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4.1.7 Experiences and expectations with regard to national and international cooperation
Through engaging in such activities we will open Polish people’s eyes, showing that there is the problem of hate crime and that we have to combat it because the world is for everyone.
(Filip Kitundu, Society for African Affairs at the Jagiellonian University, Kraków)
Almost all organizations expressed direct interest in various forms of national and international cooperation within the non-governmental sector. In particular, interviewees believe collaboration in the international context could be beneficial and stimulating, despite varying degrees of experience in this sector and varying levels of confidence. Nomondalai Erdenechimeg of the Mongolian Student Community was excited at the prospect of transnational cooperation between local organizations: »People could work together, act together and react.«
International cooperation is also seen as an absolute necessity from the perspective of the global struggle against hate crime and discrimination. As Marcin Kornak from Nigdy Więcej emphasizes, »international cooperation is necessary because racism crosses borders.«
Several interviewees mentioned they have contacts with other organizations within transnational networks such as UNITED and ENAR. (1) Representatives of LGBT NGOs (particularly the Campaign Against Homophobia) mentioned broad international contacts within the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and the International Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Youth and Student Organization (IGLYO). The Campaign Against Homophobia, together with Lambda Warsaw, is also involved in an international monitoring initiative in cooperation with MANEO from Berlin and the French organization S.O.S. Homophobia (S.O.S. Homophobie). Other affiliations were mentioned by Arabia.pl (Anna Lindt Foundation Network), the Rescue Foundation (NGOs from the Netherlands and Spain, as well as the German association Xenion specializing in psychological help for political refugees) and the member committees of the International Helsinki Federation for Humans Rights.
There is also some degree of cooperation locally. Most organizations were familiar with the work of Nigdy Więcej, and some of them referred to this NGO as the largest and most significant initiative in the field of hate crime policies in Poland. They considered Nigdy Więcej to be their most experienced partner with public support, an organization from whom they can obtain the most information concerning minorities as well as popular campaigns against racism, xenophobia, anti- Semitism and other forms of intolerance and hatred-based ideologies. For LGBT organizations and the Association for Crisis Intervention, feminist and women’s organizations are also strategic partners. The Campaign Against Homophobia is also a cooperation partner for the Jewish organization Beit Warszawa.
Some Polish respondents expressed willingness to share their organizations’ experiences or resources, especially with less experienced or less developed NGOs from other Eastern European states. The following are some of the major benefits that Polish organizations hope will arise from international cooperation:
• intellectual and political support from more experienced and more influential or well-known NGOs
• direct financial help or assistance in obtaining funds from international sources/institutions (most notably the European Union)
• exchange of information and training in the broader field of antidiscrimination work.
Major obstacles to international cooperation that these organizations foresee are:
• varying degrees of experience and different focus in organizations from other countries (i.e. the representative of the Nigdy Więcej Group in Oświęcim talked about her group’s experiences in Polish-German cooperation and described German NGOs as »more mature« than Polish ones with regard to their ability to tackle project-based initiatives)
• linguistic barriers in international communication
• shortage of financial resources to contribute to project realization or travel expenses
• lower degree of influence (or impact) of Polish NGOs vis-à-vis those from other states in some international projects
• formal difficulties, such as visa requirements if participants from non-EU eastern European states seek entry.
1. United for Intercultural Action–European Network Against Nationalism, Racism, Fascism and in Support of Migrants and Refugees has affiliations with Nigdy Więcej, the Polish Humanitarian Action, the Association for Crisis Intervention and the Campaign Against Homophobia. The European Network Against Racism—the Kazakh Community is an official representative of this organization in Poland. Arabia.pl Association has also worked within this network and was involved in the preparation of its Shadow Report on racism in Poland in 2006.
(OPP)
