Online Dialogue: COVID-19 vaccinations – should they be mandatory or voluntary? Protests in churches – are they a necessity or a violation of boundaries?
In June 2021, six male and female high school students from across the country spent an evening talking to people of similar as well as very different views.
They were interested in two subjects, which they discussed during the meeting. They began with a particularly hot issue: vaccinations against COVID-19. They wondered whether it should be compulsory or voluntary, and whether the right to healthcare should be revoked for those who refuse to be vaccinated. After a break, participants reflected on protests in churches, discussing whether they were a necessity or a violation of boundaries.
With the group being rather small, participants had the possibility to break the ice faster than usual and share very personal, moving stories.
After the meeting, they expressed a desire to meet again and to have a discussion within a more diverse group involving people from other generations.
What is a ”community dialogue”?
Community dialogues are our way of working to reduce the polarization of public opinion. We organize them in various places in Poland, and as well as - due to the ongoing pandemic - online. We invite people to a meeting, we connect strangers and create conditions conducive to candid conversations. The goal of community dialogues is not compromise, but respecting differences and finding what unites us. Along the way, we look for a new way of having a national conversation in a divided Poland.
