Over 30,000 residents of the Pomeranian voivodship declared membership of ethnic minority groups. These groups are most frequently exposed to hate speech and physical violence – setting mosques on fire, anti-Semitic inscriptions collected in the “Hate Speech” publication (2014), and racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic slogans heard in the stadiums of Gdańsk (“Brown Paper, 2011-2012”). Other minority groups – such as LGBT persons – are exposed to hate speech in Gdańsk as well.
The project purpose was to empower representatives of minorities living in Gdańsk by collecting “spoken stories” in a storytelling evolution, and laying out trails of walks tying in with the experience of a given minority.
The project allowed LGBT persons, women with life experience in many cultures, Jewish and Muslim community representatives, the Chinese, and people of the Kociewie region to tell stories of their identity and of discrimination-related experience. Related walk trails are a contribution to the process of promoting social and cultural diversity of the Pomeranian region.
Workshops preparing participants to conduct interviews (120 hours) were delivered. Fifty-three conversations were held; 6 trails available in audio format on the project website and in the printed publication were designed. The second publication comprises articles concerning the city and its identity. Three walks were organised in Gdańsk (following the minorities’ trail). The project closed with a conference, book promotion included.
Workshops were attended by 83 individuals. Sixty-six persons were interviewed. Forty persons attended the conference.
The City of Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences were the joint project partner responsible for delivering and consulting storytelling workshops. The other partner – the Institute of Urban Culture – was responsible for organising the conference, workshops and walks, for handling the recruitment process, and for project-related technical assistance.