173 participants, 9 community dialogues, 8 divisive immigration topics covered - here is a wrap-up of our year-long project with the Robert Bosch Foundation.

When war refugees from Ukraine arrived in Poland in early spring 2022 we feared that the initial wave of Polish solidarity will be followed by fatigue and rising resentment towards Ukrainians. Our foresight was confirmed by social research late last year. To tackle rising tensions over the mass-immigration, in August the New Community Foundation (NCF) launched a series of community dialogues dedicated to the topic.

The goal was to define a common ground on integration between Poles as they suddenly became hosts to 3 million Ukrainian refugees. To map their concerns and expectations – but also the solutions Poles might have in mind as they were facing the new social reality. The project, carried by the Robert Bosch Foundation, lasted from August 2022 to May 2023.

For a quick overview listen to Olga Białobrzeska, who led the project on behalf of the NCF:

Who took part

The online dialogues were attended by regular citizens – there were no experts, scientists or politicians among them. The purpose was not to develop policy proposals or debate facts but to gauge social sentiment and pin down the underlying drivers of polarization around Ukrainian immigration - in order to ease surging social tensions.

Participants, representing 8 regions of Poland, were drawn from various professional, age and ideological groups, included both strong supporters and harsh opponents of immigration. Each dialogue was devoted to a different challenge of Polish-Ukrainian integration, as attested in the titles of the meetings:

1. Will there be enough housing for everyone?

2. How will Poles and Ukrainians manage in one school?

3. Who is entitled to social assistance?

4. Should Ukrainians adopt the Polish lifestyle?

5. What is our take on mixed relationships?

6. What language should we speak?

7. How to talk about a shared history?

8. Are Poles and Ukrainians socially similar?

Key findings

• Poles have strong and mixed feelings about Ukrainian immigration. Beneath the hospitality and support for humanitarian help are fears of war spilling over into Poland, family memories of Ukrainian atrocities from World War II and guilt about migrants from the Middle East pushed back to Belarus.

• Poles are strongly divided over what integration means. Only a few participants favored multiculturalism, while most understood integration as assimilation of Ukrainians to Polish ways of living and culture. A significant number expects refugees to return to Ukraine as soon as possible.

• Poles differ over social assistance to refugees. Those skeptical of immigration fear Ukrainians will take away their recently-won social benefits. On the other end are those bent on helping refugees who use moral arguments thus alienating the skeptics even further.

• Poles want clear rules of integration. Irrespective of ideological background participants want to have good relations with Ukrainians and see benefits of immigration – for some economic, for others social and cultural. What they lack and expect are clear rules on the job market and in benefits.

Topical findings 

The 8 online dialogues each covered a different topic. Here are the highlights:

ON HOUSING: Poles are concerned whether the government will be able to provide housing for everyone in need, and whether Ukrainian refugees will not be prioritized over homeless Polish citizens. In terms of solutions, participants believe that Poles and Ukrainians need to get to know each other through grassroots initiatives in their neighborhoods, e.g. meetings organized by housing associations or at elementary schools.

ON EDUCATION: Poles see an urgent need for support at elementary and secondary schools – advice and ideas for dealing with cultural and language differences between Polish and Ukrainian students, as well as ensuring mental health assistance to both. In terms of solutions, citizens would give teachers specific tools to deal with the challenges of integration.

ON SOCIAL ASSISTANCE: Poles agree that offering welfare to Ukrainian refugees is important and needed, but have different personal experiences and views in this regard. Clearly concerned about losing newly acquired welfare benefits, they would like to see uniform standards of assistance, so that help would be distributed equally, regardless of nationality.

ON INTEGRATION: Depending on their worldview, Poles have different definitions of integration - ranging from multiculturalism to full assimilation. Some are afraid that well-educated Ukrainians will compete with them for attractive jobs. At the same time, they see that integration is needed - partially out of concern, that refugees might otherwise form closed communities.

ON ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS: As dating is on the rise, Poles want to ditch stereotypes about Ukrainians and are curious about them – be it at work or in personal relationships. They think that mixed couples enrich society as a whole, as they build friendship and openness between the two nations. Some Poles are concerned that shared history will be brought up in personal arguments.

ON LANGUAGE: Poles are considering how to treat Russian-speakers. Many are not aware that Ukrainians from eastern regions speak mostly Russian and might confuse them with Russians – who attract negative attention in Poland. Poles are also concerned about Polish-Ukrainian misunderstandings in situations where effective communication is necessary, eg. at hospitals, banks or offices.

ON SHARED HISTORY: Poles believe that when approaching difficult historical topics both sides should listen to each other and accept that they may differ in their assessment of past events. There is concern whether it is possible at all to teach history in a non-divisive way and whether settling historical accounts between Poles and Ukrainians will not obscure the present cooperation.

ON CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: Poles are concerned that nationalism and hatred towards others, including Ukrainians, will rear its head in Poland. It is important for Poles to understand that, apart from differences in language or customs, Ukrainians are similar as people - they too want security, peace for their families and a happy life.

Impact: reduced polarization

Our project evaluation confirms earlier anecdotal evidence and observation –  community dialogues do have a measurable impact, both directly on participants and indirectly on their communities. Here are the headline numbers:

• 64% of participants feel that after the dialogue they better understand people holding opposing views,

• 65% report an increased belief that a constructive dialogue on integration of refugees is possible,

• 53% are more willing to cooperate with people holding opposing views,

• 96% intend to use the newly learned conversation techniques in their lives.

Full report in Polish

A detailed discussion of each dialogue and descriptions of the groups of participants can be found in the Polish-language report "Polacy i Ukraińcy: jak ułożyć wspólne życie?":

We would like to thank all thematic partners, without whom this project would not have succeeded: the Emic Foundation, the ORION Social Organization, the Ukrainian House in Przemyśl, the Czeremcha Municipal Cultural Center and the Zielona Grupa Association.

The project was led by Olga Białobrzeska; dialogues and trainings were coordinated by Paulina Jeziorek, with support from Iwona Oskiera and Julia Borówko.

To learn more about our depolarization work – please visit ncf.org.pl. All our dialogues produce tangible impact and applicable knowledge. We are currently seeking partnerships and sponsorships to launch new dialogue tracks on technology, education, economy, welfare and identity. The NCF also offers in-house workshops in good conversation. Reach out to us at partnerstwa@fnw.org.pl