Purpose:
This public awareness campaign was undertaken by the City of Lublin to strengthen the image of Lublin as an intercultural city by promoting the diversity of its residents through an awareness raising campaign. It was also aimed at building a positive image of Lublin’s diverse residents and strengthen the understanding of the advantage of diversity among the host society.
Stimulus/Rationale:
The concept of the "Faces of Lublin" awareness raising campaign was developed following the first phase of the “Lublin 4 all” project. Social research was conducted as part of this project which i.e. analysed the perception of foreign-born residents and newcomers among Lublin host communities. Indeed, the study showed that most of Lublin's residents were not aware of the presence of migrants and foreign-born residents or did not recognise them as an important component of the city’s population. As a result, the City Council decided to carry out an awareness raising campaign to show to the Lublin residents the multicultural facet and diversity of their city.
Process:
The city of Lublin established cooperation with the photographer, journalist and volunteer Oksana Tsymbaliuk,. She was encouraged to resume her photo project of shooting portraits of men and women of Lublin and was offered an exhibition of her photos, with the aim of presenting and nurturing the cultural diversity of the city. Together with the portraits, interviews were also conducted to collect the respondents’ views on intercultural integration and their opinions on how new initiatives could improve the quality of life in the city. The photographs and interviews were collected in a “Lublin 4 all” publication and also published on a dedicated website.
The awareness-raising campaign also included the publication of information and data on Lublin's multiculturalism in public spaces, such as bus stops and the main means of public transportation.
Impact:
The campaign provoked a public debate and attracted media attention. However, data on the impact of the campaign is not currently available.
