The guest of the congress was Monika Horna-Cieślak, the Ombudsman for Children and a PAFF Leader. The congress took place on February 12-15 in Książenice and made an opportunity to learn various ways of opening to diversity and understanding, as well as dialogue and change management in local community.
Monika Horna-Cieślak emphasized that it is very important to pursue one’s calling, be there where you want to be, complying with your values. The Ombudsman for Children’s leader story shows that introducing the change in small steps, as well as being consistent and determined serves reaching the goal.
Leaders’ place and role
One of such ways was the Live Library workshop organized by PAFF Leader Barbara Biskup as a method of human rights and social dialogue education.
Another workshop, on diversity, conducted by Joanna Burzydło and Barbara Biskup, was on the issues of identity and identification of one’s own role. It also made the participants analyze their own situation and answer the question: “Where am I now and how it impacts me?”
Good Conversation. How to talk about difficult topics? workshop was conducted by Katarzyna Czayka-Chełmińska, Agnieszka Szelągowska, Agnieszka Otapowicz and Anna Zalewska-Uberman. By referring to participants’ individual experiences you could find an element allowing you to get closer to your interlocutor. And realizing why discussing issues on which your views are different is so difficult allows you to take another step, that is defining what is helpful, what is the leadership resource.
Facing the change is also about new technologies, including AI
Expert Klaudia Wojciechowska spoke about challenges posed by technological change, advantages, threats and reluctance brought about by development of new technologies. At the AI And New Technologies – Resistance, Delight, Disappointment? lecture she presented the leadership activity areas where use of new technologies can be instrumental and inspiring. With the help of participants, she also pointed to ethical aspects of AI use, inclusion or exclusion of various people or social groups, and related traps and dangers.
The workshop conducted by Jagoda Inglik showed tutors the way of finding inspiration in their tutor work to adequately respond to challenges in the leader and tutor relations.
There were also PechaKucha presentations by leaders who had 3 minutes to present the essence of their local and social leader activity.
The participants’ opinions on the congress:
Joanna Burdajewicz
‘The 3rd congress of PAFF Leaders program is over. It was probably one of the most difficult so far. The work was intense and exciting but that is when the real development takes place.
Over the couple of days, we – leaders that came from all over Poland – were facing the problems of change management. We had many conversations about the resistance which for some of us is the biggest obstacle, and for others – an impulse to act.’
Ola Sudolska
‘During the discussion many people claimed that the resistance phase is the most difficult for them. However, for me that earlier phase, the denial, is the challenge. Resistance motivates me, makes me want to go further. Then there is experimenting that needs making order and prioritization, and that also can be difficult. At the end there is involvement, and that is just pure pleasure.’
