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Description
Święciechowa (Wielkopolskie province) is a rural commune inhabited by 9116 individuals. It is made of 12 sub-communes, with an NGO functioning in nearly each of them. The results of our local diagnosis show that most of them face problems with raising funds for their activities, which results in poor offer for villagers and limited potential to solve local problems. Social activities outside the village are sporadic, while local leaders do not have sufficient knowledge on how to obtain funds, engage local community or run grassroot activities. We will address these needs by recruiting and supporting 12 local leaders representing each sub-commune. In each of them we will conduct a workshop devoted to local cooperation and social participation, followed by an exploratory walk. Inhabitants will prepare social diagnosis of their village during these meetings and will identify the key pain points which the proposed initiatives are to address. We will engage residents, volunteers, as well as NGOs and institutions. Local leaders will take part in a cycle of training sessions devoted to cooperation in the local community, development of social projects, inhabitant activation, and participation processes. By taking part in the exploratory visit to Dolny Śląsk, including visits cultural centres, social organisations and thematic villages, participants will have an opportunity to familiarise themselves with practical forms of rural activities in the field of culture and ways of engaging citizens in public matters. Finally, we will organise an event integrating all leaders and inhabitants of the Święciechowa commune, inviting sub-commune administrators and representatives of social organisations to join in. The form of the meeting will be designed together by project participants.
Summary of project results
Gmina Święciechowa (Greater Poland Voivodeship) is a rural municipality with a population of 9,116. It consists of 12 localities, and almost every one of them has some non-governmental organization functioning within it. Based on our local diagnosis, most of these organizations face difficulties in acquiring funds for their activities, resulting in a limited range of offerings for residents and limited opportunities for engaging in local problem-solving. Beyond the municipal area, social activities were sporadic, and local leaders had insufficient knowledge of how to acquire resources, engage the local community, and implement grassroots initiatives.
We addressed these needs by recruiting and supporting 12 local leaders, representatives from each locality. In each locality, we conducted a workshop on local cooperation and social participation, as well as a research walk. During these meetings, residents created a social diagnosis of their community and identified its most significant problems, to which initiatives were developed in response. We involved residents, volunteers, non-governmental organizations, and institutions in these initiatives. Local leaders also participated in a training cycle on cooperation within the local community, creating social projects, mobilizing residents to take action, and participatory processes. During a study visit to Lower Silesia, where they visited cultural centers and social organizations, the leaders learned practical forms of rural cultural activities and citizen engagement in public affairs. Lastly, we organized an integrating event for all the leaders and residents of the Święciechowa municipality, inviting local leaders and representatives of social organizations as well. The format of the meeting was jointly devised by the project participants.
Evaluation surveys indicate that the workshops have increased the knowledge of participants in areas such as volunteering, creating social teams, and civic participation. The study visit served as inspiration for generating new initiatives.
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