The following statement was written by Prof. Michał Buchowski, on behalf of the Polish Ethnological Society. It was published in Quarterly Newsletter of the World Council of Anthropological Associations (Number VI, February 2017).
Polish Anthropologists against Discrimination
Alarmed by the growing amount of racially, ethnically and religiously motivated verbal and physical violence in the country, as well as rightist authorities’ stance on issues of refugees that encourages xenophobic hysteria and tolerates criminal acts against immigrants, Polish ethnologists and anthropologists held a Special Convention against Discrimination. It was held on November 23, 2016 in the city of Poznań. Four hundred people gathered in this largest assembly of anthropologists in the country ever. The idea of the meeting was initiated by the group of anthropologists in the Department of Anthropology and Cultural Anthropology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, but it met with the virtually unanimous support of all anthropological institutions in the country, Polish Ethnological Society (PES) being one of the first of them. It was backed also by several anthropological associations worldwide: IUAES, AAA, EASA, Le réseau Euroethno du Conseil de l’Europe, and last but not least the WCAA. The latter statement included the individually expressed support of several national organizations. Some academic institutions, such as Institute of Ethnology and Folklore in Sofia, Bulgaria, Departments of Anthropology at the University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh and Goldsmith University in London also showed their solidarity with their Polish Colleagues. A Manifesto Against Discrimination was accepted by acclamation. Plans for the coordinating work of anthropologists against discrimination, racism and xenophobia were discussed and accepted. The Special Meeting was reported in the national media. It is worth noting that PES issued a protest against the current wave of racism and xenophobia at its Annual Meeting in Lvov in 2015.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION MANIFESTO OF POLISH ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND ETHNOLOGISTS
As representatives of the disciplines of Anthropology and Ethnology we feel particularly responsible for how culture and society are understood and represented. We are deeply concerned with the proliferation of manipulation and ignorance in public debates, the media, education and politics in today’s Poland. We are referring in particular to misleading claims about migration, refugees and multiculturalism, as well as national, ethnic and religious identities. For all these reasons, we find it important and necessary to organize a Special Meeting of Ethnologists and Anthropologists and to collectively take a stance on these issues.
For more than one hundred years, culture and society have been the main focus of our discipline’s theoretical reflection and empirical studies. Therefore, we feel both obliged and authorized to speak up when this knowledge is used to mislead the public. Our sense of obligation is grounded in the ethos of Anthropology – a discipline that serves society and humanistic values. We are also motivated by a sense of responsibility and civic duty.
In embracing these ideals, we strongly oppose discrimination, exclusion and hate speech motivated by cultural, religious, ethnic, gender or world-view differences. We protest the conscious manipulation of facts, the ideologization of beliefs, xenophobia, racism and violence directed at people who represent different cultures, identities, political stances, faiths and values. Such acts of hatred, which have become more frequent in Polish society today, undermine the foundations of the social order and frequently lead to real-life tragedies. We stand behind reliable knowledge about culture and society, call for mutual respect, and demand respect for humanist values. We are defending a diverse and open society built on the ideals of democracy and human rights.
For more than one hundred years, culture and society have been the main focus of our discipline’s theoretical reflection and empirical studies. Therefore, we feel both obliged and authorized to speak up when this knowledge is used to mislead the public. Our sense of obligation is grounded in the ethos of Anthropology – a discipline that serves society and humanistic values. We are also motivated by a sense of responsibility and civic duty.
In embracing these ideals, we strongly oppose discrimination, exclusion and hate speech motivated by cultural, religious, ethnic, gender or world-view differences. We protest the conscious manipulation of facts, the ideologization of beliefs, xenophobia, racism and violence directed at people who represent different cultures, identities, political stances, faiths and values. Such acts of hatred, which have become more frequent in Polish society today, undermine the foundations of the social order and frequently lead to real-life tragedies. We stand behind reliable knowledge about culture and society, call for mutual respect, and demand respect for humanist values. We are defending a diverse and open society built on the ideals of democracy and human rights.
We are grateful for the statements of support and solidarity from individual academics and anthropological organizations including: International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, World Council of Anthropological Associations, European Association of Social Anthropologists, American Anthropological Association, Anthropology Southern Africa, Association Française des Anthropologues, Association Française d’Ethnologie et d’Anthropologie, Associazione Nazionale Universitaria degli Antropologi Culturali, Canadian Anthropology Society/Société canadienne d'anthropologie, Chinese Anthropological Society, Colegio de Graduados en Antropología de la República Argentina, Indian Anthropological Association, Serbian Ethnological and Anthropological Society, Swedish Anthropological Association, Ugnayang Pang-AghamTao, Inc./Anthropological Association of the Philippines, Department of Anthropology at Goldsmiths University, Department of Social Anthropology at University of Manchester, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore and Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Science in Sofia, Le réseau Eurethno du Conseil de l'Europe, School of Anthropology and Conservation at University of Kent and School of Social and Political Science at University of Edinburgh.
Polish Theater (Teatr Polski) in Poznań, 27 grudnia 8/10 Street, Main Stage (Duża Scena)
SESSION I – OPEN SESSION
10:00-13:00
SESSION II – CLOSED SESSION
14:00-16:00 – discussion among the registered participants, part 1
16:00-16:30 – break
16:30-18:00 – discussion among the registered participants, part 2
SESSION I – OPEN SESSION
10:00-13:00
- Welcome address by Michał Buchowski, Chair of the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Adam Mickiewicz University
- Presentation of the Special Meeting by Waldemar Kuligowski, Adam Mickiewicz University
- Short speeches by the representatives of the co-organizing institutions
- Short speeches by participating students
- Support letters from the international anthropological community
- Proclamation of the Anti-Discrimination Manifesto of Polish Ethnologists and Anthropologists
SESSION II – CLOSED SESSION
14:00-16:00 – discussion among the registered participants, part 1
16:00-16:30 – break
16:30-18:00 – discussion among the registered participants, part 2
Cultural Centre ZAMEK (Centrum Kultury ZAMEK), Św. Marcin 80/82 Street
SESSION III – OPEN TO PUBLIC
18:30-20:00 – Cultural Centre ZAMEK
A meeting with the participants of the project „Re-gaining migration memory” ((Od)zyskiwanie pamięci migracyjnej) and an optional visit to the exhibition „We are all migrants” (Wszyscy jestesmy migrantami)
Additional information:
There is no participation fee.
Session I will be broadcast.
Registration, information, on-line broadcast: http://zjazd.weebly.com/
Contact: [email protected]
SESSION III – OPEN TO PUBLIC
18:30-20:00 – Cultural Centre ZAMEK
A meeting with the participants of the project „Re-gaining migration memory” ((Od)zyskiwanie pamięci migracyjnej) and an optional visit to the exhibition „We are all migrants” (Wszyscy jestesmy migrantami)
Additional information:
There is no participation fee.
Session I will be broadcast.
Registration, information, on-line broadcast: http://zjazd.weebly.com/
Contact: [email protected]