Public Policy and Psychology: what is the connection?

               In the course of my Master’s studies at the Department of Public Policy, I had a chance to discover and to analyze different aspects of public policy, but in terms of interdisciplinary approach to public policy, the connection and correlation between public policy and psychology was overlooked in the curriculum. However, as I found out recently, it deserves a special attention.

             Attendance of the conference “Psychology - a Contribution to EU Policy Making” at the European Parliament in Brussels in November, 2011 made me look at public policy from a new perspective, the perspective of psychology. Indeed, to what extent public policies are adopted with taking into consideration a psychological research? Does success/impact of the adopted policies depend on their psychological justification?

            Some of the statistics presented at the conference reveal that social objectives of the EU policies in many areas are far from being achieved and the greater effectiveness of the policies is needed: for example, according to the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations, “38,2% of the EU population suffers from mental and neurological disorders, such as anxiety disorders, major depression and somatoform disorders; the total associated costs amount to 800 billion Euro. Work-related stress accounts for 50-60% of days lost which corresponds to 4% of the EU GDP. Costs of road accidents are estimated to be around 180 billion Euro, 2% of the EU GDP”.

            Here are some insights from the conference:

•  Research in psychology and psychologists’ expertise can be and should be used in public policy design, accentuating the human and social dimensions;
• The basics of psychology should become a discipline at secondary schools in order to insure a better preparation of youngsters for social and professional life, to enhance psychological literacy among citizens;
• Psychology and psychological research can be applied to numerous policy areas such as road safety, poverty and social inclusion, violence and health, children’s rights, life-long learning, education and training, racism and violence, safety and health, city planning, infrastructure design, etc.
• Particularly, in the designing social public policies, the expertise of psychologists can be used in the spheres of social integration, family issues, poverty, discrimination, immigration, suicide, ageing, child neglect, elderly abuse, youth violence, gender equality, ethnic diversity, religious tolerance, retirement, youth identity, homelessness, deviant behavior, demographic changes, adolescent drugs use, etc.
• As Dr. Robert A. Roe noted in his speech, psychologists should strengthen their roles as gatekeepers (e.g. in the schools, at work and in communities), and as architects of behavioral interventions that raise awareness and equip people with self-management and social skills, and as designers that help changing the legal and material conditions under which people live. 

National and ethnical minorities in Poland’s Lower Silesia: to accept and to support

The article was also published in the International Wroclaw Newspaper

          Today one of the most important social problems in modern Poland and the European Union in general, is the relationships between the so-called “majority” and “minorities”. Depending on the character of these relationships, we can judge on the level of “civility” of the society.

              Before the World War II in Poland there were approximately 30% of national minorities, while after the War the percentage of minorities was estimated as not more than 1%. Why such a sharp change occurred? The experts point at several reasons like for example, the territory of Poland after the World War II became much smaller, and people who were considered as minority before just found themselves to live in other countries such as Germany, Ukraine, etc. Also, a huge part of the representatives of one of the biggest polish minorities, the Jews, after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, emigrated there. In addition, one should take into consideration the consequences of Holocaust which significantly reduced the number of Jews in Poland by taking the lives of more than three millions of Polish Jews. The important role with “a sign minus” regarding the reduction of national minorities and extinction of their cultures was played by a Communist government which for many years didn’t launch any programs on the protection of national minorities, and which implemented the policy of sedentarization (that is the practice of forced settlement of national and ethnic minorities).

              The situation has changed in 1989 with the change of the regime and when Polish government started to realize a new policy regarding the national and ethnic minorities. The article №35 of the new Polish Constitution introduced the guarantees to the polish citizens belonging to the national and ethnic minorities: the freedom of protection and development of their language, culture, customs and traditions. Before 1989 the gatherings of national minorities were considered by the government as illegal activity, while with a new more democratic government there was adopted a Law on Public associations which proclaimed the freedom of public associations and prescribed the procedures for legalization of public associations. Thus, since 1989 in Poland there were created numerous organizations on protection of rights and culture of national and ethnic minorities. In 2005 Poland also adopted a Law specifically on national minorities (Act on National and Ethnic Minorities and Regional Languages) which states that in case when on the territory of a specific powiat (district) the number of national minorities exceeds 20%, the language of this minority should become an official supplementary language of this district. It also requires an obligatory “bilingual place-name signage” that is indication of geographical and public places on both languages. On the territory of Lower Silesia for the moment there are no such communities, but in other Voivodeships (provinces) it functions where for example German, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Kashjubian languages became supplementary languages. This Law also regulates the freedom of speech and movement of national minorities, prohibition of their discrimination and right to establish schools and special classes for maintaining identity and culture of national and ethnic minorities.

             In the province of Lower Silesia there are around 8 thousands of national minorities. Palette of nationalities/ethnicities is quite broad: the largest group is Lemks (the ethnic groups originally inhabiting in the Carpathian Mountains) which counts around 3 thousands of people; then the second largest group is Germans -1.700 representatives; Ukranians – 1.500; Roma– 1.300; Jews – 200; and the others are Belorussians, Rusians, Karaites (Karaimi), Armenians, Czechs, Lithuanians, Slovaks and Tatars. It is estimated by the experts that the number of Jewish national minorities is much larger in reality than the official statistics says, however there exist a fear of declaring the belongings to the Jews that is connected with persecution of Jews in the not so long past. The last general census of the population which was undertaken in 2002 showed that people were afraid or avoided talking about their nationalities.

              In Lower Silesia the different actions aimed at protection and development of national minorities are undertaken by the government of Lower Silesia and local governments, by public and nongovernmental organizations. The special attention in their projects and programs is dedicated to the ethnic and national minority of Roma.

            Though Roma is not the biggest group of national minorities in Lower Silesia, they are in the most difficult social and economic situation. To a large extent this national minority lives in the conditions of poverty, unemployment and social isolation. On the territory of the region there was created a particular program on the support and development of the Roma communities. It has a complex approach and it helps to solve the problems of Roma in different aspects of life such as health (for example, it includes free vaccinations, medical examinations), education (control of school attendance by Roma children, publication of comics for children about the history of Poland in the dialect of Polish Roma and English, etc.), culture, socialization and social inclusion, improvement of living conditions which includes renovation of dwellings, etc. Roma is also the most vulnerable group of national minorities, and Roma people often become the objects of aggression. It is connected with sharp cultural difference and extremely negative prejudices and stereotypes about Roma people among Polish “majority”.  It is difficult to evaluate the effect of these programs because to make a change and to improve the situation of Roma and increase their integration in society, there is a need for years and years of continuous work. Especially it is difficult to achieve a desirable result when often there is a resistance from the side of Roma people to participate in the programs initiated by the government.

               Other groups and organizations of national and ethnic minorities need mostly a financial support for organization of events on the preservation and development of their culture and language, and they receive it from the Polish government via grant programs, as well as from the private actors and foundations. There are numerous expositions dedicated to the culture of specific national minorities are organized in the museums of Lower Silesia. Some other actions undertaken for protection and development of national minorities in the region are organization of conferences, creation of choirs, cultural singing and dancing bands, meetings with mass media. In addition, at the level of a province of Lower Silesia there was launched an Assembly which consists of representatives from government and representatives of national minorities and their organizations. In the framework of this assembly the government of Lower Silesia organizes special meetings with the representatives of national minorities. For example, currently the question which has to be discussed with the organizations of national minorities is the general census of the population and facilitation of the declaration of people belonging to the national minorities about this fact. It is important not only for governmental statistics, but also to the extent that the more people officially declare their belonging to the national minority, the more finances will be allocated for the activities of this minority group.

             The protection of culture and rights of national and ethnic minorities is very important as it enriches the dominating culture of the country, and ensures a cultural diversity which is considered by the European Union as a one of the European values. To know with whom you live on the same land, to accept the cultural differences, to appreciate it and to support it – these are the moral responsibilities of a new European citizen who wants to live in peace with his fellow citizens and neighbors.