The fifth edition of the “Alone Together” conference took place on 23 – 25 April in Savannah, USA. The University of Szczecin was one of the co-organizers of the event, and was represented by Dr. Małgorzata Wałejko and Dr. Barbara Żakowska from the Institute of Pedagogy.
The conference focused on loneliness, isolation, and silence and was co-organized by the International Society for Research on Solitude (co-founded by Dr. Małgorzata Wałejko in 2020) and three partner universities: Bishop Lincoln University in the UK, the University of Szczecin, and Georgia Southern University, which hosted the participants. The event was held under the auspices of the Rectors of all three universities.
Prof. Waldemar Tarczyński, Rector of the University of Szczecin, in his welcome address to the participants, emphasized his joy at the fact that researchers from various disciplines have addressed such critical issues as preventing loneliness and promoting positive solitude in a world overwhelmed by noise and rush. Our university was represented in the panel session by Dr. Małgorzata Wałejko, alongside specialists from Canada, the USA, the UK, and Romania.
Many moving presentations were given by Professor Robert Coplan of Carleton University in Ottawa (Canada) and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, a renowned Buddhist teacher from the USA. Speakers from ten countries also participated: Australia, the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Romania, Poland, Canada, Israel, and Turkey.
Oliwia Giergielewicz, a second-year English Philology student at the University of Szczecin, was also among the speakers. Her participation in the event was made possible by winning the “American Dream” competition, in which the 10,000 złoty prize was donated by His Magnificence Rector, Professor Waldemar Tarczyński. The winner, selected from 25 candidates by an international committee of experts, presented a paper titled “Silence as a Double-Edged Sword – the Use of Silence in Feminist Literature.”
The next conference in the “Alone Together” series will take place in two years.
