EVENTS CALENDAR

• 22 November 2022, 6pm, in the Bielsko Cultural Centre film screening ‘We don’t talk about this’, organised by the Podbeskidzie Women’s Congress

• 24 November 2022, 2.30pm till 5.30pm - ‘Communication without violence’ workshop for members of the SIE Clubs Bielsko-Biała and Cieszyn led by Alicja Lizurej-Hanula, trainer, psychologist and therapist at Pauza ( Psyche, Soma and Polis project), organised by SIE Clubs Bielsko-Biała and Cieszyn

• 24 November beginning at 5pm, conference entitled ‘Against Violence’ in the Bielsko Cultural Centre

The programme included:

• ­performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet. What tempts us?’

• conference divided into two modules – legal, and medical and psychotherapeutic

• concert by the group Highflyers

• Magdalena Kapela artistic work exhibition

• 25 November, 5pm, Orange March Against Violence, Chrobrego Square, organised jointly by the Podbeskidzie Women's Congress, SIE Club Bielsko-Biała and other partners

• 1 December 2022, 5.30pm, screening of the film ‘Everyone ate everything’ and discussion on signs of a toxic relationship leading to violence at the Aquarium club-café and Bielsko Gallery BWA

The topic of the meeting refers to the pan-European and nationwide campaign organised by Soroptimist International ‘Soroptimists against domestic violence. READ THE SIGNS of a toxic relationship to prevent domestic violence’. After the screening of the film the discussion was be led by therapist Ewa Duda, representing the Bielsko branch of the Silesian Blue Cross Foundation. More information on https://bk-europe.pl/index.php/pl/

Screening organised as part of the WATCH DOCS project ‘Do it yourself Helsinki Initiative for Human Rights’ by SIE Bielsko-Biala Club, the Aquarium club-café and Bielsko Gallery BWA

• 10 December 2022, 10am till 1pm, workshop entitled ‘Communication without violence’, open to all, and led by Alicja Lizurej-Hanula, trainer, psychologist and therapist, at Pauza (Psyche, Soma and Polis project), organised by SIE Clubs Bielsko-Biala and Cieszyn.

At the end of August 2022 the Polish lessons for children, which we started at the beginning of the summer holidays, came to an end. The lessons lasted throughout the summer break and were to help Ukrainian children start the new school year in September 2022 with a better knowledge of the Polish language.

Dorota Augustyn, with whom we have been working since the beginning of our project – Polish lessons for Ukrainian women – conducted the lessons.

We thanked Dorota, handed out sweets to the children, and the children gave flowers to their teacher

Soroptimist International Bielsko-Biała Club invited Ukrainian women and their children for a four day stay in the mountains. This was enjoyed from 14 to 17 July in “Chałupa Chemików Danielka” mountain chalet in the Beskidy Mountains about 50 km from Bielsko-Biała.

All expenses – transport, food and accommodation - were paid for by our club from money which included very kind donations from our friendship link clubs. We hiked in the mountains with a guide, we played games around the bonfire, we cooked together, we slept together. And we spoke Polish with our guests! The best things we gained from this trip were feelings of warmth, closeness, cooperation.

We could not stop hugging each other when we were leaving!

Take a look at the photos and enjoy.

The Polish language courses organised by our club for women from Ukraine and Belarus have proved to be extremely popular.

On 31 March 2022 the next round of certificates for completing the basic and the slightly more advanced courses were handed out. We are very happy to see that a large number of ladies intend to carry on studying, having passed the tests of the intermediate stage of the course.  In keeping with our schedule, the intermediate course will commence in May. Until then lessons to consolidate existing knowledge will be conducted on-line and in the form of conversational meetings. The students greatly enjoyed the Polish language lessons and developed a real affection for both teachers, and so very warm and heartfelt thanks were passed on to both these ladies.

The end of the course was an opportunity for the students to meet socially with members of the SIE club in Bielsko-Biała.

We all met at cafe Na Jedwabnym Szlaku with tea and cakes specially baked for this occasion, and our friends from Ukraine had the opportunity to tell us about themselves, about their hometowns, work and plans. Despite it being a rainy and chilly day, the atmosphere in the cafe was very warm and convivial. The positive results of the Polish lessons could be seen in the lively conversations held and the fact that we understood each other well. The very friendly owners of the premises contributed to the pleasant atmosphere of our meeting, which we greatly appreciated and for which, on behalf of the entire club, we pass on our gratitude.