It all started 2 years ago with the launch of the "Open Łódź" project led by dr Monika Kopytowska, from the Institute of English Studies at the University of Lodz. The initiative assumes carrying out activities which are to contribute to improving safety and increasing the level of integration of foreign nationals living in Lodz. Implementation of these goals would not be possible without the support and involvement of Lodz police officers who willingly participate in the project activities.
Dr Monika Kopytkowska lists:
So far, as part of the project, we have trained 38 police officers from the Municipal Police Headquarters. The next group starts the classes in November. The scope of trainings includes intercultural communication, communication with people with poor command of Polish, and basic and intermediate English.
What is significant, the language classes are conducted with taking into account the needs of the police officers. The course participants use special textbooks that have been elaborated by the philologists from the UL with the assistance of the Municipal Police Headquarters. Publication of 'Polish-English phrasebooks' for officers is also planned. Getting to know professional vocabulary is supposed to help in relations with foreign nationals during everyday duty.
Advantages of the project have been noticed by the junior inspector Dariusz Dziurka, Chief of the Municipal Police in Lodz:
Direct contact in English is very important. On the one hand, it increases the trust to the police officers. On the other hand, it lets our police officers feel more confident.
As part of the project activities, the police officers themselves played the role of educators. In the past months they conducted trainings in the field of security and legislation addressed to the foreign nationals being the project participants.
“Open Łódź” project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund under the Knowledge, Education, Development Operational Programme and implemented within the framework of the National Centre for Research and Development agreement no. POWR.03.01.00 - IP.08.00- 3MU/18. The project activities will last until the end of June 2022, and will be attended by a total of over 700 people – foreign nationals and public sector employees responsible for security and handling official matters of foreigners.
Source: Faculty of Philology, UL