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Description
Our observations show that the number of migrants in the Głogoczów village (Myślenice commune in the Małopolskie province) is increasing, which makes keeping and developing local identity and community more challenging. Survey results show that people living here see the problem of weakening ties between neighbours, growing divisions and vanishing traditions in our village. The vast majority of respondents believe that the Public Archive of the Głogoczów village, which is now being created, could be a place for activating the local community around its history and culture. In the same survey we asked inhabitants what would engage us all most effectively in joint initiatives, and this project was believed to address their needs well. Our organisation, namely the Rural Homemakers’ Club in Głogoczów, which has for the last couple of years been an important centre of local activity and which is involved in developing the Public Archive is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary. To commemorate it, we will interview long-term members and collect old photos for the ‘Save from Oblivion…’ exhibition. Together with younger residents, we will organise a field game workshop to invent field tasks in Głogoczów. For families, we will organise a cycle of cooking workshops, which will create an excellent opportunity to talk about local heritage. Together with villagers, we will think of an adequate formula for a meeting summarising the project. We are supported in this project by the Norwegian Fjellugla Kompetanse AS Folk Institute, which has vast experience in developing local communities and nurturing regional heritage. We will visit the organisation to exchange knowledge on engaging rural communities and to look for practices we could implement in Głogoczów.
Summary of project results
Our observations confirm that an increasing number of citizens in the town of Głogoczów (Myślenice municipality, Małopolskie Voivodeship) is composed of individuals who migrated there recently. As a result, it is increasingly difficult to retain and develop a sense of local identity and community. The results of our survey showed that individuals currently living in Głogoczów see a problem with weakening relationships between neighbors, increasing divisions and the disappearance of traditions in our village. Majority of respondents believes that the Głogoczów Civic Archive, currently in development, could serve as a place dedicated to engaging local community around the history and the culture of the village. In our survey, we asked citizens of Głogoczów what would be the best way to activate all of us into a shared activity and the project was pointed to as the answer to their needs.As part of the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of our organization – Rural Housewives Asscoiation of Głogoczów, which has served as a center for local activities and is in charge of the development of the Civic Archive – we have conducted interviews with senior members of our organization, collected archival photographs, and organized an exhibition entitled “To Save from Oblivion…” Together with the local youth we have conducted workshops on terrain games, which resulted in two quests for our small town: Explorers Journey: On the Trail of Głogoczów’s Bells, and Tour de Głogoczów – In Anna Szafraniec’ Footsteps. For those interested, we have also organized culinary workshops that focused on local traditions. Together with other community members we have developed a formula for a summary meeting and with the help of our local Volunteer Fire Department we organized a fair. Several hundred people attended the festivities.Fjellugla Kompetanse AS Folk University was our partner. The organization has rich experience in developing local communities and preserving local heritage. We visited the university to exchange knowledge and to learn good practices that will be applicable in Głogoczów.Our evaluation surveys have shown that the project managed to activate our citizens and increase their sense of identity and connection to the place and its history. We have also witnessed tightening of neighborly relationships across our village.
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Summary of bilateral results
We are very satisfied with the cooperation (study visit to Norway, to the partner''s seat) and its continuation, which has already happened in the form of a follow-up (follow-up) visit (we invited our Norwegian partners to visit us a year later, in Głogoczów). We saw a different world with them, they saw our potential and fields for cooperation. Thanks to this cooperation, we have gained self-confidence and belief that even though we are a small organisation with a small number of members, we can still do great things. Our Norwegian partners have become very interested in the way the Polish Voluntary Fire Brigade functions. They want to invite them to visit us. We have a lot of ideas for further cooperation, we have become friends.