Do you feel (un)safe?
The last festival activity that took place before the closing ceremony was a discussion, the main topic of which was safety at universities in the V4 countries. While last year’s meeting focused on the issues of sexual violence against students, the rise of extremism, and the poor state of mental health, the main line of this year’s debate was precisely the sharing of experiences that would help in building the most non-threatening creative environment.
The already standard round of introductions was complemented by a smaller analysis of the notion of “safe space.” This question was answered by several male and female students – of course from the V4 countries (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary), but also by the pedagogues that moderated the debate.
How to create an understanding environment at universities? What level of sensitivity is needed when working at a performing arts school? How to be a sufficiently understanding authority and not to hurt your students? These were all questions that came up during the joint dialogue between the teachers and students. The debate was so wide-ranging that the number of suggestions and opinions expressed completely filled the allotted time. The time for further topics such as, for example, political developments in the four countries was therefore (fortunately ) minimised.
The response to the question of whether the MEETING/ENCOUTER was a safe place was unanimously positive. As an alumnus for whom this was the last year at the festival, I hope that future generations will answer the same way. I also hope that the number of problems that affect the university or any environment will also become fewer and fewer.
