Polis aims to help young people and their teachers to overcome passivity and helplessness – to discover, express and share the ethos of Human Rights and the vocation to participate in policy making and public life. Our main field of interest and action is civic journalism, training in responsible media work and use.
We educate by providing an opportunity to participate in editorial work and to share responsibility for publishing on-line event and workshop magazines. Vocation to participate in policy making and public life involves training in the use of democratic procedures, effective and varied communication skills and teamwork as well as an opening of broader horizons, acceptance of European and world concerns.
The main project now endeavoured by the Association is the Young Journalists' Workshop "Polis" (since 1992). The workshop gives primary and secondary schools as well as university students a rather unique opportunity to build task oriented successful peer groups, engaged in journalistic training and self training, acquiring useful skills and at the same time producing significant material for the use of others. 5 diverse aged groups start or continue their journalistic work this year including Halina Bortnowska's "Mokra zaprawa" (wet temper).
The participants of our workshops cultivate contacts with school papers and local press, meet well known journalists and editors (Ryszard Kapuściński is a friend and patron of the workshops) and join various programs of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. Several senior participants serve as leaders for the children workshops, trainers for the introductory courses and leaders of summer camps.
We also give workshop participants opportunity to practice in local newspapers and regional supplements of Poland's biggest daily newspaper, "Gazeta Wyborcza". Our cooperation with Jacek Kuron's Teremiski Folk University began in 2003. "Polis" provides professional journalists' workshops for University students. About one hundred people now have links with "Polis" and the group is growing. Around ten summer training camps were very effective in providing training, establishing local links and integrating the group. Camps are open for participants from the location. Last years we used to choose the Eastern borderland of Poland, village Milenkowce near forgotten part of Europe – Belarus.
We try to cover various aspects of this area, preparing texts and on-line publication, documentary film (2001) and radio programs (2003). "Polis" is media partner of Warsaw Science Festival and Warsaw Jewish Film Festival (since 2004). Our team provides news coverage of both WSF and WJFF. We also cooperate with our German partners – Jugendpresse Deutschland. Our last common project was "Orange", magazine published during "Human Rights in Film" Festival in December 2004.
