SURVEY: Immigrant Experience in Poland
So it was with great excitement that I collaborated recently with Dhanya Rajagopal on developing a pilot survey on aspects of migrant experience in Poland.
When we first met back in February 2024 here in Warsaw, we had some immediate solidarity, reflecting on stories and situations of often being ‘the only brown person’ in situations and groups here.
We also reflected on what I would call our ‘cosmopolitan’ backgrounds – in the sense of the word as ‘having a broad worldview’ & being open to many cultures & ideas.
We also share in common having both gotten Master’s degrees in New York State, Dhanya in Placemaking and Public Management from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and me in Historic Preservation from Cornell University in Ithaca.
In that first meeting in February 2024, our mutual love for vibrant urbanism also was apparent as was what I would call our vivid ‘urban imagination’.
For example, the photo below captures the moment we were walking around the parking lot of Postępu 5, a pretty cool area with lots of eateries but also so much neglected potential with this large area in the middle of all the eateries completely devoted to parking. We stood there imagining what an incredible social (and playful) space that could be, also ultimately benefiting the eateries economically as it would become a destination space & people would stay longer.
We launched our immigrant survey this month. It was awesome to see Dhanya kick into gear and immediately engage our first respondents in interview format for the survey. We started on a fascinating note with survey respondents from South Korea, Liberia, the Philippines & India & many more to come.
If you have immigrated to Poland and are willing to take a coffee break moment to share about your experience via this survey, welcome.Also, if you know others who have immigrated to Poland, please feel free to send this survey to them.
It’s just the beginning of this collaboration by Dhanya and I!
-Annika
SURVEY LINK
here