Acronym

AlwaysTogether

NUMBER

PBU2/0899/18

Project type

Micro-project

STATUS

Not started

THEMATIC OBJECTIVE

HERITAGE

PRIORITY

1.1 Promotion of local culture and history

PARTNERSHIP

PL-BY

LEAD BENEFICIARY

Primary School No. 4 named after Henryk Sienkiewicz in Hajnówka (Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland)

BENEFICIARY

Primary School in Dubiny (Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland)
Culture Association “POSTCARD” (Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland)
Vidomlyansky Village Executive Committee (Brest Oblast, Belarus)

Project description

Poland and Belarus share many traditions, and among them, one of the richest is the wedding and its rituals. Common cultural heritage related to wedding songs, costumes, traditional dishes, rituals, etiquette are a valuable issue that should be preserved from irretrievable dying. Nowadays, the inhabitants, especially the youth on both sides of the border, have little interest in local history and culture. That is why, it is so important to take some actions to protect and preserve the folklore associated with wedding customs for future generations.

The AlwaysTogether project is a chance to engage young people from Hajnówka and Dubiny (Poland) as well as Vidamlia (Belarus) to collect and reconstruct local wedding ceremonials in a new way. The youth from both sides of the border will promote and preserve the historic wedding ceremonials of the Hajnówka Poviat and the Brest Oblast through workshops, conferences, collecting old photos, listing the ceremonials and taking lessons from study visits, organizing interactive classes, etc. Young people will also prepare an ethnographic, interactive travelling exhibition “The former wedding” and a modern theatrical performance “The wedding-always together”. These events will be open to everyone interested.

The project will contribute not only to the growth of the cultural identity and awareness of the local community about the cultural values of the borderland but also to the development of the tourism industry in Hajnówka Poviat and Brest Oblast. Establishing permanent social and cultural cooperation between Polish and Belarusian partners will strengthen the potential and attractiveness of the border areas. Joint activities will also contribute to overcoming barriers in Polish-Belarusian relations and will enable better mutual understanding.