Project leader

Peter Hocken Foundation for Education and Dialogue

Since 2015, the foundation has been working for Christian education and interfaith dialogue, inviting representatives of various Christian traditions and Judaism to participate in its projects. A characteristic of the foundation is the close cooperation between laity and clergy and the promotion of such a model of relations throughout the Church.

Since 2017, the foundation has also been implementing meetings and projects for reconciliation between nations and building social dialogue. The Foundation has experience in organizing dialogue events with groups from Germany and Ukraine.

The foundation’s projects, such as Bible School, Messianic Conferences, retreats and others, aim to build a platform for education, encounter and dialogue – a place for mutual growth, formation and exchange of experiences.

Foundation team

Sylwia Sadlik

Chairman. Sociologist and memory researcher seeking the presence of the past in the present. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the foundation – administration and networking. She enjoys discovering new culinary flavors and believes that conversations around a shared table best build relationships.

Marek Filipiak

Vice Chairman. A graphic and web designer. A promoter of creative and out-of-the-box solutions. At the foundation, he is involved in the production and presentation of audiovisual content and support for technical solutions. He enjoys large spaces – he likes to think back to views from the Negev desert and would like to visit the Golan Heights once again.

Katarzyna Filipiak

Council Member. Psychologist and manager, with a passion for inspiring others. At the foundation, she creates and edits content and runs social media. She enjoys learning about other people’s stories, so she likes to travel and make new friends, and in her spare time she enjoys watching biographical films.

Mariusz Orczykowski OFMConv

Chairman of the Council. Franciscan, theologian, pastor, involved in the ecumenical movement and dialogue with Messianic Jews. At the foundation, he is involved in preparing formation programs and lectures. In the midst of his many responsibilities, he tries to lead an active lifestyle. He enjoys long-distance travel and climbing in the Polish mountains.

Project partner

March of life

The March of Life is an initiative by Jobst and Charlotte Bittner and TOS Ministries from Tübingen, Germany. Together with descendants of German Wehrmacht soldiers and members of the SS and police force, they have organized memorial and reconciliation marches at sites of the Holocaust all over Europe. Since the beginning of this movement in 2007, marches have been held in 20 nations and in more than 400 cities. Although the March of Life in each country has its own name and certain characteristics, its message remains the same: it was the indifferent silence of the majority that made the Holocaust possible. Indifference, which even today paves the way for antisemitism and xenophobia.

Our partner’s experience in the field of reconciliation-building is extremely valuable in the Common Dialogue project, which is based on cooperation, integration and openness, through which harmful attitudes of racism, xenophobia and all social extremism can be transformed in the process of education into common development.

Please visit our partner’s website: https://marchoflife.org/

Partner’s representative

Michaela Buckel

She studied Historical and Cultural Anthropology with an emphasis on Memory Culture and Museum Studies. Michaela has been a full-time staff member for memory work at TOS Ministries since 2016. This includes the permanent exhibition “Uncover – Discover – Breaking the Silence”.

Heinz Reuss

Studied Business Administration and is a part of the pastoral team of TOS Church Tübingen. Heinz is in charge of the training programs, young adult ministries, and public relations for TOS Ministries internationally. Heinz has been married to Ann-Caroline since 2013 and has two children.

Other collaborators and guests of the project

We have also invited a number of experienced specialists – social scientists and educators – to lead the project. They have enriched the workshop process and the summary and conclusion stage of the project with their knowledge.

DT Lab Workshop

Joanna Warecka

DT Lab workshop instructor. Graduate of the Pedagogical University of Cracow, experienced project coordinator, researcher interested in social relations in the modern world, facilitator of the design thinking method for three years, passionate about creative approaches to education.

Barbara Walshe

Special guest of the DT Lab workshop. Longtime chairman of the board of the Glencree Center for Peace and Reconciliation, which played an important role in the Irish peace process, bringing together the conflicted for confidential dialogue and helping to build relationships across divides. The center, with its perspective and experience, is helping other countries around the world to resolve conflicts.

Ireneusz Czubak

Special guest of the DT Lab workshop. President of the Polania Foundation, which strives to foster a culture of hospitality and kindness toward national minorities in Poland. Musician and community activist, for many years involved in organizing events promoting Jewish cultural heritage in Poland. Together with local institutions, government and humanitarian organizations he is providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

Conference for Educators

Aleksandra Wojcik

Participant in the panel discussion “The Future of Dialogue and the Role of Women.” Foreign language teacher, with experience of more than 10,000 hours worked with children from 3 to 15 years and adults. Coordinator of various educational projects developing key competencies, including language. She is fascinated by international school cooperation projects, multiculturalism, building a culture that fosters dialogue through formal and informal education, using modern and customized solutions.

Krystyna Garbicz

Participant in the panel discussion “The Future of Dialogue and the Role of Women.” Journalist, reporter, one of Ukraine’s “ambassadors” in Poland. She graduated with a degree in journalism from Jagiellonian University. She engages as a volunteer in multicultural projects. He participates in trainings and courses on disinformation, gender equality issues and social integration of people with disabilities.

Artur Wołek

Participant in the panel discussion “The Future of Dialogue and the Role of Women.” PhD. in social sciences. Since 2013 Professor at Ignatianum Academy in Krakow, head of the Department of Public Policy and Administration, and since 2018 pro-rector of this university. Political scientist, previously also a columnist. Advisor to the Mayor of the City of Krakow and to the Government Plenipotentiary for State Reforms. He is the author of numerous publications on systemic reforms in Central and Eastern Europe.

Project Facilitators

Stanislaw Alwasiak

Director of the Center for Research and Development of Social Innovation (CBRIS) at Ignatianum Academy in Krakow. Project development and social innovation practitioner and manager.

Bohdana Huriy

Project Manager of European projects focusing on the topic of social capital and its use in the context of social innovation and social entrepreneurship of youth, women and migrants. Experienced trainer, dealing with management, human capital, social exclusion, education and NGOs.

Khrystyna Potapenko

Lawyer, translator, writer, volunteer, and expert in Polish-Ukrainian relations. Head of the Board Grain Brain LLC and Proxima Prima LLC. Co-founder of Ukrainian Cultural Center (UkrArtHub) in Krakow.