Doświadczenie odmienności kultur we współczesnej Europie

The exceptional intensity and variety of intercultural contacts which are the traits of the contemporary European societies’ lives emerge a question of what the experience of cultural diversity means for the inhabitants of our continent. In a relatively recent past in the 19th or even in the 20th century, the encounter with ‘the Other’ was not a common daily experience. The division of Europe after World War II into two opposite political-economic systems only preserved this situation. Only after 1989 and especially after the enlargement of EU and Schengen treaty, residents of Europe started to migrate all over the continent for different reasons (peace, work, education, business, tourism, etc.). Adaptation and assimilation processes of newcomers and their relations with the host society have been the subject of numerous studies, but also an area of false assumptions and probably large dose of naivety. Over time it was clear that ‘the guests’ don’t leave their cultural heritage on the border and ‘the hosts’ not necessarily want to accept it in the closer or more distant neighborhood. Especially difficult in mutual relations was and still is the issue of customs. This sphere uncovers the future of mutual relations and unexpectedly strong disrelishes, and the recent crisis triggered the most embarrassing trends in thinking about ‘the Other’. During the European Congress of Culture in 2011 many participants emphasized the cultural diversity and richness while discussing the future of our continent. They treated it as an exceptional heritage of Europe allowing its inhabitants to experience ‘the Other’ (confront him and look for consensus) and in fact as an important mission to accomplish in the contemporary world. Even though none of them had any doubts about European ‘lovemaking’, they pointed out to the existence of a possible way civilized people could follow if they wanted.