NIKT NIE RODZI SIĘ Z UPRZEDZENIAMI
BezUprzedzen.org

About the Program

"Nobody is Born with Prejudice" is an anti-discrimination educational program originated in 2005 by KONSOLA Women Association. Authors of the program are Agata Teutsch and Monika Serkowska (Autonomy Foundation).

Main objectives of the program:

to popularise the knowledge about prejudice and discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, ability and other reasons
to include the issue of acting against prejudice and discrimination into educational activities
to make people become more aware of different manifestations of discrimination
to strengthen civil attitude and civil courage in acting against acts of discrimination and violence

The "Nobody is Born with Prejudice" program implies the existence of mutual roots and connections between different forms, reasons and manifestations of prejudice and discrimination. This perspective, which points to the problem of building social relations on the basis of a system of domination (power) and submission, allows to act against inequalities and discrimination more effectively.

Assumptions of the program:

there are no people free from prejudice and stereotypes
sexism, racism, homophobia and other prejudices are acquired, not inborn
prejudice and discrimination refer to all of us regardless of the fact whether we are part of the discriminated group or not
prejudices are multiplied, for instance in the process of education, which is why it is so important to make this process be as free from prejudices and manifestations of discrimination as possible
antidiscrimination law does not work by itself - very often it does not protect from discrimination
not discriminating is not enough, by being silent and by refusing to actively react to the manifestations of discrimination, we maintain the current state of affairs
thanks to introspection, learning about the mechanisms of power, exclusion and discrimination, and thanks to everyday anti-discrimination action and a critical attitude towards culture we were brought up, we can break ourselves from the prejudice

Who is the program addressed to?

The program is mainly addressed to educators (trainers, teachers), people involved in non-governmental organisations work (workers, volunteers), and particularly to the organisations that are involved in workshops and trainings or that deal with groups subject to racial, ethnic, age, sexual, gender, (dis)ability discrimination.

The program is a reaction to:

limited access to workshops/training on anti-discrimination action for people dealing with education of different sort, and acting or working in NGO
lack of problematic issues connected with acting against ethnic, racial, religious, sexual orientation, gender discrimination in educational programs for future educators, including NGO trainers ? resulting in a failure to include these issues in the process of preparing and conducting trainings and workshops;
an insufficient number of complete workshop modules dealing in a complex way with the issues of prejudice, stereotypes and ethnic, racial, gender and sexual orientation discrimination
insufficient information on and lack of access to prepared workshop modules and educational methods concerning anti-discrimination action used in Poland.

1st edition of the program was executed from January to October 2005 within the framework of KONSOLA Women Association project entitled "Nobody is Born with Prejudice ? an anti-prejudice and anti-discrimination action in education and training" funded by EU (PHARE).

The project involved the following measures:

creating bezuprzedzen.org site and CD materials
translation of texts and materials on anti-discrimination education
purchase, translation and screenings of 3 educational films (Blue Eyed, Killing Us Softly 3, Tough Guise) dealing with the theme of anti-discrimination
arranging 4 workshops on anti-discrimination and anti-prejudice action addressed to:
- NGO activists, especially to those dealing with training and workshops and to those working for groups subject to exclusion and racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, age and (dis)ability discrimination ? 1st workshop (May 2005)
- NGO trainers, educators, teachers (the workshop includes the specificity of educational work, but is not a one preparing for conducting full anti-discrimination workshops) ? 2nd workshop (June 2005)
- people interested in committing to anti-discrimination action ? 3rd workshop (July 2005)
- NGO volunteers ? 4th workshop (September 2005)

The curriculum of the workshops was based on training modules: an anti-discrimination workshop created within the framework of "Strengthening Anti-discrimination Policies" program and a workshop created by Jane Elliott entitled ?Blue Eyed?, and also other materials, including the proprietary materials of authors of the program. The workshops were conducted by experienced Polish trainers: Agata Teutsch and Monika Serkowska.

2nd edition of the program was executed from November to December 2006 within the framework of KONSOLA Women Association project entitled "Audiovisual materials, publications and meetings in developmental education" co-funded by Education for Democracy Foundation (FED) within the framework of Foreign Assistance of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in 2006.

The project involved the following measures:

distribution of 500 copies of Blue Eyed film
publication of Blue Eyed. A Guide to Use in Organizations by Nora Lester, a guide for conducting classes on the basis of the film
publication of Cultural Etiquette. A Guide for the Well-Intentioned by Amoja Three Rivers, a brochure complementing the Blue Eyed guide
expansion of bezuprzedzen.org site
organising the 4th "Travelling Film Festival WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film" of Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
workshops on human rights, democracy and minorities
issuing leaflets and posters

3rd edition of the program is taking place currently (until September 30, 2009) and is conducted by KONSOLA Women Association and Autonomy Foundation within the framework of the project "Nobody is Born with Prejudice ? an anti-discrimination and gender education" funded by Island, Liechtenstein and Norway from the financial resources under the so-called EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism and by the Fund for Non-Governmental Organizations (FOP) from the budget of the Republic of Poland.

The project involves the following measures:

preparation and distribution of 3 educational films Blue Eyed, Killing Us Softly 3, Tough Guise
preparation and publication of teaching materials to use with the films
two training series preparing for conducting gender and anti-discrimination classes using the above mentioned films
240 hours of workshops conducted by the participants of the above mentioned training series
further expansion of bezuprzedzen.org site (new materials and newsletter)