ENCOUNTERING THE OTHER AS AN EXAMPLE OF GLOBAL EDUCATION WITHIN THE MUSEUM SPACE

In the face of the migration crisis in Europe in2015, discussions on refugees and emigrants who live inPoland have been dominated by stereotypes and negativeimages presented by the media, and the division into supportersand opponents of the “Others” have also becomehighly visible in schools. The lack of topics in the field ofglobal education and of knowledge about the current situationof African countries has contributed to the increasein xenophobic attitudes among pupils, and to all sorts ofmanifestations of verbal and physical violence motivated byprejudices against people who stand out because of theirappearance or origin.The Encountering the Other project, which has been runby the Artykuł 25 Foundation and the National Museum inSzczecin since 2014, attempts to reply to the lack in Polandof a social basis of sensitivity, respect and solidarity withpeople of different geographical and cultural backgrounds.Its main aim is to allow primary, middle and secondaryschool pupils to acquire knowledge about the Countriesof the Global South, which may encourage them to revisetheir attitudes. The basis of the project is classes inschool which are based on our own script prepared froma lecture by Ryszard Kapuściński, Encountering the Other:the challenge for the 21st century, which he gave upon receivingthe title of doctor honoris causa from the JagiellonianUniversity. The National Museum in Szczecin plays animportant role in the project. It runs classes for studentswhich show them the old art and culture of West-Africancountries and their influence on European art, but also presentsworks by contemporary artists from Benin, Nigeriaand the Republic of South Africa. As part of the Week ofGlobal Education, the museum presents documentaries forchildren and teens from the Docs Against Gravity Festival,and there are workshops using the kamishibai theatre and discussions on mutual understanding and global interdependence.The project is complemented by a conferencetargeted at teachers and representatives of organisationsworking with children and teens, whose main aim is toprovide knowledge on the contemporary culture and art ofAfrican countries, and to show good practices for counteractingdiscrimination and violence motivated by prejudice.The Encountering the Other project aims to counteractprejudice and stereotypes, to show a different image ofthe Countries of the Global South, to convince children,teenagers and teachers to make their social attitudes moreresponsible, which would be of key importance on shapingtrends today or in the future, and to incorporate global issuesinto mainstream discussions