Legal Education – Interview with Adam Bodnar

Patricia Rojic Sucha: The topic of the broadcast, which she recently hosts on Radio Nyonka every Wednesday, is very broad – from the issue of democracy, through human rights, to threats to the rule of law. What is their main goal?

Adam Bodnar: For me, the main task is to educate and bring together issues related to the constitution, rule of law, human rights and civil society. It matters not only whether a certain standard is respected or not, but above all, how we – as a society – react to it. What mechanisms do we have to counter threats? Who does what, why do they and what is their motivation? So I also want to make it clear from what we’re talking about: If we want, every citizen can participate and can do it using different methods and methods. I would like to go beyond the traditional areas of discussion. Lawyers understand what the struggle for the rule of law is all about, but I’m not sure if society (especially the younger generation) understands how the rule of law crisis affects the level of respect for rights in various areas of our lives.

Read: a. Adam Bodnar wants to reach young people in programs about law >>

Newonce Radio is primarily hip hop.

Yes, it has a different profile than a traditional radio. It’s more of a lifestyle, so there’s an opportunity to reach a wider audience, including the very young, with some important information explaining the consequences of threats to the rule of law.

Music is important in this case?

Take, for example, one of the last topics on the air. It turns out there’s rapper Tao who sings about homelessness (the song “The Giver”). In turn, Wojciech Sokoz, who has just released the famous album “Nick”, sings about his homelessness: “I slept on the stairs, I had a grandfather on banknotes” (Stanislav Wisbyansky was the grandfather of W. ). So sometimes it turns out that the world of hip-hop, for example, is not at all far from the world of our problems. I try to choose my guests so that they are not only from the legal department, but also socially engaged, for example, such actors as Anthony Pawlicki, Anisska Viducha. On January 12, it was confirmed that Krzysztof Zalowski, a well-known musician, eventually played in the Tour de Konstytucja or during protests against the destruction of the judiciary. I invite activists, but I also want to raise topics that are important to the whole community, but we do not notice them, or the discussion is taking place beside them.

How are the topics selected? Based on what is currently happening?

First of all, it is not a news broadcast but a podcast. So I try to make these conversations global. In order not to respond to current issues, only those that matter to us in the long run. It is now well known that the topic is the refugee crisis, and this is what I discussed with the aforementioned Anthony Pawlicki, Agnieszka and Juducha, as well as with nutritionist Katarzyna Pozyjowska-Stor. Another example is homelessness – I’ve touched on the topic now, because winter has begun and we need to talk about it, because maybe someone can be saved. The best on this subject is Adriana Porowska from Camillian Social Welfare Mission.

How do the Poles deal with the law? Do we need education?

Of course, it is much needed. This is never enough, even professionals lack basic knowledge, because so much happens that it is sometimes difficult to keep up. When I was the commissioner, I had to be on the lookout for everything that was going on, and now that I was caught up in a whirlwind of other duties, I didn’t have time to check it out. I now understand the point of view of people who focus on work and daily duties and do not have time to know all the changes, for example in regulations, on an ongoing basis. And I think that kind of broadcasting can bring them closer to what’s important to them. They can translate reality into accessible language.

Are there areas where increasing legal awareness is particularly important?

It seems to me that the most important thing is to translate the meaning of the rule of law crisis into the life of the ordinary citizen. That is, to make it clear to him what you really mean, that it is not just an abstract issue, but an important one in his daily life. This applies to both privileged and people affected by displacement and border situation, and LGBT people. And the second point. We need to talk about what we as a society can do about it, and how we can participate.

Read: Settlement of court structure can lead to chaos and turmoil >>

Do you want to abandon the specialized language and open up more to the citizens?

First of all, this is a question of language – our broadcast is not specialized vocabulary, but also about cultural context. For example, when I talked to editor Cesare Azarewicz, who talked about explaining the case of Grzegorz Przemyk, at one point he began to remember how Radio Free Europe was hacking the official broadcasts of Polish television. And I realized that my listeners, ages 16 to 30, might not know what Radio Free Europe is. That’s why you have to explain it and explain it at every step. I think these are the times when we have to use every independent information space to speak about reality in an honest and responsible manner. Anyway, it’s not just my initiative, there are YouTube channels, vlogs, podcasts and profiles on 2nstagram. The judges have Prawoteka in the Civic Reset. And these initiatives may seem appropriate, because they do not have giant scales, but they will all create a kind of snowball that will change the current reality.