Collective residencies / CATALAN PEN international residencies for young writers. Third edition / Olot
ULA IDZIKOWSKA
From Monday, 2 June 2025 to Monday, 9 June 2025
Bio
Ula Idzikowska is a freelance reporter based in Szczecin, Poland, writing in both Dutch and Polish. Her work focuses on migration, social justice, the climate crisis, and the experiences of marginalized communities—often highlighting the resilience and agency of women. Through intimate, human-centered storytelling, she brings global issues into sharp, personal focus.
She has reported from across Europe and the Middle East, covering stories from human trafficking in Malta to grassroots resistance in Lebanon. Her reporting was shortlisted for the True Story Award in 2024 and nominated again in 2025. She is a recipient of the Wrażliwy journalism award for a piece on the suppression of pro-Palestinian voices in Germany. In addition to longform reporting, she experiments with narrative formats, including comics and audio storytelling.
She is a 2025 Milena Jesenská Fellow for Journalists at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna and a 2024 resident of the Visegrad Literary Residency Program.
Project
Her project, New Beginnings: Poles by Choice, explores Poland’s transformation into a country of arrival. It highlights the stories of immigrants from third countries and Poles returning after years abroad, tracing their paths of integration, the challenges they encounter, and the ways in which they contribute to an emerging, more diverse Polish society.
The project also critically examines how migration has been instrumentalized in Polish populist rhetoric. Through intimate, character-driven narratives, it offers a nuanced portrait of a country in transition—capturing the complexities of multiculturalism and inclusion.
My time at the Polish-Catalan residency at Faberllull was both grounding and generative. It offered a rare space for focused creative work, honest dialogue, and genuine human connection. The carefully curated balance between individual time and collective exchange allowed me to dive deeply into my project, while also engaging with new perspectives that challenged and inspired me. I was glad that I could learn more about Catalonian culture and language and the challenges the region and its inhabitants and work at a desk with such a magnificent view.
The intimacy of a small, diverse group of writers created a safe and stimulating environment—one where conversations ranged from the politics of language to the ecology of death, from artificial intelligence to migration and identity. These dialogues not only shaped my thinking, but also shifted the direction of my writing in meaningful ways.
Faberllull is more than a residency—it’s a place of intellectual hospitality. A space that invites you to pause, reflect, and create with care. I leave with ideas, new friends, and a renewed sense of clarity and commitment to my work.