The Polish Ombudsman Adam Bodnar met with students from Automotive Vocational School in Włocławek to talk about dialogue and tolerance. After completing the School of Dialogue program in 2014 and winning the 2nd place at the 2014 School of Dialogue Gala, the school from Włocławek has continued the efforts in commemorating the local Jewish community and promoting multicultural dialogue. Among many of their achievements, students set up a School of Dialogue Club, welcomed Israeli guests in their school and in June 2016 won the Memory For The Future competition. Meeting with the Polish Ombudsman was a wonderful opportunity for the students to present their work. We are very proud that Forum’s educational program inspired young people to stay involved and have led to such sustainable results at local level.

Forum for Dialogue has been continuing collaboration with The Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education at Chapman University. This year, two Schools of Dialogue – from Wieluń and Zamość – participate in the Annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest. Schools’ representatives will submit their works in the following categories: art, film, prose and poetry. The 18th edition of the Chapman University contest is organized under the motto: „I have a story to tell”.

“Jews from Hrubieszów” is a short movie made by a group of young residents of Hrubieszów, interested in the Jewish past of their town. One of the initiators of this project is Flavia Cundari, an Alumni of the School of Dialogue and Summer School of Dialogue programs, and one of the authors of a book “Hrubieszów, Little Polin”. The movie presents the history of the Jewish community in Hrubieszów and is narrated in English by the young authors. The juxtaposition of pre-war photographs with contemporary landscape is really interesting to watch. What a great initiative!

In 14th of October alumnes of School of Dialogue from Vocational Schools Complex No 2 organized a tour in Skierniewice, gathering guests from U.S., Canada and Germany. Guided walk „The range of memories of Jewish community at Skierniewice” was performed anew as it was created one year ago. The event became a part of Skierniewicer Festival and was enriched with catalogs published in English and Polish. Among places of the route are some connected with childhood of Eddie Vitch, famous cartoonist who was born in Skierniewice. Family of the Holywood artist was present during the event.

Leaders of Dialogue recognized during the 2016 POLIN Award! Jacek Koszczan, the chairman of the Association for Preservation of the Heritage of Jews from Dukla Region – Dukla Shtetl has been awarded the first prize this year. The award honors those who actively contribute to preserving the memory of Polish Jews. Honorable Mentions were received by Robert Augustyniak, working in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, and Mirosław Skrzypczyk from Szczekocin i Lelów, the chairman of Walenty Zwierkowski Association for Lelów History and Culture. All three of them are participants of the Leaders of Dialogue program.
Congratulations!!

We organized the 2nd Local Conference of Leaders of Dialogue. This year the event was held in Zduńska Wola, Warta, Chełmno, Szadek, Łask and Łódź – the central regions of Poland.
Kamila Klauzińska and Tomasz Polkowski were the host Leaders of Dialogue for the event and presented their work for the Polish-Jewish dialogue and commemoration of Jewish history. The meeting created a space in which we could exchange experiences and inspiration, and strengthen bonds with each other.
The Local Conference of Leaders of Dialogue was co-financed from funds granted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

The first Canadian study trip of Forum for Dialogue was held between September 18-25. After three intensive days in Warsaw participants traveled to Lublin, Majdanek, Radom and Krakow. It was in Radom that our guests met with high school students of the School of Dialogue program and together walked around Jewish sights of the town. For many, the highlight of the trip was the Shabbat dinner organized in Radom, which gathered trip participants, students and local Leaders of Dialogue. An evening full of reflection and joy. We would like to thank all the participants for this wonderful and meaningful trip!

The study trip for Jewish leaders from the U.S. took place between September 5-12. Participants went on a tour of Warsaw and city’s Jewish sites, visited POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and Żabiński’s Villa at the Warsaw ZOO. They met for discussions with Agata Rakowiecka, director of JCC Warsaw, Magdalena Dorosz director of Hillel Warsaw and Karolina Szykier-Koszucka, coordinatior of Ec Chaim Progressive Community Center of Warsaw Jewish Community, as well as with Piotr Buras, Head of the European Council on Foreign Affairs and Paweł Dobrosielski, a PhD candidate at the Institute of Polish Culture of the University of Warsaw. One of the highlights of the trip was a Shabbat dinner held in Rabka Zdrój where the trip participant together with with local Leaders of Dialogue, their families and invited guests gathered for a shabbat reflection, sang some prayers, and lit the candles. An evening full of touching moments for all present there. The next day, they met again to visit Jewish sites of Rabka Zdrój. During the trip, participants also had a wonderful opportunity to meet with the students of School of Dialogue in Chęciny, and guided by young boys and girls, walked following the footsteps of the local Jewish community. Kraków was the last stop of the study visit.

For the first time this year three Forum for Dialogue staff members participated in the Facing History and Ourselves Summer Seminars on “Holocuast and Human Behavior”. Izabela Meyza spent a week at the seminar in Brookline, MA, and Marta Rauk and Adela Lemańska participated in the program in New York. It was a great opportunity to meet more teachers working with Facing History and witness Facing History work in action!