Homo Faber – from Latin "Man the Smith" or "Man the Maker"


We know that even one person can change the world. And there are more of us. For five years we have worked on projects which show that change is possible. We work in many, often closely connected, fields.


HUMAN RIGHTS
This is our basis. Thinking about a human being as a subject, an individual who has inalienable rights is the foundation of all our activities. Apart from dealing with theory, we also organize meetings, film festivals, happenings, for example pro-Tibet actions or actions against repressions in Belorus.
In another project we work with the children of Chechen refugees and their Polish friends. We are also preparing to set up the Lublin Human Rights Centre.
We support other non-government organizations, for example – the Lublin groups of Amnesty International and Campaign Against Homophobia.



PLACE
Most of us have intentionally chosen Lublin as our place of residence. We are trying to get to know more about it and to and show it to the others. One of the activities in this area are the subjective, ‘intimate’ guides called ‘Whispered Lublin’. Everyone can download a file from a web page and go for a unusual walk around the city.
Culture – especially young and independent – is a trademark of Lublin. That is why we actively participate in actions enhancing Lublin’s chances of becoming the European Capital of Culture in 2016. Together with the City of Lublin we run a web portal www.lublin2016.pl where daily we collect information about cultural and social events.

HISTORY
The history of Lublin is closely connected with the history of Poland and of Europe. Wanting to change reality we have to know both the beautiful and multicultural history, and also the tragic, connected with wars, the Holocaust and the communist times.
Working on our project we learn about the history, especially through meeting people who personally witnesses historic events. Then we share our knowledge in such a way as to arouse others’ interest, for instance by organizing outdoor movie screenings.

EDUCATION
Finally, we need to mention education and our work concerning changing the consciousness. Working in a social space we know that our actions make sense only when they can also reach young people. After all, it is them who will decide on the future shape of reality. We educate, but not in a typical way. Instead of conducting lectures - we make movies, instead of talking about important places - we build models of these sites. Also, we may ask students to create a vision of alternative history - ‘if the war never happened?’ The effect is the same, but how we have much more fun!