Working together
Diversity is not a topic under discussion in Poland’s Anthroposophical Society: the focus here is on working on contents and the tasks that have been identified.
In Poland one rarely sees different skin colours. Among the 38 million people living here only few belong to ethnic minorities. There are small groups of Sinti and Roma, and Kashubians who have their own Slavic language and are integrated into society. Along the eastern border there are small villages with Belarusians and Lithuanians, and – a more recent development – some immigrants from Ukraine, Russia and Chechnya. But generally, immigration hardly features in daily life. In politics, discussions tend to be on women’s rights, for instance, a topic that presently causes division.
None of these phenomena are reflected in the Anthroposophical Society here. We are practising and learning to work together. The different groups choose their own way of studying anthroposophy and working with Rudolf Steiner’s lectures, on art, social and other issues. The current restrictions, which do not allow for meetings, have given more impetus to all these endeavours.
Diversity is most evident in the Steiner schools and kindergartens. The children have different skin colours and come from varied religious backgrounds. Things go well here, there are hardly any problems. The teachers are content that the children experience good examples of tolerance in their groups or classrooms on a daily basis. Maybe our Council will direct our work more in this direction in the future for there is much to do in this respect.