The third day of the Summer School of Small Centers of the World felt like a polyphonic story — intense, profound, and woven from histories, places, and people. It began with a lecture by Krzysztof Czyżewski, “The Alphabet of the Small Centers of the World”
The second day of the Summer School of Small Centers of the World felt like a polyphonic story — intense, profound, and woven from histories, places, and people. It began with a lecture by Krzysztof Czyżewski, “The Alphabet of the Small Centers of the World,” delivered from one of the porches of the International Center for Dialogue — like a voice from a home that opens itself to the world. Around this alphabet, a long, vivid, and inspiring conversation unfolded — full of attentiveness, questions, and personal reflections. Later, we immersed ourselves in Krasnogruda — the place that hosts us. Through the stories of Małgorzata Sporek-Czyżewska and Weronika Czyżewska-Poncyljusz, we uncovered the layers of memory embedded in this place — interwoven with artistic, educational, and communal actions. In many minds and hearts, ideas and inspirations began to bloom: how to translate this experience into local contexts, how to weave similar networks of meaning. Then, we listened to voices from the Small Centers of the Caucasus and Lithuania. Each story — intimate and essential — became a thread in the colorful tapestry of the day. We watched moving films: about the women of Kramatorsk, the Hutsul artist Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit — who herself was a living small center of the world — and the fates of Poles living in Belarus. These narratives created a mosaic — diverse, fragile, and deeply touching — in which each of us could find a reflection of ourselves. It was a day not only of learning but of deep resonance. A day when we felt that somewhere — in places far away and yet so close — there are people who think and act in a similar spirit. That gives strength.
That reminds us why we are here.
tekst: Iryna Muliarchuk
fot. Piotr Myszczyński, Staszek Czyżewski
