23/04/2023
Poland
participants
The goal of the Activity was to make ESN volunteers aware of the role of ESN in shaping an inclusive environment by understanding the mission of the organization, understanding different forms of discrimination and analyzing possible tools to tackle it.
Objectives: At the end of the weekend, participants were able to:
1. identify ESN activities in the scope of building inclusive environment,
2. understand how being discriminated against impact our mental health,
3. determine priorities for the universities united in UNIgreen, especially on the "Diversity, Inclusiveness and Multiculturalism" topic,
4. explain the Vroom’s Expectancy Theory,
5. understand the role of leader in creating safe space within the team,
6. illustrate different types of discrimination,
7. understand the ways of spreading stereotypes in public sphere,
8. identify the origins of discriminatory behaviors,
9. propose tools to fight discrimination & evaluate them.
Activities & Methods:
We decided to organize 4 workshops that will cover the objectives of our initiative. The topics were:
1. ESN 101 - which covered objective 1)
2. Mental health within youth - which covered objectives 2) and 3)
3. Inclusive leadership - which covered objectives 4) and 5)
4. Youth against racism and discrimination - which covered objectives 6), 7), 8) and 9)
During workshops we used methods that helped our participants make a self-reflection on proposed topics (for example by individual work during “where do I stand” activity) but also methods which supported group learning (buzz groups and me-we-us) by which they had the opportunity to exchange their perspectives and ideas. At the end of the event participants were satisfied with the proposed activities and methods that we used - they appreciated the fact that we combined self-reflection activities with group work, which helped them with organizing their knowledge and better understanding discussed topics.
Promotion & Outreach:
The promotion of this event was directed towards various target groups. We promoted it internally, as the workshops were aimed at ESN volunteers. Internal promotion took place on the internal communication channel of ESN SGGW as well as as the agenda point during our monthly meeting and during individual conversations with our volunteers. Internal promotion was directed towards new members of our section as well as the more experienced members - we wanted to supply all of the members of ESN SGGW with the quality knowledge on the topic.
The outreach of the event was quite significant - at the end we had XX participants of the workshops.
The results of the event were promoted on our external social media channels. We also shared our initiative with ESN Poland Sections, as we posted about it on our internal communication channel - we hope that this initiative will inspire other Sections from our National Organisation.
Impact & Multiplying Effect:
The workshops had a great impact on the participants as they made them reflect on their previous experiences with discrimination and exclusion from the local communities. It also proved to be a good and safe space to share those experiences and reflections with fellow ESNers, which was greatly appreciated by the participants. Each session built on top of the previous one and by the end of the event the objectives have been reached. Evaluation of the event showed that the participants were either satisfied or very satisfied with the content side of the workshops. After the workshops, during the events committee meeting, our newbies were already very eager to put the knowledge they gained during the workshops into practice and organise an event that would raise the awareness about the inclusion of the international students into the academic community of our University. We hope that initiatives like those will contribute to opening Polish society to foreigners and improve the experiences of both Polish and international students studying in SGGW University.
This activity is part of the project:
Developing Youth Voices