We would like to invite you to a screening of the film I am Greta and a panel discussion on neurodiversity, which will take place on 11 September at 1 p.m. at Warsaw’s Luna cinema as part of the 18th Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival.

Greta Thunberg is best known as a climate activist, initiator of the Youth Climate Strike and candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. Why, then, should a discussion of Greta Thunberg’s work focus on mental health? Apart from the fact that the impact of climate change causes anxiety and depression, it is well known that Thunberg has been diagnosed with autism, ADHD and selective mutism. While the main discussion around her is rightly about climate change, the discourse around neurodiversity – a new concept that emphasises the value of unconventional minds – is increasingly coming to the fore. After all, this radical focus on purpose and pushing the boundaries of convention and breaking the rules, often treated as the social deficits of the atypical, are the qualities that enabled Greta to become the leader of an entire generation. As a society, we need to ask ourselves what can be done to better support such unconventional minds.

Guests:

Joanna Erbel – self-advocate on the autism spectrum, sociologist, urban activist, housing expert. Founder of the Blisko Foundation dedicated to supporting local activism and creating knowledge on housing innovation. Author of the book “Beyond Ownership. Towards a Successful Housing Policy’. Associate of the A/typowi Foundation working for neurodiversity.

Mateusz Płatos – psychologist, doctor of social sciences, research and didactic worker at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Warsaw, vice-president of the “Mary and Max” Association of Social Innovations. He conducts research on the functioning of people on the autism spectrum in close relationships, modern methods of supporting this group, as well as social aspects of neurodiversity.

Moderator:

Edwin Bendyk – journalist, publicist and writer, commentator in the weekly Polityka. Academic lecturer. Member of the Polish PEN-Club. President of the Management Board of the Stefan Batory Foundation. He runs the “Antimatrix” blog. Recently published the book “In Poland, or Everywhere. About the Fall and the Future of the World’.

Tickets can be purchased on the Luna cinema website and at the box office.