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Description
According to our observations, Żyrardów (Mazowieckie province) inhabitants do not engage in social activities much. No form of social dialogue is present here – there are no youth, senior or non-governmental boards or councils, while the Town Hall does not run any qualitative social consultations. We will address these problems by running an info campaign on social engagement with support from our partner – the Żyrardów Town Hall. Its presence will enhance the impact of the campaign, will demonstrate the readiness and openness of local authorities to act and will ensure wide reach for the venture. We will present examples of cities with high level of social participation, consequences of low level of activism, and benefits of participatory initiatives. We will organise educational workshops for the city inhabitants on active social consultations, functioning of social dialogue bodies or active public debate practices. Participants will utilise their knowledge in practice by organising 4 participatory initiatives – appointing public dialogue bodies, consulting a selected document, preparing a developmental document, and running a public debate.
Summary of project results
According to our observations, people living in Zyrardow (Mazowieckie Voivodeship) have little involvement in community activities. Until 2021, no form of public dialogue functioned here: there were no youth, senior, or public benefit councils, and carrying out qualitative public consultations was a huge challenge for the town hall.
We responded to these issues by conducting an information campaign on community involvement, which we were supported by our partner, the Municipality of Zyrardow. Its presence reinforced the overtones of the campaign, showed the willingness and openness of the local government to take action, and ensured the broad reach of the campaign. We presented examples of cities with high public involvement, the consequences of low involvement, or the benefits of participatory activities. We organized educational workshops for the inhabitants and residents of Żyrardów on how to conduct active social consultations, how social dialogue bodies function, and how to conduct an active public debate. Participants put the acquired knowledge into practice by organizing four participatory initiatives - setting up public dialogue bodies, carrying out consultations on a document concerning the statute of the Youth Town Council, developing a planning document, and conducting a public debate. In addition, we organized a study visit to Toruń, where participants were able to learn about good practices in the operation of public benefit councils and advocacy activities in the third sector.
From the evaluation interviews, we know that through the workshops, their participants have increased their knowledge of civic participation. Thanks to the completed participatory initiatives, male and female residents increased their sense of empowerment and influence in their neighborhood.