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Description
The aim of the project is to strengthen cooperation between social economy entities (PES) and to disseminate tools and procedures for democratic decision-making. With this project we would also like to make social economy entities more recognisable in the local community. The challenge we face is the lack of strong representation of those entities, which through common actions could influence local policies, as well as the lack of integration and cooperation between social economy entities and municipalities. The problem is also the lack of positive image of ‘PES’ in the local space and low activity of residents who are reluctant to engage in voluntary activities. As part of the project we will carry out a social campaign to increase the engagement of residents. We will conduct debates using the World Café methodology, networking meetings, educational seminars, happenings and study visits. Both social economy entities and citizens will benefits from the project activities, thanks to the opportunities of getting to know each other and receiving support. Project beneficiaries will be people who want to have an impact on local policies, social leaders, representatives of social economy entities, volunteers, local governments and the local community of the Radom sub-region. Our partner is the Łomża Social Economy Cluster – an entity with experience in cooperation with municipalities. The Łomża Social Economy Cluster operates since 2013. It gathers 16 social economy entities.
Summary of project results
Our project was based on experience gained during activities in the area of Social Economy Entities. It turned out that the potential of social enterprises operating in our area is not fully used. Analysis of survey results among local governments and social economy entities in the province. Masovian Voivodeship showed that only less than 20 percent of local governments have so far established cooperation with PES. We have noticed that the lack of integration of the social economy environment and cooperation of local government units with them is also a problem. Another problem is the lack of a strong PES representation that will consciously act together to influence local policy and will be a strong spokesman for the interests of PES towards the public sector. Therefore, we have created a project that responds to the following problems we diagnosed:
- Lack of integration and mutual knowledge in the PES environment
- Lack of knowledge of the potential of local PES by local government units and cooperation regions
- Lack of a positive image of PES in the local space
-Lack of social involvement and activity reflected in the lack of volunteers
As part of the project, we organized:
- a promotional campaign in which:
a fanpage of the Radomskie PES?YES!i project has been created,
we supervised the website which is a source of information about the project and the project''s social media profile,
sponsored articles were published in local media,
we produced and broadcast a video spot on social media,
3 interviews were carried out with local PES leaders
- 8 networking meetings in each poviat of the Radom subregion, to which we invited
representatives of non-governmental organizations and representatives of local government units (meetings were held in the Białobrzegi, Kozienice, Lipsk, Przysucha, Radom Miasto, Radom, Szydłowiec, Zwoleń poviats)
- study visit to Łomża on April 19-20, 2023 for representatives of 15 PES
- 8 World Cafe Debates during which representatives of non-governmental organizations and
representatives of local government units discussed tasks, needs, expectations and cooperation (debates took place in Białobrzegi, Kozienice, Lipsk, Kłudno, Radom, Skaryszew, Szydłowiec and Zwoleń)
- educational seminar on the topic: Public Benefit Activities Council in Radom, where to start and how to work?, which started a conversation in Radom with the city government about establishing the Public Benefit Activities Council in Radom. The seminar took place on June 20, 2023.
-happening in which, apart from non-governmental organizations, also residents of Radom participated. The event took place on April 1, 2023 at the Meeting House in Radom. During the event, the work of non-governmental organizations was presented to the local community
A total of 154 people were involved in activities related to the project. At least 5 social organizations representing individual counties and representatives of local government units took part in each networking meeting (8) and Word Cafe Debate (8). PESs participating in the meetings had a platform to get to know each other and present their activities to officials. They declared that they would continue this type of meetings,
One volunteer and two male volunteers were involved in the project.
Activities in social media, information on the website and on the project''s fanpage, as well as a happening carried out in urban space increased the recognition of local non-governmental organizations among the inhabitants of Radom and the Radom subregion.
In the project, 8 organizations became partners and signed an agreement in the Area of Civic Education.
30 people also took part in consultations with representatives of authorities and public decision-making centers. It was then decided to hold talks on the establishment of the Public Benefit Activities Council in Radom. Previously, there was no such dialogue (it is continued after the end of the project). PES representatives also held talks with the Center for Non-Governmental Organizations on the transparency of the selection of members to the Consultative Team for Cooperation of Local Government with Non-Governmental Organizations.
To sum up, our main beneficiaries were social economy entities in Radom and the Radom subregion, residents of this area and representatives of local government units.