengthening the non-governmental sector by creating conditions for increasing the involvement of NGOs in meeting the needs of the inhabitants. However, strengthening the agency of local communities and their inhabitants as a result of the act depends on many factors. One of them seems to be the level of subjectivity in local communities prior to the implementation of the Act. The change brought about by the Act requires the involvement of conscious and active individual and collective entities.

Bibliography Act on the Implementation of Social Services by the Social Service Center, Journal of Laws No. 2019 item 1818. Archer M. S., Człowieczen´stwo: problem sprawstwa, Kraków 2013. Bazun´ D., Fra˛tczak-Mueller J., Jaskulska M., Kwiatkowski M., Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo A., Diagnoza potrzeb i potencjału społecznos´ci lokalnej w zakresie usług społecznych, [in:] M. Rymsza (ed.), Centrum usług społecznych: od koncepcji do wdroz˙enia przepisów ustawy, Warszawa 2021, 263–290. Bourdieu P., From Rules to Strategies, [in:] Pierre Bourdieu, In Other Words: Essays Towards a Reflexive Sociology, Stanford 1990, 59–75. Dietz T., Burns T. R., Human Agency and the Evolutionary Dynamics of Culture. “Acta Sociologica” 35, 1992, 187–200. Fra˛tczak-Müller J., Ła˛cza˛ nas wspólne cele. Analiza zasad uspołecznienia procesów programowania strategicznego gmin i powiatów. “Rocznik Lubuski: Co nas ła˛czy? Nauki społeczne wobec podzielonego s´wiata”, 43, 2, 2017, 49–63. Giddens A., Stanowienie społeczen´stwa. Zarys teorii strukturacji, Poznan´ 2003.

152

Anna Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo

Grzelak G., Wokół idei samorza˛du regionalnego pomorza. “Studia Socjologiczne” 3, 198, 2010, 203–220. Harvey D. L., Agency and Community: a Aritical Realist Paradigm. “Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior” 32, 2, 2002, 163–194. Horvath P., Agency and social adaptation. “Applied Behavioral Science Review” 6, 2, 1998, 137–154. Iwankiewicz-Rak B., Organizacje pozarza˛dowe w Polsce – działalnos´c´ usługowa na rzecz społeczen´stwa. “Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu” 355, 2014, 24. Kolasa-Nowak A., Sprawczos´c´ i przeszłos´c´ w socjologicznych analizach polskiego społeczen´stwa. “Studia Socjologiczne” 3, 238, 2020, 79–105. Koralewicz J., Ziółkowski M., Mentalnos´c´ Polaków. Sposoby mys´lenia o polityce, gospodarce i z˙yciu społecznym kon´ca lat osiemdziesia˛tych, Poznan´ 1990. Kryn´ski D., Uss-Lik A., Szczepan´ska B., Od miasta dla samochodów do zielonej oazy? Partycypacyjny model polityki miejskiej a kształtowanie sie˛ grup interesu. “Studia Socjologiczne” 2, 237, 2020, 83–110. Musolf G. R., Social structure, human agency, and social policy. “International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy” 23, 6/7, 2003, 1–12. Myszka-Strychalska L., Znaczenie poczucia sprawstwa w procesie aktywnos´ci i partycypacji społecznej młodziez˙y. “Rocznik Pedagogiczny” 43, 2020, 37–61. Newman L., Dale A., The Role of Agency in Sustainable Local Community Development. “Local Enviroment” 10, 5, 2005, 477–486. Onyx J., Bullen P., Measuring social capital in five communities. “Journal of Applied Behavioral Scienc” 36, 1, 2000, 23–42. Rymsza M., Biała ksie˛ga CUS, Czyli krótka historia prac prowadzonych w latach 2017–2021 w Narodowej Radzie Rozwoju i Kancelarii Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej nad przygotowaniem i wdraz˙aniem prezydenckiej inicjatywy ustawodawczej, [in:] Marek Rymsza (ed.), Centrum usług społecznych: od koncepcji do wdroz˙enia przepisów ustawy, Warszawa 2021, 15–32. Schoon I., Heckhausen J., Conceptualizing Individual agency in the trasition from School to Work: A Social-Ecological Development Perspective. “Adolescent Research Review” 4, 2019, 135–148. Spadek poczucia podmiotowos´ci obywatelskiej. Komunikat z badan´, Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej, Warszawa 2022. Available at: https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKO M.POL/2022/K_039_22.PDF, [access: 8. 05. 2022]. Steinmetz G., Bourdieusian Field Theory and the Reorientation of Historical Sociology, [in:] T. Medvetz, J. J. Sallaz (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Pierre Bourdieu, Oxford 2015. Szlachcicowa I., Nowaczyk O., Mrozowicki A., Sprawstwo a dylematy współczesnych nauk społecznych. Wprowadzenie, [in:] A. Mrozowicki, O. Nowaczyk, I. Szlachcicowa (eds.), Sprawstwo. Teorie, metody, badania empiryczne w naukach społecznych, Kraków 2013. Sztando A., Lokalna i ponadlokalne polityki rozwoju lokalnego – istota, rodzaje i spójnos´c´. “Roczniki Nauk Społecznych” 9, 45, 2017, 25–52. Waszak Ł., Wejcman Z., Współpraca mie˛dzysektorowa w ramach usług społecznych, [in:] M. Rymsza (ed.), Centrum usług społecznych: od koncepcji do wdroz˙enia przepisów ustawy, Warszawa 2021, 235–262.

Dorota Bazun´ / Mariusz Kwiatkowski

Solidarity with Ukrainian Refugees in Transformative Perspective

Introduction What forms and practices of solidarity are most functional in the face of the worst refugee crisis in Europe? This article tries to formulate an initial response from a transformative perspective. The scale and pace of migration after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 were the largest since the Second World War. Millions of refugees found shelter in many European countries, including the most significant number in Poland (approx. 2.5 million). The tragic situation of war refugees sparked a spontaneous impulse of solidarity, thanks to which most of them found shelter in private family flats. As a result of these events, a social situation arose that was symbolically described as a “new, mass and sudden neighbourhood through the war”. It is an enormous social challenge that requires an appropriate approach regardless of the future of the war. We assume that a new, adequate view of social solidarity in the relationship between the host community and guests, that is, new neighbours, is necessary and a new approach to linking research with social intervention. Our assumption aligns with the postulates formulated by researchers and experts concerning previous migration crises.1 Moreover, this assumption responds positively to the calls of experts formulated in the media in the context of a mass escape from Ukraine.2 1 T. Cantle, Community cohesion. A new framework for race ad diversity, London 2008; A. Betts, P. Collier: Refugee: Transforming a Broken Refugee System, London 2017; A. Betts, K. Pincock, E. Easton-Calabria, The Global Governed? Refugees as Providers of Protection and Assistance, Cambridge 2020. 2 A. Betts, The Ukrainian Exodus. Europe Must Reckon With Its Selective Treatment of Refugees. Available at: www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2022-03-28/ukrainian-exodus 2022. [access: 26. 04. 2022]; M. Duszczyk, Czas na mie˛kka˛ integracje˛ gos´ci z Ukrainy. Z Maciejem Duszczykiem rozmawia Katarzyna Skrzydłowska-Kalukin. “Kultura Liberalna” 691, 14, 2022. Available at: https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2022/04/05/duszczyk-czas-na-miekka-integracje-gosc i-z-ukrainy/ [access: 26. 04. 2022].

154

Dorota Bazun´ / Mariusz Kwiatkowski

We argue that it is worth looking at the issue of solidarity with refugees from a transformative perspective.3 The article aims to establish theoretical, methodological and practical foundations for creating new social relations in line with the transformative perspective. It is an active approach focused on a permanent change in the actions of all social actors involved in a specific process. War refugees undoubtedly belong to the category of the most vulnerable to loss of life, health, sense of security and deterioration of the quality of life. Therefore, the article is an outline of a concept that has several pillars. Its axiological pillar is the principle of solidarity with vulnerable groups. The theoretical pillar, closely related to the axiological one, is the transformative paradigm in social sciences. As we have already stated, its essence is to direct research and activities to bring about positive social change. In the case of refugees, the expected change is first to meet the basic needs of life and then to achieve the ability to function independently. The transformative paradigm also determines a specific research strategy (methodological pillar); the distinguishing feature is the crossing of methods, engaging respondents as co-researchers, and the researcher acting as an agent of the expected changes. The practical pillar is a set of recommendations resulting from the experiences related to mass migration and the relations between migrants and host communities. These recommendations aim to avoid three negative phenomena: secondary victimisation of refugees, enclave or ghettoisation of life in new communities, and antagonisation of the immigrant and local communities. The article consists of three parts. The first part describes the basics of the presented perspective. We pose the following question in this part: What solidarity practices, to a greater or lesser extent, serve the expected social change? In the second part, in the light of the adopted perspective, we attempt a preliminary analysis of the phenomena and processes that took place in the first two months after the start of the Russian invasion. Here we seek answers to the following questions: What manifestations and examples of solidarity practices concerning Ukrainian refugees in Poland during this period? To what extent were these practices compatible with the postulate of being transformative? In the last part, we present a selected example of an initiative for refugees under the so-called “Neighbourhood House” in one of the Polish cities. The analysis of this case will enable a preliminary formulation of the answer to the question: How can solidarity practices be made more transformative?

3 D. M. Mertens, Transformative Research Methods to Increase Social Impact for Vulnerable Groups and Cultural Minorities. “International Journal of Qualitative Methods”, 20, 1–9, 2021; D. M. Mertens, Transformative research and evaluation, New York 2009.

Solidarity with Ukrainian Refugees in Transformative Perspective

155

In summary, we formulate an outline of research and practical program that will serve the development of research and transformative solidarity practices for Ukrainian refugees and their host local communities.

Solidarity practices in transformative perspective The transformative paradigm focuses attention on the process of change, so in this part of the article, we attempt to answer the following question: What solidarity practices, to a greater or lesser extent, serve the expected positive transformation of both sides? We explain key concepts such as solidarity, solidarity practices, and the transformative paradigm to answer this question. The effect of the reflections on the transformative potential of solidarity presented here is a diagram of the analysis of solidarity practices, which in the other part of the analysis is used to describe the phenomena and processes that took place during the first two months of the refugee crisis caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Differentiating forms and practices of solidarity Every crisis – as we know – raises the issue of solidarity. Any crisis, as it is often emphasised, can be mitigated and overcome by strengthening and spreading solidarity. These were the cases in the financial, migration and coronavirus crisis and during crises caused by military and natural disasters. These will also be the cases in connection with subsequent, for example, the climate crisis or emerging conflicts. The character and state of a particular society are often described by pointing to the dominant form of solidarity. Generally speaking, solidarity is the readiness and ability to share resources with those in need. Solidarity as a social norm and practice in the context of 21st-century challenges should be rethought. Solidarity as the basis of individual and collective actions, due to the growing global interdependence with simultaneous divisions, can be the more socially functional the more it is related to the willingness and ability to cross the boundaries of one’s group, social class or own territory to share resources with those who are different but in need or vulnerable.4 It is not questioning or 4 The term crossing the boundaries of one’s own social group, class or territory in the act of solidarity can have both literal and symbolic meanings. Crossing borders may involve physical movement to share resources directly, share resources remotely, or only express a position on a specific issue (support or protest) in relation to ‘others’.

156

Dorota Bazun´ / Mariusz Kwiatkowski

ignoring the differences between ‘us’ and ‘them’, but looking for the common through the figure of ‘vulnerable-other’. When formulating the concept of solidarity, we refer to the classical theories of solidarity5 and the distinctions and interpretations of contemporary authors.6 The concepts mentioned above and distinctions are an essential source of inspiration for analysing solidarity practices. Their main advantage is the assumption that there is no single, always functional form of solidarity. Each distinguished form may be more or less functional in certain situations. We initially assume that during the refugee crisis, those forms of solidarity are valuable and more conducive to its solution for the benefit of both sides, i. e. universalistic, transnational, positive, constructive, democratic rather than particularistic or negative. However, we make detailed distinctions in the light of the main assumptions of the transformative paradigm.

Transformative paradigm and the problem of refugees In line with the position of Donna Mertens, the transformative approach creates a separate, entire paradigm in social sciences. Its essential elements are specific axiology, ontology, epistemology and methodology.7 In this section, we present the four pillars of the chosen paradigm, explaining how, in line with them, the refugee problem can be addressed. The most crucial axiological assumption is that research should be designed in such a way as to promote social justice and support human rights. The starting point for research is understanding the importance of cultural respect in the communities in which we work, consciously addressing inequalities, recognising community strengths and resilience, and providing community reciprocity.8 Therefore, it can be said that undertaking studies on the situation of refugees, their relations with the host community, and the issue of solidarity with refugees results from adopting transformative axiology. According to this axiology, we deal with significantly unequal statuses on both sides of the relationship. This situation obliges us to research because, from an ethical point of view, re5 E. Durkheim, The Division of Labour in Society, New York 1893/1997. 6 M. Hechter, Principles of Group Solidarity, Berkeley 1987; S. Steinar, Solidarity in Europe. The History of an Idea, Cambridge 2012; J. Salamon (ed.), Solidarity Beyond Borders: Ethics in a Globalising World, London 2015; S. Oosterlynck, N. Schuermans, M. Loopmans (eds.), Place, Diversity and Solidarity, London and New York 2017; D. della Porta (ed.), Solidarity Mobilizations in the ‘Refugee Crisis’, London 2018; Ch. Lahusen, M. T. Grasso (eds.), Solidarity in Europe Citizens’ Responses in Times of Crisis, London 2018. 7 D. M. Mertens, Transformative research: personal and societal. “International Journal of Transformative Research” 4, 1, 2017, p. 20. 8 Ibidem, p. 20.

Solidarity with Ukrainian Refugees in Transformative Perspective

157

searchers who do not take conscious action to solve the problem of inequality may be complicit in maintaining the oppressive status quo.9 Therefore, taking into account the axiological foundations of the transformative paradigm, we are looking for forms of solidarity with refugees that will prevent secondary victimisation, closing them into separate spatial and social enclaves (ghettoisation) and antagonising relations with the host community. The transformative ontological assumption holds that there are generated from many factors versions of what is believed to be real. The versions of reality come from various social positions associated with greater or lesser privileges, such as gender, sexual identity, race, ethnicity, religion, economic status, disability, and deafness10. In the research on the relations between refugees and hosts, the indicated assumption prompts consideration of the point of view of social actors with different views. Ontological assumptions go hand in hand with epistemological assumptions, which focus on the importance of knowledge as seen through multiple cultural lenses and the importance of power inequality in recognising what is considered legitimate knowledge11. Researchers need to be aware of their strengths and cultural lenses and their influence on their relationships with research participants.12 The researchers and the communities they serve can increase the potential for transformational change by incorporating lessons learned from social activism and the drivers of social change.13 In the case of our research on refugees, the above postulate is implemented in two ways. First, we focus on the analysis and an attempt to organise (typologies) various solidarity practices under the adopted axiological assumptions. Secondly, in the last part of the article, we reflect on our own social and educational practice, which we conduct as part of solidarity practices with refugees. The methodological consequence of adopting transformative axiology, ontology and epistemology is the crossing of methods and the inclusion of the subjects in the research process as co-researchers. Researchers can support transformative change by asking themselves, what is the impact of their work? Is it contributing to increased justice or supporting oppression? If researchers commit to increasing justice, their final question is: What do they need to do in their research design to support transformative change and sustainable impact?14 The practices of solidarity will be typologised 9 D. M. Mertens, Transformative Research Methods to Increase Social Impact for Vulnerable Groups and Cultural Minorities. “International Journal of Qualitative Methods”, 20, 1–9, 2021, p. 1. 10 D. M. Mertens: Transformative… 2017, op. cit., p. 21. 11 Ibidem. 12 Ibidem, p. 21. 13 Ibidem, p. 2. 14 Ibidem, p. 8.

158

Dorota Bazun´ / Mariusz Kwiatkowski

and assessed in the following parts of the article, taking the transformative change into account.

Transformative potentials of solidarity practices From a transformational perspective, it is most important to distinguish between those solidarity practices that can perpetuate or worsen the unfavourable situation of refugees and their relationship with the host community and those that can contribute to a positive transformation. When attempting to make such a distinction, we take into account the opportunities indicated by researchers of migration processes: “The Ukraine crisis is a rare chance for Europe to create refugee policies fit for the twenty-first century. The continent’s leaders failed to capitalise on the public solidarity toward refugees in the second half of 2015. They cannot afford to miss that opportunity again”.15 The expectations, chances and hopes that Alexander Betts writes about come from the fact that in the first weeks from the beginning of the war (March, April 2022), a wave of solidarity appeared in many European countries, regardless of previous divisions. The scale and quantitative dimension of solidarity practices encourage reflection on their quality, effectiveness and sustainability. Table one lists four pairs of solidarity practices distinguished by several criteria. Each of these pairs is structured to highlight the attributes of a preferred approach that focuses attention on the transformative potentials of solidarity practices. Table 1. Transformative potentials of solidarity practices. Criteria for distinguishing a specific practice Directions of transformation 1. The degree of personal activity of social actors SYMBOLIC → INVOLVING in solidarity with refugees 2. The scope of coordination of activities by SPONTANEOUS → SYSTEMIC public institutions BONDING → BRIDGING 3. The intensity of contact between the parties (those who express themselves in solidarity – those affected by solidarity) 4. The scope of refugee involvement in improv- CARING → EMPOWERING ing their situation Source: Authors own work.

15 A. Betts, The Ukrainian Exodus. Europe Must Reckon With Its Selective Treatment of Refugees. “Foreign Affairs”. Available at: www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2022-03-28/ukrain ian-exodus 2022. Access: 26. 04. 2022.

Solidarity with Ukrainian Refugees in Transformative Perspective

159

All the solidarity practices in table number one are positive. However, from a transformative point of view, those that have a chance to contribute in the long run to mitigate the negative consequences of the situation of mass migration should be considered more functional. As we have already emphasised, these are the following consequences: secondary victimisation, ghettoisation, and antagonisation. From this perspective, the transition from symbolic signs and declarations (hanging flags, wearing badges, publishing posts and comments on social media) to personally undertaken activities for people in need (fundraising and things, help in finding accommodation, work) should be considered beneficial. The second necessary step is the transition from spontaneous and grass-roots initiatives to coordinated, planned and systemic actions organised by the state with the participation of citizens. The third step is related to the desire that the parties to the relationship have a chance to contact in action. The contacts are a condition for a better mutual understanding of needs, thus avoiding unnecessary activities and a condition for preventing the spread of negative stereotypes. The next important step is to move from caring activities to empowering activities, that is, activities that create a space for the activity for refugees. It is about applying the principle of subsidiarity, according to which the help provided should strengthen the ability to self-help, to deal with difficult situations independently. Moreover, empowerment implies the possibility of joint activities, where refugees become, to some extent, contributors to their new communities. The diagram below shows the involvement levels, giving a chance for the transformation of both the host communities and Ukrainian refugees. The distinctions mentioned above are used to perform three consecutive tasks. First, we present a short description and preliminary assessment of solidarity practices in Poland in their light. Then next, we describe a selected case of the Solidarity Initiative from this perspective. Finally, we draw the concept of future activities and research.

Transformative dimension of solidarity with Ukrainian refugees in Poland In the second part, in the light of the adopted perspective, we attempt a preliminary analysis of the phenomena and processes that took place in the first two months after the start of the Russian invasion. Here we seek answers to the following questions: What were manifestations and examples of solidarity

160

Dorota Bazun´ / Mariusz Kwiatkowski

Diagram 1. Engagement in actions for war refugees from Ukraine. Source: Authors own work.

practices with Ukrainian refugees in Poland? To what extent were these practices compatible with the postulate of being transformative?

From symbolic to involving solidarity During the first months after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Polish society expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian nation in many ways and then with the refugees who began to pour in en masse to Poland. During this time, the following symbolic expressions of solidarity could be observed: marking profiles on social media with Ukrainian colours, wearing a Ukrainian flag stuck to clothes, placing flags and slogans supporting Ukrainians in shop windows, at the entrances to institutions, in apartment windows, cars. More active units joined the various protests against the attack on sovereign Ukraine. These acts of symbolic solidarity were necessary for the well-being of Ukrainian guests, of their belief that they were welcome and that they could count on help. They also had a mobilising effect on a large group of volunteers who personally engaged in specific activities. When viewed from a transformative perspective, we recognise that symbolism is necessary but insufficient in the long run. Moreover, settling down on symbolism can prove frustrating for both parties. Due to the lack of a sense of influence for the host party. The visitors can experience a lack of improvement in the situation.

Solidarity with Ukrainian Refugees in Transformative Perspective

161

From spontaneous to systemic solidarity The involvement mentioned above of some Polish citizens has become so large that, according to experts, we can talk about the awakening of civil society, thanks to which we avoided a humanitarian catastrophe.16 The problem is that the spontaneous activity of the public began to wane after two months, and the state, in this case the government, is not taking its place. It is postulated to move from the necessary spontaneous, receptive stage to the systemic stage. The state’s merit is to make a quick decision after the start of the war to open the border. It was done quickly, and anyone could enter Poland from Ukraine.17 However, it is difficult to admit that appropriate steps were taken to create a permanent, transparent system in the first months. Above all, there is a lack of coordination and a clear definition of responsibility. The Government Plenipotentiary for Refugees was appointed over a month after the outbreak of the crisis. The body’s rank in the government was low (deputy minister). The government avoids consulting independent experts; there is no food delivery system.18

From bonding to bridging solidarity A vital dilemma of solidarity practices is how to arrange the activities of both sides. Naturally, the distinction between the giver and the receiving side is evident at the beginning of a given crisis. Over time, however, more and more activities involving contact between the parties are needed. It is about the so-called “soft integration”.19 According to the social capital theory, this initial phase is called bonding solidarity, and the target phase is bridging solidarity. It is about breaking down intergroup divisions. To some extent, this second phase happened very quickly in Poland, as most of the refugees ended up in Polish homes and Polish families. Many Poles point to an analogy between the situation of Ukraine in the first days after 24 February 2022, and the Polish situation at the beginning of World War II. The level of emotional agitation and indignation in connection with 16 M. Duszczyk, Czas na mie˛kka˛ integracje˛ gos´ci z Ukrainy. Z Maciejem Duszczykiem rozmawia Katarzyna Skrzydłowska-Kalukin. “Kultura Liberalna” 691, 14, 2022. Available at: https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2022/04/05/duszczyk-czas-na-miekka-integracje-gosci-z-ukrai ny/ [access: 26. 04. 2022]. 17 Ibidem. 18 Ibidem. 19 Ibidem.

162

Dorota Bazun´ / Mariusz Kwiatkowski

Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the sudden threat to the lives of many Ukrainian residents was very high among Poles. The passivity of many countries and, at that moment, the almost universal belief that Ukraine would probably surrender resulted in a great need to save lives. Winter weather conditions also worsened the situation. The state aid offers were insufficient, but it was essential to remove all obstacles to crossing the border with Poland. In the first two weeks, hundreds of thousands of refugees came to Poland every day (2,935 million people crossed the border within two months of the invasion). It was not possible to create places to stay for them in such a short time. Many Poles have opened their apartments for them, sharing even modest living spaces. The number of people living with Polish families is unknown. It can only be said that most of the refugees found shelter in Polish families, which, given the overall number, shows that the scale of the willingness to help was unprecedented. Living together brings Poles and Ukrainians closer to each other, but it is not comfortable for either of them. This situation is necessarily accepted by many, but it is hard to imagine that it could stay that way for long. Living together promotes mutual understanding and stronger bonds, but it sometimes generates numerous problems, especially when guests and hosts do not fit together very well. Meanwhile, the need to provide help quickly, for obvious reasons, prevented the process of matching hosts and guests. Now we need integration in the sphere of education and employment. The decision to enrol Ukrainian children in schools was made very quickly by the Ministry of Education and Science. Nevertheless, it did not mean that Polish schools could prepare so quickly for good work with children who do not speak Polish. So why is the process of introducing children to this system smooth after all? It is possible also due to the teachers’ readiness to support Poland’s eastern neighbours through work with children and youth. Without teachers’ solidarity with Ukrainians, there would be no readiness to spend additional time working with new students. The most flexible and quicker response to the sudden increase in refugees was on the labour market. The decision of the Polish authorities to give each refugee a work permit after registration was a breakthrough. Firstly, there were significant shortages of workers in the Polish labour market. Secondly, with the start of the invasion, many men, workers from Ukraine, fled the market and returned to the country to defend it. Thirdly, refugees from Ukraine find it very difficult to be dependent on others and, in fact, from the very first days, the most important thing for them was the possibility of earning and supporting themselves. Fourth, the omission of the principle of the transitional period and allowing Ukrainians to work as soon as possible increased their assessment in Poles’ eyes. All the arguments mentioned above favouring the positive reception of Ukrainians by Poles do not change that there may be growing problems soon. They will concern

Solidarity with Ukrainian Refugees in Transformative Perspective

163

about a very significant change in the rental market. The increase in rental prices due to the shortage of flats, which took place in a short time, also makes the situation for Poles more difficult. Some of them may worsen the mood of the need to compete with Ukrainian workers. Mutual relations may be worsened by the more significant number of school classes, an even greater shortage of places in kindergartens, and even more difficult access to health care services. Working to include Ukrainians in the Polish economy as quickly as possible may benefit everyone. It is more complicated to predict how long the war will last.

From caring to empowering solidarity When addressing the issue of the transition from caring solidarity, where assisted people are relatively passive recipients, to empowerment solidarity, where they become agents of change and co-producers of solutions, we agree with the following logic: help should take place in the name of an elementary principle of social policy – first, we give people a benefit because they find themselves in a situation in which we need to support them so that they do not fall into poverty. In the second step, we reduce their deficits through language learning or training and only cut them off from benefits to stimulate them to enter the labour market.20 Both sides need to prepare for a change, and the guest can function like the hosts. In the first months after the war and the refugee crisis outbreak, the focus was on providing necessary help. However, the following steps have to be planned. A good example would be the involvement of Ukrainian teachers working in Polish schools. Apart from the effect of supporting Ukrainian students, there would be a quick transition to the empowerment phase thanks to the possibility of earning and paying taxes and insurance premiums.

From refugees and hosts to new neighbours In the last part, we present a selected example of an initiative for refugees under the so-called “The Neighbourhood House” in one of the Polish cities. The analysis of this case will enable a preliminary formulation of the answer to the question: How can solidarity practices be made more transformative? The Neighbourhood House is a joint initiative of the RONDO Foundation, the ALIVIO cooperative and the Catholic Saint Jadwiga S´la˛ska parish. The parish 20 Ibidem.

164

Dorota Bazun´ / Mariusz Kwiatkowski

made the place available, and RONDO and ALIVIO renovated it to adapt it to the needs of work with the local community. Initially, the House was to be a place that would act as a community centre, where activities for residents and residents of Zielona Góra and the surrounding area would be carried out. The Russian aggression against Ukraine resulted in modifying these plans by commencing actions for Ukrainians, whose number in Zielona Góra was multiplying as in other cities. The previously presented model on the levels and dimensions of solidarity activities will be used to analyse and describe the activity of Ukrainians and the Ukrainians for the city’s inhabitants. It is worth emphasising that these are not very large-scale activities. The founders of the House assumed that they wanted to work in smaller groups in order to be able to adjust the activities to target groups. The Neighbourhood House officially opened three days after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has therefore quickly transformed into a centre for providing and coordinating aid. It is not the only centre supporting guests from Ukraine, but it is the only one that approaches these activities in such a comprehensive way. The activities carried out in the Neighbourhood House quite quickly left the spontaneous initiative phase and became more organised, which resulted from the earlier organisational experiences of the entities creating this place. An obstacle to the development of activities was the shortage of funds for aid activities, but it was compensated by the enthusiasm of the organisation’s employees and volunteers who, observing the tragedy happening in Ukraine, had a great need for help. The snowball effect was working because more and more people were willing to join the relief efforts every day. It was similar to the number of guests from Ukraine. At some stage, the pace of growth in the number of people coming for help was so fast that there were concerns that it could not be continued to such an extent. Who were the Ukrainians concentrated in the Neighbourhood House? They were mainly women with children living in various places in Zielona Góra who came to Poland in the face of the dangers of war. From the very beginning, the relations of both parties, despite some communication disorders resulting from the unfamiliarity of the Polish language by Ukrainians and Ukrainian or Russian by Poles, were positive. It was crucial to identify the refugees’ most urgent needs and support them in organising life in Poland. Obtaining documents, access to health care, supporting children in returning to school and settling the most urgent household matters. The Neighbourhood House does not have many places to stay, but it is a place where people are on duty every day to help solve various problems. Polish language lessons are held almost every day. Every few days, there are educational workshops and various integration events. There is quite a significant turnover of people participating in individual activities. The turnover is since it is more and more difficult for Ukrainians to

Solidarity with Ukrainian Refugees in Transformative Perspective

165

find a job, but still more people find a job and then they cannot participate in the classes regularly. Some Ukrainian women live in Poland but work online in Ukraine. Most of them need employment to support their families, while the men are in Ukraine, in the army, or at work. Despite this rotation of people in language classes, a relatively constant number of people appear in various forms of integration activities during weekends, about fifty of them, roughly half of whom are children and adolescents. Mutual relations between the guests in the Neighbourhood House developed quickly. The ladies came up with the initiative that they could help in the preparation of events organised for Ukrainians and Poles. They support volunteers in preparing cakes, organising workshops, and some of them are run by women from Ukraine (empowerment). Thanks to this, they feel like full participants (involvement and bridging solidarity). The House is also where they can meet other women from their country, so this is not only the Polish-Ukrainian premise. In the Neighbourhood House, refugees can get in-kind assistance, although its scale is not very large, because many other places offer clothing and everyday items for refugees. As mentioned earlier, there are Polish language classes during the week. There are five groups of Polish during the week. The groups are small, and the emphasis is on communication skills. Once a week, there are staff on duty to help solve problems related to education, health care, formal matters, and access to social benefits. Since refugees often come in a bad mental state, face personal losses, the enormous stress they have gone through, and fear for their relatives, psychological help is available. We managed to find a psychologist who knows Russian. Families living dispersed in Zielona Góra, meeting in this place, support each other. Ladies share information and exchange in childcare. However, the fact that they could get to know each other makes it easier for them to have a place that integrates them. The Poles who were volunteers at the House were initially embarrassed by their poor level of the Russian language, but with time they got used to and learned to communicate with Ukrainians by speaking more slowly and using translators on the phones. Despite the scale of misfortunes happening in Ukraine, everyone is trying to make the Neighbourhood House a place that gives respite, moments of joy and hope. Various activities for children serve this purpose. There were workshops on making dumplings, making gingerbread cookies, painting, and making figures from salt dough. However, outside of such structured activities, children can play together there while the adults talk and drink coffee. There is always coffee and tea, fruit and sweets for children. People who run the Neighbourhood House make sure that the conditions in this place are as homely as possible.

166

Dorota Bazun´ / Mariusz Kwiatkowski

Conclusions In the early spring of 2022, several European countries, especially Poland, had to ask themselves: What forms and practices of solidarity are the most functional in the face of the worst refugee crisis in Europe? This article makes an initial attempt to formulate an answer. We adopted and characterised a transformational perspective in the light of which we reviewed solidarity practices. Not all of the widely practised activities under the banner of solidarity turn out to be functional in the long run. We consider the state of relations between the host community and refugees as an essential functionality measure. An important determinant of solidarity practices should be striving to avoid three significant threats: re-victimisation of refugees, ghettoisation in the sense of separate enclaves inhabited mainly by newcomers, and antagonisation resulting from the mistakes of both sides of the relationship or the deliberate activities of certain political circles. Based on the conducted review, we can formulate the following conclusions and recommendations: 1) During the first two months of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Poland’s civil society and public institutions demonstrated their will, readiness, and ability to adequately respond to a severe crisis. The most important achievement is the admission of hundreds of thousands of people to private apartments and enabling refugees to quickly register in the PESEL system21, thanks to which they could gain access to public health, social assistance, education and other public services. 2) Civil society experienced a kind of re-awakening during this period, which was manifested by thousands of volunteers assisting at reception points and railway stations. However, in the second month of the crisis (April 2022), fatigue and weakening of enthusiasm among citizens were already noticeable, while the state authorities did not provide adequate support and coordination. There was also no clear government strategy. 3) Considering both the theoretical premises (transformative approach) and those observed in the first two months of practice, several recommendations should be formulated. Firstly, it is necessary to constantly study refugees’ changing and diverse needs for the measures taken to be adequate and effective. Secondly, a national integration strategy should be created, taking into account various variants of the development of the situation. Thirdly, the strategy and activities of individual entities involved in solidarity practices 21 PESEL (Polish: Powszechny Elektroniczny System Ewidencji Ludnos´ci – Universal Electronic System for Registration of the Population) is the national identification number used in Poland.

Solidarity with Ukrainian Refugees in Transformative Perspective

167

should consider the transition from practices strengthening refugee passivity to empowerment practices. This article describes such practices. They should be regarded as an essential point of reference.

Bibliography Betts A., The Ukrainian Exodus. Europe Must Reckon With Its Selective Treatment of Refugees. Available at: www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2022-03-28/ukrainianexodus 2022 [access: 26. 04. 2022]. Betts A., Collier P., Refugee: Transforming a Broken Refugee System, London 2017. Betts A., Pincock K., Easton-Calabria E., The Global Governed? Refugees as Providers of Protection and Assistance, Cambridge 2020. Cantle T., Community cohesion. A new framework for race ad diversity, London 2008. Durkheim E., The Division of Labour in Society, New York 1893/1997. Duszczyk M., Czas na mie˛kka˛ integracje˛ gos´ci z Ukrainy. Z Maciejem Duszczykiem rozmawia Katarzyna Skrzydłowska-Kalukin. “Kultura Liberalna” 691, 14, 2022. Available at: https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2022/04/05/duszczyk-czas-na-miekka-integracje-gosci-z -ukrainy/ [access: 26. 04. 2022]. Hechter M., Principles of Group Solidarity, Berkeley 1987. Mertens D. M., Transformative research and evaluation, New York 2009. Mertens D. M., Transformative research: personal and societal. “International Journal of Transformative Research” 4, 1, 2017, 18–24. Mertens D. M.: Transformative Research Methods to Increase Social Impact for Vulnerable Groups and Cultural Minorities. “International Journal of Qualitative Methods” 20, 2021, 1–9. Della Porta, D., (ed.), Solidarity Mobilizations in the ‘Refugee Crisis’, London 2018. Lahusen, Ch., Grasso M. T. (eds.) Solidarity in Europe Citizens’ Responses in Times of Crisis, London 2018. Oosterlynck S., Schuermans N., Loopmans M. (eds.), Place, Diversity and Solidarity, London and New York 2017. Salamon J. (ed.) Solidarity Beyond Borders: Ethics in a Globalising World, London 2015. Stjerno S., Solidarity in Europe. The History of an Idea, Cambridge 2012.

Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk

Catalonia’s internal politics: the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán microregion

Introduction Valle de Arán in Castilian, Val d’Aran in Occitan (Aranés language) and Vall d’Aran in Catalan1. This is the name of one of the Catalan comarcas2 in the three official languages adopted by this Spanish autonomous community. The valley lies on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, in the northwestern part of Catalonia, in the province3 of Lleida. It borders France to the north and northwest, Aragon to the southwest and the Catalan comarcas of Alta Ribagorça and Pallars Sobirà to the south. The area includes the Aran Valley and a section of the Barravés Valley. It owes its name to the first of these, but this is a tautology of sorts, since the Castilian – valle, Occitan/Aranés – val, and Catalan – vall versions all mean “valley”, while at the same time the word aran, derived from the Euskera term haran, is also translated as “valley”4. This is directly related to the wide range of the Basque language – it was spoken even in the vicinity of Lleida until the 12th13th centuries5, and also very much influenced the toponymy of areas on the Catalan side of the Pyrenees. The Valle de Arán is an interesting research area in many contexts, but through the lens of political sciences, the coupling of historical, geopolitical, cultural-conscious, and political-legal factors that imply the special position of the Valle de Aran compared to other Catalan comarcas seems particularly interesting. 1 The name Aran Valley is used interchangeably to describe the entire Valle de Arán area. 2 An administrative unit, equivalent to a Polish districte. This division refers to the centuries-old division of Catalan-speaking territories in both Spain and France. 3 The administrative division of Catalonia into provinces, in force since the 19th century, is administrative in nature and does not take into account the cultural, linguistic, historical, political or commercial differences of the micro-regions. 4 G. Lacasta Estaun, El euskera en el alto Aragon. “Cuadernos de Sección. Hizkuntza eta Literatura”, 1994 (12), p. 188. 5 A. Turull, Una caracterización de la toponimia pirenaica catalana, [En:] Pirinioetako hizkuntzak: oraina eta lehena, Euskaltzaindiaren XVI, Bilbao 2011, pp. 1085 and others.

170

Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk

The purpose of this article is an attempt to analyze the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán as a Catalan area with a wide range of autonomy. Particular attention was paid to the historical and geopolitical factors that determine the character of the region and, above all, foster the construction of a unique identity for the inhabitants of the valley. In this context, the current linguistic situation of the microregion, as well as the special political and legal regime of the Valle de Arán were also examined. In the course of the work, it became crucial to use the following methods: institutional-legal, historical and comparative analysis.

The general characteristics of the area Valle de Arán as the only comarca of Catalonia belongs to the catchment area of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The peculiarity of the area is determined, among other things, by a natural barrier in the form of mountains: the Valle de Arán stretches over 633.60 square kilometers where almost 1/3 of the area is above 2,000 meters above sea level6. For centuries, some of the mountain passes connecting the valley to the rest of the Catalan comarcas were difficult to access, while crossing them in winter proved mostly impossible. Natural factors and historical conditions fostered the construction of a peculiar identity by the inhabitants of the Valle de Arán, in which Occitan roots are clearly visible. The formation of the culture, traditions, as well as the Aran language of the valley’s indigenous inhabitants was heavily influenced by other cultural systems: Catalan, Aragonese (the two areas were united within the Kingdom of Aragon), as well as Basque, Galician or French. In 1990, the Catalan microregion had a population of 6,317. Over nearly 30 years (until 2019), there was an increase of 3,776 residents. Considering the characteristics of the area, this is a significant population increase. The upward trend since the 1990s was halted in 2010, and a steady decline in the valley’s population continued between 2012 and 20177. According to Idescat8 data as of July 2019, the comarca already had 10,093 residents9, while in January 2021 it was

6 Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña, El municipio en cifras, Aran. Available at: https://www.ide scat.cat/emex/ ?id=39&lang=es#t192 (access: 10. 05. 2022). 7 Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña, Población a 1 de enero. Comarcas y Aran, ámbitos y provincias. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=aec&n=246&t=2019&lang=es (access: 10. 05. 2022). 8 Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya (Idescat) which is the Statistical Institute of Catalonia, which reports to the Department of Economy and Finance of the Generalitat. 9 See: Población a 1 de enero. Comarcas y Aran, ámbitos y provincias, 1990–2019. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=aec&n=246&lang=es&t=1990 (access: 10. 05. 2022).

Catalonia’s internal politics: the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán microregion

171

10,372 people10. For the Valle de Arán, this is a relatively large increase in a short period of time. Thus, in 2021 there were statistically 16.4 people per km2 of the valley. This compares with an average of 241.8 people per km2 for Catalonia as a whole. The above figures indicate that the valley’s population has been gradually increasing since the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century. The population of Valle de Arán represents about 0.13% of the region’s total population. In 2021, 8,621 people living in the valley declared Spanish nationality, while 1,751 indicated a nationality other than Spanish11. It is worth noting that respondents during the survey had only two response options to choose from, i. e. Spanish nationality (this included, for example, Catalan, Basque, etc.) or nonSpanish nationality. As Cecilio Lapresta Rey and Ángel Huguet Canalís point out, 1996 marked the beginning of a new phase for the territory in a cultural context, especially in terms of language, but also in social and economic terms12, since from that point until 2005, for the first time, the number of residents born outside the valley predominated. Such a situation occurred several more times after that period. Although Valle de Arán is a sparsely populated area it has one of the highest per capita GDP ratios in Catalonia, as well as in Spain as a whole. For example, in 2019 in the valley it was 36.6 thousand euros per person13, while at the same time in Catalonia it was an average of 32.6 thousand euros per capita. Assuming a ratio of 100 for the entire region, it reached 112.4 in the Valle de Arán. Similarly, a year earlier, the per capita GDP of the Valle de Arán was as high as 38.1 thousand euros (in Catalonia 31.9 thousand euros per capita), with a ratio of 119.4 (assuming a ratio of 100 for the entire region)14. Population growth, as well as the increase in the wealth of the population in the comarca under analysis, are closely linked to the transformation of the valley from a traditionally pastoral area, where the population toiled in animal husbandry, agriculture or logging, into a thriving tourist center of not only regional or national importance, but also European significance. In this regard, invest10 Densidad de población. Comarcas y Aran, ámbitos y provincias, Generalitat de Catalunya, Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=aec&n= 249&t=2020&lang=es (access: 25. 02. 2022). 11 Aran, Nacionalidad 2021. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/emex/?id=250313&lang=es (access: 08. 06. 2022). 12 C. Lapresta Rey, Á. Huguet Canalís, Identidad colectiva y lengua en contextos pluriculturales y plurilingües. El caso del Valle De Arán (Lleida. España). “Revista Internacional de Sociología (RIS)”, Vol. LXIV, Nº 45, septiembre-diciembre 2006, pp. 92–93. 13 The second place in Catalonia behind comarca Ribera d’Ebre, which recorded 58.8 thousand euros per capita in 2019. 14 PIB, PIB per habitant, Generalitat de Catalunya, Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=pibc&n=13830&by=com&t=201800&lang=en (access: 25. 02. 2022).

172

Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk

ments in the Aran Valley played a strategic role. The most important of these was the commissioning of the Viella Tunnel, named after Alfonso XIII, in 1948, and the Viella Tunnel, replacing it since 2007, named the Juan Carlos I Tunnel, which enabled a permanent connection between the valley and the provincial capital Lleida and the rest of Spain’s autonomous communities. In the 1960s, the famous Baqueira Bere ski resort was opened, and soon all the infrastructure, especially related to winter sports, was in place. The aforementioned projects significantly contributed to the development of tourism, but also facilitated communication between the residents of the Valle de Arán and the rest of Catalonia, especially since the road through the Bonaigua Pass was passable only a few months a year until the mid-1980s, due to the abundant snow cover. Thanks to the above measures, the valley was able to experience a tourism boom since the 1970s, which has weakened in strength over time, but permanently the tourism industry has dominated the local economy, to such an extent that it currently accounts for more than 80% of its income. This supremacy is confirmed by statistical data: in December 2019, of the 4,883 economically active residents of Valle de Arán, 4,536 people worked in services (including those related to the tourism industry, hotels, catering, construction, etc.), while of the 1,187 registered businesses, as many as 946 were related to services15. For several decades, the valley has been immersed in dynamic socio-economic, demographic, cultural processes, while the radicalization of Catalan independentism and growing Catalan-Spanish antagonism are also revealing increasingly deep divisions of a sociopolitical nature.

Historical and geopolitical determinants of the identity of the residents of Valle de Arán The specificity of the microregion is contained not only in the geographical, socio-demographic or economic factors mentioned above, but also in differences of a historical-geopolitical and political-administrative nature. Of no less importance are the cultural determinants, and in this respect language occupies a special place. The identity of the people of Valle de Arán is complex, mainly due to their ties to different cultural systems. In addition, today it is strongly influenced by sociodemographic processes, especially the large influx of immigrants from both Catalonia, the rest of Spain and Europe, and the directly related gradual increase in the population born outside the valley. 15 Aran. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/emex/?id=39&lang=es#h1ffffc00000000 (access: 22. 03. 2022).

Catalonia’s internal politics: the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán microregion

173

As with the formation of many other collective and individual identities, the people of the Valle de Arán relate strongly to the past while keeping an eye on the present and future. The history of the Valle de Arán is tumultuous, much like Catalonia itself. Archaeological sources indicate that the valley was inhabited as early as prehistory, and later became part of the Roman republic, undergoing permanent Romanization16. After the collapse of the empire, the area became significantly depopulated for several centuries and alternated under the rule of the Visigoths and Muslims, among others. The Pyrenean villages were excellent defensive strongholds, so the battles with the Muslims lasted a long time, and after conquering them, the invaders moved on to the so-called cleansing of the mountains of Christians, and only then to continue their invasions of Aragon and the county of Ribagorza or Sobrarbe, among others. The inhabitants of the aforementioned territories, including the people of the valley, alternately displaced the Muslims and came under their domination. The lands also changed owners and superiors, e. g. as compensation or payment for participation in battles against the Moors17, as well as internal conflicts18. As a result, the Valle de Arán repeatedly changed spheres of influence between France and Spain, i. e. it was alternately: under the rule of the counts of the French Bigorra and Cominges families and the Aragonese kings, and even in the period from 1298 to 1313 under the rule of the Kingdom of Majorca. Hence so much cultural diversity (including language) drawn from both historic Occitania (e. g., trade relations were easier to conduct with France than with Spain primarily due to fewer geographical and communication constraints) and Aragon (among other legacies in the form of the Christian religion19). In 1313, King Jaime II the Just of Aragon regained sovereignty over the Aran Valley, at the same time granting it its own institution in the form of a bailío (bailiff), granted the so-called Era Querimonia, and introduced a new territorial division. The Era Querimonia was a kind of Magna Carta20 for the Valle de Arán. It granted foral privileges regarding economic exemptions, among other things, and also regulated important aspects of the daily life of the inhabitants. In addition, the king reaffirmed the feudal code 16 J. Manuel de Moner, Vall d’Aran. “Album Histórich, Pintoresch y Monumental de Lleyda y Sa Provincia”, Nº 34, Barcelona 1891, pp. 345–347. 17 E.g., Céntulo II de Bigorra received dozens of villages under his authority from Alfonso I de Aragón for his commitment to fighting Muslims. 18 H. Castillon, Histoire des Populations Pyrénéennes, du Nebouzan et du Pays de Comminges, Toulouse 1967, p. 218. 19 Interestingly, until the end of the 18th century, Valle de Arán was under the bishopric of Comminges, while from 1805 the valley became part of the Catalan diocese of Urugel. In addition, in the 12th century the Albigensians, identified with the Cathars (a religious and social movement), had their bishopric in the area. 20 Actually, Magna Charta Libertatum or Great Charter of Liberties (Great Charter of Freedom), which was issued by King John the Lackland as an act (contract) granting privileges to vassals.

174

Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk

known as Usatges21, while residents were obliged to pay tribute to him. Significantly, the Era Querimonia was recognized by all subsequent rulers until the time of Ferdinand II. The territorial division was based on six terçons (referred to in Castilian as tercios or tersones, in Catalan as terçós), or separate traditional geographic areas, which elected their own representatives (conselhers) who were part of the Conselh Generau22. In total, these were to include 35 localities. Since 1411, the Aran Valley administratively belonged to Catalonia, but only in 1835, after the abolition of its privileges and fueros, did it become part of the province of Lleida as its comarca. It was occupied by French troops several times during this period. It was significantly ravaged by the so-called “War of the Harvesters” (la Guerra de los Segadores) in 164523, while during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) the inhabitants of the valley (like the Catalans) mostly supported the Archduke of Austria24, but even after the introduction of the Nueva Planta de la Real Audiencia del Principado de Cataluña by Philip V Bourbon25, the political and administrative situation of the Valle de Arán was not significantly affected. Napoleonic troops also passed through the valley and the area was annexed to France for several years. In 1814, the Aran Valley was returned to the Spanish monarchy. Nearly two decades later, during the First Carlist War (in 1833), traditional Aran institutions were abolished, while the area was incorporated into Spain’s new administrative regime. Valle de Arán was placed within the province of Lleida. Significant changes occurred in the 1830s. Under the Second Spanish Republic, there were demands to restore the Conselh Generau d’Aran. A proposal for the resuscitation of the institution and for the Aran Valley to regain some historical privileges was put forward by Centre Aranés. However, it was not taken into account during the creation of a new 21 It was created in what is known as Old Catalonia and formed the basis of las constituciones catalanas. Texts began to be drafted as early as the 11th century and covered a wide range of rights and privileges, among others in the spheres of law, economics, religion, culture, etc. It is considered the first code of its kind in Western Europe. It underwent multiple modifications until in the mid-13th century it was incorporated into the Commemoraciones, a document created for the county of Barcelona, then covering all of Catalonia. W. Husar-Poliszuk, Katalon´czycy. Od budowy własnej toz˙samos´ci do independentyzmu w regionie, Poznan´ 2020, p. 167. 22 This division remained in effect until 1835, until new provincial boundaries were granted. It was re-established in 1990. 23 F.X. Hernàndez, Historia de Cataluña, Barcelona 2014, pp. 74–77. 24 The Principality of Catalonia (since 1350 the previous Catalan counties were elevated to the status of principalities) was part of the Crown of Aragon. At the same time, in the war for the Spanish throne, the Castilians supported Philip V (whom the Catalans had originally supported de facto). 25 F. Kubiaczyk, Historia, pamie˛´c, nacjonalizm po katalon´sku. “Studia Europaea Gnesnensia”, 2015, no. 12, p. 223; A. Simon i Tarrés, Del 1640 al 1705, L’autogovern de Catalunya i la classe dirigent catalana en el joc de la política international europea, València 2011.

Catalonia’s internal politics: the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán microregion

175

autonomous statute, the so-called Statute of Núria. With the advent of Gen. Francisco Franco’s regime, Catalonia, like other regions, lost its own regional institutions. A communist invasion by Francoist opponents swept through the Valle de Arán in 1944. True, the guerrillas suffered defeat, but it was the last armed attempt to overthrow the dictatorship. The valley’s residents had to put aside their desire to emphasize their separateness for several decades. It was only after the death of Gen. Franco, after the first democratic elections in Spain in 1977, that it became possible to initiate work on an autonomous statute for Catalonia. The Aran Valley was represented by representatives gathered in the association Es Terçons26, who eventually became co-authors of the so-called Statute of Sau (1979).

Cultural and linguistic differences of the microregion The rich history of Valle de Arán illustrates to a large extent the basis on which the specific identity of its inhabitants was formed. The fact that the microregion was located at the intersection of commercial and political interests between France and Spain implied the emergence of peculiar linguistic and cultural ties. Due to its long spatial isolation, the valley is distinguished by characteristics peculiar to the borderland of many cultures, including linguistic richness, unique traditions, customs and colorful folklore. The multilingualism of the valley is a very important identity factor for the people there. Currently, the official languages in Catalonia are Castilian, Catalan and Aranés27. The latter, however, is not the same as Provençal; admittedly, both forms are varieties of Occitan, with Aranés belonging to the Eastern type of the Gascon dialect, and this makes it one of the most distinct among Occitan28. Nevertheless, the aforementioned languages are related to each other, and the closeness (among other things, in the context of preserving cultural and linguistic distinctiveness) between the Catalan independentist movement and the Occitan movement is further emphasized, as evidenced, for example, by the adoption of Aranés as a co-official language throughout Catalonia and the reference to “a sense of historical cultural community between Països Catalans and Païses Occitans”29. The valley’s mosaic of multilingualism should be supplemented by languages of great importance to the local community, namely French and Galician. The 26 Aran, hèts istorics, Val d’Aran: Conselh Generau d’Aran, 2006, p. 24. 27 The name Aranés, Aranean, or Occitan also functions in the literature. 28 A. Gregori, Mniejsze ws´ród regionalnych: literatury aran´ska i asturleon´ska w konteks´cie rozwoju je˛zyków współurze˛dowych w Hiszpanii, “Litteraria Copernicana”, 2019, 2(30), p. 132. 29 R. Szul, Sytuacja je˛zykowa w Europie – mie˛dzy regionalizmem a integracja˛ europejska˛. “Studia Regionalne i Lokalne”, no. 3(13), 2003, p. 36.

176

Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk

former is relatively well known to the valley’s residents, mainly due to traditionally close relations with Francophone areas. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the population of Valle de Arán to speak four languages: Castilian, Catalan, Aranés, and French, with the former and French dominating the service sector, especially tourism, as well as commerce. In addition, they are supplemented by English. The adaptation of locals to the linguistic requirements of tourists coming to the valley can be seen in the multilingual naming of, for example, store signs, tourist sites and goods30. In turn, the relatively large number of speakers of Galician is due to the fact that some of the residents of the Autonomous Community of Galicia settled in the Pyrenean Valley, due to their knowledge and experience in masonry31, which in the Valle de Arán was a highly sought-after craft, primarily in construction. Such great linguistic diversity is directly related not only to the tourist and commercial attractiveness of the Aran Valley, but domestic immigration is also important in this aspect. Many residents of the other autonomous communities come to the Valle de Arán in search of employment, hoping to improve their material situation. As a result, the Castilian language functions in the comarca as a universal communication tool. The above condition is confirmed by the results of a survey on language use in Catalonia conducted in 2018, during which 44.9% of respondents (residents of Valle de Arán) indicated that they usually communicate in Castilian, 19.7% in Aran, while 15.3% in Catalan. The simultaneous use of Catalan and Castilian was declared by 4.7%, while the use of other language combinations was confirmed by 11.9%32. The report lacks data as to the use of languages other than those mentioned in daily life. In fact, despite the recognition in the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of the Arabic language as co-official throughout the region, its reach is limited to the Valle de Arán, where the aforementioned status has been in place since 1990, while in the rest of Catalan territory its use is incidental and symbolic. However, it is worth recalling that, quite unexpectedly, one of the most important initiatives to promote the Arán language in the world was its use on ballots during the independence referendum in Catalonia, held on 1 October 201733. Thanks to the popularity of the event itself, the international community was able to “discover” the Arabic language in many cases. Recognition of the Aran language as an official language is significant because it not only raises its profile, including social prestige, but also allows the use of 30 B. Rzewuska, Przypadek Valle de Aran jako społecznos´ci pogranicza wielu kultur wspieranej przez władze lokalne, [in:] Społecznos´ci lokalne jako “miejsca” zmian. Teoria i praktyka, red. M. Adamczyk, W. Olszewski, Polkowice 2015, p. 256–257. 31 C. Lapresta Rey, Á. Huguet Canalís, op.cit., p. 92. 32 Generalitat de Catalunya, l’Enquesta d’Usos Lingüístics a la Població, Barcelona 2019, p. 13. 33 A. Gregori, op.cit., p. 130–131.

Catalonia’s internal politics: the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán microregion

177

institutional and legal mechanisms, for resuscitation and promotion. The situation of the native language of the valley’s residents is illustrated by comparing its number of speakers with the number of people communicating in other endangered languages in Spain, such as Asturleonese. The latter has an estimated 550,000 users34, while Occitan has about 5,00035. It is also apparent that there is a significant difference when it comes to the language domain, because in the case of Asturleonese it is a relatively large area36. Meanwhile, the zone of the Aran language is limited to the Valle de Arán, yet unlike the latter, the Asturleon language does not have the status of a co-official language. Catalans are known for their strong attachment to their native speech, resulting in a very active language policy on many levels. The linguistic standardization and popularization of el català by the regional government since the 1980s has been based not only on its implementation in the education system, but also on its dissemination in everyday life. This is served, among other things, by laws adopted such as the Language Normalization Law (1983) and then the Language Policy Law (1998), but also the Language Normalization Plan (1995)37. The conduct and implementation of Catalan language policy is multifaceted and multi-level, determining how national languages and national minorities coexist38. The method of so-called linguistic immersion used in Catalonia is total, which means the omnipresence of the Catalan language. The regional sensitivity to nurture and promote el català is part of a broader strategy of preserving smaller languages, as well as supporting their speakers (e. g., helping Aran institutions), which can be described as linguistic preservationism. This idea of sorts has dominated the actions of Catalan policymakers, while also helping to eliminate hostile discourse toward the Aran language. The aforementioned deprecatory approach often takes place in monolingual regions towards other minority languages. The Catalan attitude to the above issue is illustrated by the words of the Occitan, Aran Language Law in the Valle de Arán: “The sense of legislative intervention is consistent with the values and goals in defense of linguistic diversity that inspire Catalan language policy. At the same time, by promoting 34 Entry: “Asturian”, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, G. F. Simons, Ch. D. Fennig (eds.). Available at: https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ast (access: 10. 07. 2021). 35 Generalitat de Catalunya, Enquesta d’usos lingüístics de la població de Catalunya 2018. Dossier de premsa, Barcelona 2019, pp. 17, 39–43. 36 It includes Asturias, areas of the old kingdom of León (today’s province of León, Salamanca, Zamora), and the Portuguese region of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro. 37 The normative acts that determine Catalan language policy to the highest degree are: European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (international level), the Spanish Constitution (state level) and the Statute of the Autonomy of Catalonia (regional level). 38 K. Linda-Grycza, Polityka je˛zykowa w uje˛ciu formalnoprawnym i etnograficznym, na przykładzie hiszpan´skiego regionu Katalonii i jego mieszkan´ców. “Etnografia Polska”, vol. LX, item 1–2, 2016, p. 105.

178

Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk

the same values and objectives in Spain and Europe, the [Catalan] Parliament wishes to participate in the protection and dissemination of the Occitan linguistic legacy, present also in other territories”39.

As it can be seen, the Catalan trajectory of the implemented language policy seems to be favorable for the renewal and dissemination of the culture and especially the Aran language. Language immersion also applies to the Valle de Arán area, as children start learning the local language from the beginning of their education. Very often, at the elementary and then secondary school level, classes are held in the official languages: Castilian, Catalan, Aran, and additionally in foreign languages, i. e. English and French40. The effectiveness of education is confirmed by the highest percentage of Aran language proficiency (active and passive knowledge) among school children and adolescents. The 2018 survey shows that in the 15–29 age bracket, all language competencies among Aran speakers in the valley, i. e. comprehension (90.6%), speaking (75.2%), reading (87.4%) and writing (72.2%) exceed the 70% threshold. This is the age group with the largest overall increase since 2013: from 11% to 20%. The second group with a high percentage of familiarity is the population over the age of 65 (that is, before the wave of immigrants): 87.7% understand, 67.9% speak, 78% read, while only 34.8% write in Aran41. The fact is that despite intensive language policies, Arabic remains an endangered language and the number of its speakers is gradually declining. Over the decade (2008–2018), the percentage of people who speak it in daily use fell from 23.4% to 19.7%. The Aran language is being displaced by Castilian, or a combination of Castilian, Catalan and Aran. This situation is due, among other things, to the influx of people from other regions of Spain, and consequently Castilian has become the primary language of communication.

The special political and legal regime of the Aran Valley within the Autonomous Community of Catalonia The representation of the people of the Aran Valley included in the work on the 1979 Catalan Autonomous Statute, unequivocally formulated the need to recognize the fact that the population of the area is different from the rest of the region. In addition, it set the protection of the Aran language and making it formal as a priority for future action. It further stressed the desire to restore traditional political and administrative institutions. The above demands were 39 After: A. Gregori, op.cit., p. 132. 40 B. Rzewuska, op.cit., p. 257. 41 Generalitat de Catalunya, l’Enquesta d’Usos Lingüístics a la Població, Barcelona 2019, p. 41.

Catalonia’s internal politics: the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán microregion

179

reflected in the form of the adopted statute, which paved the way for the implementation of legislation on the status of the Aran language and the resuscitation of the valley’s own institutions. In this regard, the adoption of the previously mentioned Catalan Language Normalization Law in 1983, as well as the 1990 law introducing the special status of the Aran Valley, were of great importance. Under the latter, the Vall de Arán, as a comarca, regained its traditional administrative and institutional system, with the division into terçons, which became the constituencies of the restored Conselh Generau d’Aran, or General Council of Aran. This council was given powers affirming a degree of autonomy for the microregion, which were then formally expanded in the new Catalan statute of 2006. Prominent among these are the care, protection, use and teaching of the Aran language, as well as its promotion. The General Council took on the character of an autonomous government, with Síndic d’Aran as its head. It has authority over the entire territory of the valley in matters such as culture, health, social welfare, education, agriculture, tourism and environmental protection, among others. Also under a 1990 law, Aran was recognized as the official language of the Aran Valley, while a new autonomous statute extended its official status to all of Catalonia (under the 2010 Aran Language Law). Significantly, the reformed statute explicitly recognizes the Aran Valley in Article 11 as: “an Occitan entity with a cultural, historical, geographical and linguistic identity”42, and consequently indicates the need for special protection of the area through a dedicated legal regime. The analyzed law also created a space for residents to manifest their attachment to the valley, for example, by displaying Valle de Arán flags and singing the valley’s anthem, “Montanhes araneses”. The parallel presence in both public and private spaces of the aforementioned symbols confirms the high national consciousness and emerging identity of the valley’s residents. Another piece of legislation that decisively expanded the powers of the valley’s institutions was the Valle de Arán Special Regime Law of 5 February 2015. The Catalan Parliament, meeting the expectations of the residents of the area in question and the new social, political and economic challenges, increased its level of self-government, including through changes in the composition, powers and functioning, as well as the election of the Council, its collegial bodies (e. g., the Plenary Assembly – Pleno, síndico, Consejo de Gobierno) and other institutions, including the Institut d’Estudis Aranesi, which deals with issues related to the Arán language. The new law was the fruit of long-standing efforts by Aranese politicians to expand the political powers of the institutions and to recognize the 42 Organic Act 6/2006 of the 19th July, on the Reform of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, Boletin Oficial del Estado num. 172, de 20 de julio de 2006. Available at: http://www.parlamen t.cat/document/ cataleg/150259.pdf, p. 14, (access: 10. 05. 2022).

180

Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk

unique character of the valley. Representatives of the valley were actively involved in the drafting of the new statute of Catalonia, so that the document could safeguard the interests of Aran society to the fullest possible extent, and ensure an increasing degree of self-government over time. Due to the Spanish Constitutional Court’s verdict on Catalonia’s new autonomous statute in 2010, and the consequent radicalization of independence aspirations in the region, the statutory regulation of the valley’s political regime was postponed, and it was not until 13 February 2015 that the Catalan parliament passed the relevant legislation. The law was supported by 121 of 135 deputies43. The then Síndic d’Aran, Carlos Barrera, played a significant role in the work and negotiations on the document. The most contentious point was the issue of the funding model and election to the General Council. Under the new law, the Síndic d’Aran gained the authority to conclude agreements between the Aran and Catalan governments44. Of particular note, however, is the formal recognition of the existence of a “national Occitan reality”. Thus, the law ensures the protection of: the unique character of the valley, the culture, traditions, customs and historical rights of its inhabitants. In addition, it confirms the existence of a special organization of the Valle de Arán: institutional, political and administrative. The law is intended to guarantee powers for institutions and bodies, as well as autonomy in managing the affairs of its territory45. These regulations are intended to ensure effective governance on behalf of the people living in the Aran Valley. What is particularly interesting, especially in the Catalan reality and in light of the region’s independence aspirations, is the granting of the valley’s residents the right to decide their future. The latter element in particular seems to have exceeded the original expectations of the political actors representing the Valle de Arán46, as against this background the valley has become a unique case not only in Europe, but also in the world.

Conclusions Over the past decades, there has been a clear progression in expanding the scope of autonomy for the Aran Valley. The scale of changes in the laws dedicated to the area is illustrated by, among other things. the process of formal legal sanctioning of the Aran language, which was initially defined as “Aran speech” (the Statute of 43 A. Moga Vidal, Aran, un cas únic a Europa. La Llei 1/2015 reconeix el dret a decidir del poble aranès. “Activitat parlamentària”, 2016, Núm. 29, pp. 119–122. 44 El Parlament aprova la nova llei d’Aran. Available at: https://www.ccma.cat/324/el-parlamen t-aprova-la-nova-llei-daran/noticia/2631251/ (access: 22. 05. 2022). 45 Llei 1/2015, del 5 de febrer, del règim especial d’Aran, Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya, núm. 6810, de 13 de febrero de 2015. 46 A. Moga Vidal, op. cit.

Catalonia’s internal politics: the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán microregion

181

Sau), then as a “language” with official status in the valley (the Law Introducing the Special Status of the Aran Valley of 1990), then as “Occitan language”, which was further clarified as the Aran language used in the Valle de Arán (Catalan Statute of 2006), until finally in 2010 Aran became a co-official language throughout Catalonia (Aran Language Law of 2010). In terms of progress in taking more areas under the exclusive jurisdiction of local authorities, the involvement in the preparation of legislative initiatives on the part of the General Council of Aran, which are then processed in the Catalan parliament, is of great importance. Nonetheless, it is derived from the valley’s residents themselves that the need for protection and legal guarantees for a legacy that is a colorful mosaic of cultures and political influences has been the impetus for all political and legal action. The peculiarity of the Valle de Arán lies behind an amalgam of different factors: from geographic, socio-demographic, cultural-conscious or administrative, to components of a political nature. All of the above determinants interact and shape the specific identity of the population living in the valley. The aforementioned identity is very diverse, ambiguous and often takes the form of a divided identity, i. e. it both has elements of Catalan, Spanish/Castilian and Occitan identities. Depending on which elements have the dominant element, we can speak of ethnic identity and identification with historic Occitan, especially on the basis of linguistic proximity; identity of an administrative nature, where an individual defines himself as Spanish and/or Catalan, mainly through politicaladministrative ties. The indicated identities are not mutually exclusive and can coexist freely, so that a specific Aran identity is formed, which is complemented by the influence of external factors such as the influx of immigrants and tourists from outside Spain. The above elements make the Aran Valley a unique area of the Catalan Autonomous Community that requires special care and real legal action. The efforts of the Aran authorities in this direction seem understandable, especially since the Catalan government (of independentist provenance for almost two decades) in its narrative very strongly emphasizes the benefits of transferring more and more competencies to regional authorities, which can be understood by analogy with local authorities. In addition, it draws attention to the parallel increase in efficiency in the management of regional affairs with increasing autonomy, as exemplified, for example, by the Catalan government’s more efficient fight against the COVID-19 pandemic than the political interior47. In view of this, it is to be expected that the Catalan authorities will consistently act within the framework of their own internal policies.

47 J. Parker, Europe’s Secessionist Movements and Covid-19. “Nationalities Papers”, 2021, p. 1–2.

182

Wioletta Husar-Poliszuk

Bibliography “Asturin”, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, G. F. Simons, Ch. D. Fennig (eds.). Available at: https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ast (access: 10. 07. 2021). Aran. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/emex/?id=39&lang=es#h1ffffc00000000 (access: 22. 03. 2022). Aran, hèts istorics, Val d’Aran: Conselh Generau d’Aran, 2006, p. 24. Aran, Nacionalidad 2021. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/emex/?id=250313&lang=es (access: 08. 06. 2022). Castillon H., Histoire des Populations Pyrénéennes, du Nebouzan et du Pays de Comminges, Toulouse 1967. Densidad de población. Comarcas y Aran, ámbitos y provincias, Generalitat de Catalunya, Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=aec &n=249&t=2020&lang=es (access: 25. 02. 2022). El Parlament aprova la nova llei d’Aran. Available at: https://www.ccma.cat/324/el-parla ment-aprova-la-nova-llei-daran/noticia/2631251/ (access: 22. 05. 2022). Generalitat de Catalunya, Enquesta d’usos lingüístics de la població de Catalunya 2018. Dossier de premsa, Barcelona 2019. Generalitat de Catalunya, l’Enquesta d’Usos Lingüístics a la Població, Barcelona 2019. Gregori A., Mniejsze ws´ród regionalnych: literatury aran´ska i asturleon´ska w konteks´cie rozwoju je˛zyków współurze˛dowych w Hiszpanii. “Litteraria Copernicana”, 2019, 2(30). Hernàndez F.X., Historia de Cataluña, Barcelona 2014. Husar-Poliszuk W., Katalon´czycy. Od budowy własnej toz˙samos´ci do independentyzmu w regionie, Poznan´ 2020. Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña, El municipio en cifras, Aran. Available at: https:// www.idescat.cat/emex/?id=39&lang=es#t192 (access: 10. 05. 2022). Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña, Población a 1 de enero. Comarcas y Aran, ámbitos y provincias. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=aec&n=246&t=2019&lang=es (access: 10. 05. 2022). Kubiaczyk F., Historia, pamie˛c´, nacjonalizm po katalon´sku. “Studia Europaea Gnesnensia”, 2015, no. 12. Lacasta Estaun G., El euskera en el alto Aragon. “Cuadernos de Sección. Hizkuntza eta Literatura”, 1994 (12). Lapresta Rey C., Huguet Canalís Á., Identidad colectiva y lengua en contextos pluriculturales y plurilingües. El caso del Valle De Arán (Lleida. España). “Revista Internacional de Sociología (RIS)”, Vol. LXIV, 45, septiembre-diciembre 2006, 92–93. Linda-Grycza K., Polityka je˛zykowa w uje˛ciu formalnoprawnym i etnograficznym, na przykładzie hiszpan´skiego regionu Katalonii i jego mieszkan´ców. “Etnografia Polska”, vol. LX, item 1–2, 2016. Llei 1/2015, del 5 de febrer, del règim especial d’Aran, Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya, núm. 6810, de 13 de febrero de 2015. Manuel de Moner J., Vall d’Aran. “Album Histórich, Pintoresch y Monumental de Lleyda y Sa Provincia”, 34, Barcelona 1891, 345–347. Moga Vidal A., Aran, un cas únic a Europa. La Llei 1/2015 reconeix el dret a decidir del poble aranès. “Activitat parlamentària”, 2016, Núm. 29, 119–122.

Catalonia’s internal politics: the peculiarities of the Valle de Arán microregion

183

Organic Act 6/2006 of the 19th July, on the Reform of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, Boletin Oficial del Estado num. 172, de 20 de julio de 2006. Available at: http://www.pa rlament.cat/document/cataleg/150259.pdf, 14, (access: 10. 05. 2022). Parker J., Europe’s Secessionist Movements and Covid-19. “Nationalities Papers”, 2021. PIB, PIB per habitant, Generalitat de Catalunya, Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=pibc&n=13830&by=com&t=201800&la ng=en (access: 25. 02. 2022). Población a 1 de enero. Comarcas y Aran, ámbitos y provincias, 1990–2019. Available at: https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=aec&n=246&lang=es&t=1990 (access: 10. 05. 2022). Rzewuska B., Przypadek Valle de Aran jako społecznos´ci pogranicza wielu kultur wspieranej przez władze lokalne, [in:] Społecznos´ci lokalne jako “miejsca” zmian. Teoria i praktyka, red. M. Adamczyk, W. Olszewski, Polkowice 2015, 256–257. Simon i Tarrés A., Del 1640 al 1705, L’autogovern de Catalunya i la classe dirigent catalana en el joc de la política international europea, València 2011. Szul R., Sytuacja je˛zykowa w Europie – mie˛dzy regionalizmem a integracja˛ europejska˛. “Studia Regionalne i Lokalne”, no. 3, 13, 2003. Turull A., Una caracterización de la toponimia pirenaica catalana, [in:] Pirinioetako hizkuntzak: oraina eta lehena, Euskaltzaindiaren XVI, Bilbao 2011.

Authors

Bazun´ Dorota, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected]; ORCID: 0000-00030403-6257 Dudra Stefan, PhD, Associated professor, Institute of Political Science & Administration, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, s.dudra@ ip.uz.zgora.pl; ORCID: 0000-0002-4196-1305 Famuła-Jurczak Anita, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-4538-6843 Fra˛tczak-Muller Joanna, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected] a.pl; ORCID: 0000-0002-2283-0174 Husar-Poliszuk Wioletta, Assistant professor, Political Science & Administration, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0001-9891-3227 Kataryn´czuk-Mania Lidia, PhD, Associated professor, Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, l.katarynczuk-mania@ wpps.uz.zgora.pl, ORCID 0000-0002-4334-7465 Kaz´mierczak-Kałuz˙na Izabela, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, i.kazmierczak-kaluzna@ is.uz.zgora.pl, ORCID 0000-0001-7942-0507

186

Authors

Kwiatkowski Mariusz, PhD, Associated professor, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0003-0162-9452 Lisowski Krzysztof, PhD, Associated professor, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-6943-0127 Magda-Adamowicz Marzenna, PhD, Associated professor, Institute of Pedagogy Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, m.magda-adamowicz@wp ps.uz.zgora.pl, ORCID: 0000-0003-1971-1155 Mielczarek-Z˙ejmo Anna, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra. [email protected] z.zgora.pl; ORCID: 0000-0001-9426-942X Pochyły Piotr, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Political Science & Administration, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, p.pochyly@ ip.uz.zgora.pl, ORCID 0000-0003-2978-6070 Pokrzyn´ska Magdalena, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Sociology Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected], ORCID 0000-0002-8370-0592 Ratke-Majewska Anna, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Political Science & Administration, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected], ORCID 0000-0003-0845-5061 Szaban Dorota, PhD, Associated professor, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected], ORCID 00000001-5892-4095 Trzop Beata, PhD, Associated professor, Institute of Sociology Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected], ORICD 0000-00034791-817X Tyda Arkadiusz, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Political Science & Administration, Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, a.tyda@ip. uz.zgora.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-7357-7391

Authors

187

Zapotoczna Magdalena, PhD, Assistant professor, Institute of Pedagogy Faculty of Social Science University of Zielona Góra, [email protected], ORCID 0000-0001-7109-9464