School of Dialogue

Forum for Dialogue awards the “School of Dialogue” title to schools committed to commemorating their local prewar Jewish community and establishing contacts with descendants of Polish Jews.

We award the “School of Dialogue” title on the basis of commemorative projects created by teachers and their students each year. Teachers who are members of the Forum for Dialogue Network are encouraged to implement commemoration projects at their schools, so the latter may be considered for the “School of Dialogue” title. The projects should include a series of events, such as commemoration of local Jewish community and establishing a relationship with a descendant of Polish Jews.

We support the teachers in the Forum for Dialogue Network who want to create schools where memory and understanding of Polish/Jewish past is a foundation for a better future. We know that dedicated teachers in committed schools make lasting changes in the Polish landscape of Jewish memory and in the attitudes of students, as well as local communities, possible.

We assist teachers in our Forum for Dialogue Network using the experience we’ve gathered in 15 years of running a nationwide educational program, the School of Dialogue. We are confident in our belief that educating about local history and engagement in bringing memory back are key to a better future. We offer these teachers group support, space for consultations, opportunity to grow together and share experiences with other teachers, as well as educational materials and assistance in reaching out to descendants of Polish Jews. This is our effort to address a systemic lack in Polish education, which more often than not leaves ambitious and dedicated teachers with little-to-no additional aid or resources. We know that addressing difficult and complex issues in education takes its toll, and we want to make sure that the work of the teachers in the Forum for Dialogue Network is sustainable and impactful for their communities and for them.

A School of Dialogue is a school that puts the individual in the center. It wants to learn about that person. A school that recognizes the value of diversity. It is a school that prepares people to engage in dialogue, a skill of utmost importance in today’s world. It is a school that remembers the multicultural past, faces the truth, and is ready to build intercultural bridges.

Mariusz Sokołowski, Principal of Primary School no. 20 in Białystok, activist in the Forum for Dialogue Network