On December 15, an educational and artistic event brought Caucasian culture to life took place in a show hall of the Filharmonia Kameralna (Chamber Philharmonic) in Lomza city of Poland.

This integrative occasion was arranged by the “Foundation Salvation (Fundacja Ocalenie), the “UNHCR” and the “Office for Foreigners in Poland”. And the project was financed by UNHCR. The organisers have taken care of all the residents of Lomza. The attractions have been provided both for children and adults.

The educational parts for primary school pupils and teachers started at 11 a.m. and finished at 3 p.m.  Children took part in mini-workshops (run by the “Fundacja Ocalenie” trainers) to get more familiar with Georgian and Chechnyan culture; learned Chechen dance under the supervision of a qualified choreograph; and participated in integrative and artistic plays. There was also an opportunity to listening Chechen songs and to tasting Chechen sweets.

The second part – “The Art Evening” for all local community – started at 5 p.m. with a dancing show. First the youth dancing group, running by Abdulgani Malsagov, presented Chechen dance. After it, the local Capoeira section displayed their skills. Both groups were training in the same room, setting a good example of working together.

The climax of the evening was a screening of multiply awarded ” The 3 Rooms of Melancholia”, directed by Finnish director Pirjo Honkasalo.

At the end of the evening the guests were welcomed to enjoy delicacies of Chechen and Georgian cuisine made by refugee women. During the tasting the participants were able to watch the photographs of the war in Chechnya by Krzysztof Miller, the “Gazeta Wyborcza”s journalist, and the shots of Georgia conflict by Wojciech Grzedzinski from “Napo Images Agency”.

“Thanks to the Fundacja Ocalenie, we could participate in the evening of the Chechen culture in 2008. In the same year the Georgian conflict broke out, as a result of which many Georgians landed in Poland, including the refugee centres in Lomza and Czerwony Bor. For them the Caucasian evening makes a unique opportunity to present their culture to the residents of Lomza”, said Kamil Kaminski from the Foundacja Ocalenie.