Love and aversion, successes and failures, joys and disappointments, good and bad decisions. Personal experiences shape our humanity. They allow us to learn more about ourselves, become wiser, stronger and more resilient. However, not everything is a challenge which can be “for the best”. Some situations should not be experienced by anybody, and war is an extreme example of those. Like Anna, a mother of three, who came from the Sumy region, has said: “War exposes what we would rather not find out. It shows how strong fear and hate can be, how great and how tiny we can be at the same time. Even if you manage to get accustomed to a traumatic situation, you become powerless in the face of the pain and fear of your children. As quickly as possible, without a plan, you try to get them as far away as possible – from their own home, city, state. And suddenly, during this desperate flight, something astonishing happens. You meet Poles, who take you into a strong embrace and repeat like a mantra: it's okay, you're safe now. And when you finally believe it, you begin to get used to the new reality. But you are still worried about your children. Will they cope, will they meet new friends, will they like their new school, will they handle the language. Because if they will, you can be happy, too. All initiatives that help them tame the insecurity and find joy are extremely precious.”
Everything about Copernicus Science Centre
Together for a Better Future
Since Russia's assault on Ukraine, millions of refugees have found their new homes in Poland. Most of them have already learned the Polish language, the adults go to work, the children go to school. But sometimes, they are still disoriented. It is a normal stage in the process of integration. In order to make it easier, we have prepared an intercultural programme Together for a Better Future. It helps both Polish and Ukrainian children, as well as their families, to learn about their languages and cultures during classes based on experimentation and construction.
The children who came from Ukraine can continue their education in Polish schools, as well as study remotely within the system organised by the Ukrainian ministry of education. Each of those choices poses a great challenge, and attempts to deal with a difficult situation may lead to self-isolation. How do we prevent this, and aid children and their parents in integration? It is currently the most pressing social need. Our many years of experience show that science is above language and cultural barriers. Phenomena are universal, and experimentation, construction, observation – intuitive. When you take such actions with others, they become a tool of establishing connections and getting to know one another. Driven by that thought, we worked out a national programme Together for a Better Future, making the integration between Ukrainian children and their Polish peers easier, but also increasing their chances in education, competences and the sense of agency. We use forms of various activities that were created and tested by us. Classes are conducted for mixed, Polish-Ukrainian groups. We also invite children and young people of other nationalities to participate in our programme.
We are executing the project together with partners who, just like us, care deeply about the intercultural integration within local communities.
The classes are free of charge for all participants.
Thanks to the financial support of our donors, the activities include the Young Explorers' Clubs and the Areas of Imagination, Discovery, and Activity. In 2023, we provided free entrance to the Copernicus Science Centre Exhibitions and Planetarium to more than 1,400 people (Ukrainian and Polish-Ukrainian groups).
Katarzyna Uroda-Lenartowicz
Anna Płóciennik
Anna Polozhii
Sylwia Jędra
Iwo Maciak
dr. Zuzanna Michalska
Katarzyna Ruszczak
Ewa Zdybał