Youth Exchange: Fighting antisemitism, xenophobia and racism now!

Youth from Poland and Norway gathered in Oslo and Utøya

Students and teachers from six upper secondary schools in Poland and Norway discussed how to combat hate speech, racism and xenophobia, how to promote respect and inclusion, and explored what Polish and Norwegian students have in common.

The workshops marked the beginning of the 2023/2024 edition of the project “Fighting antisemitism, xenophobia and racism now!”, run jointly by POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and the European Wergeland Centre.

The days were packed with engaging activities and interactive workshops. On the first day in Oslo, the participants visited the 22 July Centre, learned about the 2011 terror attacks, and joined an interactive workshop on propaganda and memes. Next, the group traveled to the island of Utøya. In the course of three days, students participated in several workshops on preventing hate speech and combating stereotypes and discrimination, while teachers held sessions on teaching controversial issues and cooperative learning.

Next, the students will conduct local projects at their schools or local communities. Next spring, everyone will reconvene in Warsaw to exchange experiences from their local projects and participate in more workshops.

Through such participatory activities and discussions, this project aims to empower learners to be active citizens in today’s diverse society.

The project is funded by the EEA and Norway Grants.