Course of the meeting in Cracow, Poland
The fifth mobility of Comenius project 'Only Aware Can Act Fair-Students for sustainable food and trade' took place in our hometown.We had been working hard for a few months to prepare the meeting and to make sure our guests would feel fine during their stay in Krakow. All the students visiting our town stayed with host families and could experience Polish hospitality and find out how Polish families live. The mobility was held in March, when the weather can be totally unpredictable. We had only hoped it wouldn't rain. However, our guests were greeted by brilliant sunshine and everyone felt really positive about the outcome.
Day 1: The day started in our school where we organised the workshop. All the participants (teachers and students) arrived on time and were greeted by the Deputy Head Teacher Mrs Liwora, who wished us sucessful work and our guests a nice stay in Krakow. Then we got down to work. The first part of the workshop was carried out by Monika Banach, an activist from Fundacja Stańczyka. She made a presentation on traditional life and coffee growing in Gwatemala, which she had visited, and where she had done her research. She even showed us some Gwatemalan artefacts, which she had brought from her visit there.
The next topic of the workshop was '3R', which is a short term for 'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle'. First, we watched an animation showing what 3R is and then Inga Michałowska made a presentation showing us in what way the idea of 3R can be implemented on the everyday basis. Afterwards, each national team was asked to organise pieces of paper with slogans referring to 3R and then to discuss in what way they can reuse, reduce or recycle the items given to them. Each team had different ideas which they presented at the end of this part of the workshop.
After a coffee break we started working again. The next topic was 'Aware consumer'. First, the participants were shown an animated film on the subject and then Karolina Pałasińska told everyone what an aware consumer should do. After that each team wrote down and later read out their ideas of aware consuming. The last part of the workshop was devoted to GMOs. In order to get familiarised with the subject the partcipants watched two films: one showing advantages and the other disadvantages of GMOs. Later, Katarzyna Gruszecka explained everyone clearly all the benefits and dangers connected with genetically modified organisms. On the basis of this information the students and teachers were able to do the last task – matching ideas with pros and cons of the GMOs.
It was hard, though educational work, so everybody got hungry. Thus, it was time for lunch. Each team had brought some national delicacies and we had an international snack. The next point of the programme was a tour of Krakow. We started from the Barbican, where Mrs Kubianka gave the guests a short outline of the history of Krakow. Then we walked down the Royal Road. Our guests seemed enchanted by the beauty of the Old Town and wanted to take pictures of every house we were passing. Somehow we managed to get to the Market Square, where we admired the most important monuments and took a few group photos. From there we took a walk to the Collegium Maius – the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University, and later on down Grodzka and Kanonicza Streets to Wawel Castle. After the tour everyone had to admit that Krakow is a marvellous place.
Day 2: On the second day everybody had to show how much they had learned the day before. We played the City Game. The game is our product, so we were really anxious about its outcome. The weather was on our side: clear sky, lots of sunshine and quite warm – in this weather even the hardest task seemed easier. We met at the railway station where each national team (teachers and students) got a map and a picture of a train. The game was called 'Fair Train' and its aim was to find passengers for the train. The teams had to look for 6 stations located in the Old Town, do a task at each station and if the task was completed successfully, the team received the passenger. At each station the teams were given different tasks: some of them dealt with the problem of aware consuming, others with 3R, yet others with GMO or Fair Trade. The finishing time was 12.45. All the teams had a lot of fun walking (or running!) around the Old Town and doing different tasks. They enjoyed some of them extremely (Bingo at Station 1, where they had to talk in English to Polish people and find those who are aware consumers), they had to show lots of creativity while designing a logo for a 'Fair Trade Bag'. One station required from them not only knowledge but also luck, and not everyone was delighted with the results there. However, each team finished the game. They liked it so much that most of them wanted the game to last longer. In the afternoon our guests visited the Underground Museum in the Market Square, where they could find out about the history of this place dedictaed for centuries to trade.
Day 3: Unfortunately, as it happens in March, the weather changed to cold and windy. It wasn't easy for us to endure 2.5 hours in this weather visiting the next point of our programme: the Sewage Treatment Plant in Krakow-Płaszów. The plant is very modern, uses technologies which follow the strickest ecological regulations recommended by the European Union. Our guide explained to us all the procedures of treating sewage and showed us the whole plant. It was quite interesting and definitely something Krakow can be proud of, however most of us couldn't stand the smell of the place. Luckily, the next point of the programme looked and smelled much better. We went to Ojców, where we visited the Ojców National Park Museum. The museum has a modern, multi-media exhibition of the plants and animals, geographical features and historical places typical for the area of the National Park. Everybody enjoyed the visit, but we got hungry and cold, so we were delighted to go to the traditional restaurant 'Under the bat', where we had dinner in a room heated for us by a huge fireplace. Not only the place was warm, but the atmosphere too. It was time to announce the winners of the 'Fair Train' City Game. The Lithuanian team got the first place and were awarded with small gifts.
Day 4: One of the places around Krakow which is world-famous and included on the Unesco World Heritage Sites list is Wieliczka Salt Mine. The miners have been excavating salt here for over 700 years. Nowadays it is mainly a wonderful museum, with amazing chambers, sculptures made in salt, underground lakes and the breath-taking St. Kinga's Chapel. We went to Wieliczka by train and made a tour of the mine in two groups. Both groups had their guides, who told us about the history of the mine, the ways of excavating salt in the past, the names of sculptors, stories, anecdotes and legends connected with the place. Everybody was stunned by the beauty of the place and though the tour lasted over two hours, nobody complained. After buying some souvenirs we went back to Krakow. The afternoon was free, so everyone did what they enjoyed: visiting other places in Krakow, shopping or just sitting in a cafe and talking to friends. Krakow has so many attractions that each person can find something for themselves. The teachers met in the evening to evaluate the meeting and to discuss the next mobility.
Day 5: Unfortunately, Friday was the day of our guests' departure, so although we were very sorry to do so, we had to say good-bye to our foreign friends. We are really impressed by their involvment in all the activities prepared by us and we believe that we have all learned a lot about all the issues propagated by our project.