The Right to Belong: Home, Citizenship, and Palestinian Culture
As part of the Falastin Fest in Kraków, Cosmocitizens invites you to a workshop that explores what it means to belong by bringing together Palestinian experiences of displacement and diaspora, discussion on human rights, and artistic expression.
The first half will focus on dialogue around the rights that underpin belonging, including the right to a nationality and the right to take part in cultural life, and how Palestinians are denied these rights or face barriers to exercising them. We will also discuss cross-cultural perspectives on Palestinian and Polish culture, drawing on experiences of festivalgoers and Palestinian contributors.
In the second half of the session, the participants will create a handmade “Cosmocitizens Passport”, filling it with words, drawings and reflections on home, memory, and identity.
Date: November 22, 2026
Time: 15:00 - 17:00
Location: TBD
Who will be there
The discussion with artists and festivalgoers will be led by the Cosmocitizens team:
Magdalena Smieszek is an international human rights lawyer, academic, and humanitarian, having worked around the world, including teaching at Al Quds University/ Bard College in Palestine. She recently founded Cosmocitizens Foundation, based in Kraków.
Joud Munwar is Palestinian, born in Syria, now living in Poland after many years working internationally in the humanitarian sector. He hails from Warsaw where he has completed his graduate studies and worked with the UN to support refugee children.
Joanna Pottle is a Kraków-based visual artist and cultural practitioner, turned international community manager, turned global learning and development professional, turned researcher and writer, and turned Cosmoscitizens enthusiast.
