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Description
Development Plan of Piła - City of Piła with new energy! is a multi-sector, comprehensive and integrated strategic program of socio-economic development, covering the key dimensions of the city''s development: social, economic, environmental, spatial, financing of city development and intelligent development management.
The project will have many effects:
- Economic activation, organization of events in the field of vocational education will allow young people to adapt to the professional challenges associated the New Dev.
- Social activation integration, ecological, educational and cultural events carried out in modernized or retrofitted centers, including the Center for Activation of Older and Disabled People, the Piła Institute for Integration and Education and the Regional Cultural Center.
- Activation of the post-military potential of the airport (Base simulating space missions, Aviation Education Center), combined with educational and research activities, protection of cultural heritage.
- New domestic and foreign partnerships (inc. with represent. of Donor States).
- Effective public administration, transparent, open to cooperation with residents and encouraging them to participate in decision-making processes regarding local issues.
The project is designed to prevent all forms of discrimination based on sex, race, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, disability, age, sexual orientation during the preparation and implementation process. All the elements of the project will be accessible to each citizien. The created infrastructure will be designed by taking the concept of universal design.
The project will be conducted through a national partnership. The partners will be co-implementers of projects, giving substantive support adjusted to the specificity of undertakings, providing space for the implementation of projects, as well as promoting and informing about ongoing projects.
Summary of project results
City of Piła with new energy! is a multi-sector, comprehensive and integrated strategic project covering the key dimensions of the city''s development: social, economic, environmental, spatial, financing of city development and intelligent development management. The solutions we have developed constitute a broad expansion of the provisions contained in the strategic documents in force in the city so far, in particular the Development Strategy of the city of Piła until 2035. We create a New Development Path, in which, however, we do not forget about previously gained experiences. At the same time, we want to implement what is so important to us sustainable development goals formulated by the United Nations, including, above all, the following postulates: Good health and quality of life, Clean and accessible energy, Economic growth and decent work, Innovation, Industry and Infrastructure, Sustainable cities and communities, as well as Partnership in the implementaion of our goals. In response to the diagnosed problems, as well as with the intention to use the potential of the city, we formulated development goals that create a New Development Path for the city of Piła. We wanted to support and initiate social and cultural activity of Piła residents of various age groups, as well as building the identity of place and origin. Thanks to this, we hope to eliminate the low level of identification with the city, using such strengths as: high social activity and rich cultural life, as well as good social infrastructure. We also wanted to include and support the functioning of socially and economically marginalized groups or those at risk of marginalization, including the elderly and people with disabilities. As a result, we want to improve the financial situation of the inhabitants and help them find well-paid jobs, especially for young and well-educated people. We also wanted, based on extensive experience in this regard, support the further development of the research and development base in the subregion in aviation and aerospace sectors. We assumed supporting innovative economic and professional activity of Piła residents from various social groups. We planed activities promoting an attractive recreational offer, based on the potential of the city and its functional area. In this way, we want to eliminate the loss of inhabitants associated with the negative population growth and negative migration balance, using the high natural values of the city, but also the experiences related to the progressive integration of the city with the communes of the functional area. In this way, we hope to achieve a sustainable and coherent territorial development of Piła and the functional area of the city in the environmental, social and economic dimensions. We also want to further develop our competences through the exchange of experiences and good practices in intersectoral and inter-local governmental cooperation (domestic and foreign).
Thanks to external support, we have implemented nearly 40 projects that have brought many benefits to Piła and our community. We gave them common, dynamic and modern slogan ‘City of Piła with new energy!”. This is the first time that such large-scale activities have been implemented, aimed directly to the residents who have had the opportunity to benefit from many initiatives and events that integrated and activated people of different ages, strengthened local and neighbourhood relations. All of the projects implemented as a part of the project are local products that can be replicated by others. We have managed to implement a number of interesting projects. The rehabilitation base for the disabled at Płotki Lake or the LunAres research station at the Piła airport are examples of such unique initiatives, which we can boast far beyond the borders of our region. We bought diving equipment for rehabilitation and prepared people with disabilities for diving. The classes were carried out from March to December 2023 by trainers from the KROK PO KROKU HSA Foundation, which has extensive experience and conducts rehabilitation on a daily basis, using the Piła swimming pool and the diving platform situated on Płotki Lake. People with various types of disabilities attended the classes. The instructors provided them not only with rehabilitation, but also with a great adventure. With this project, we opened a door through which people with disabilities could enter a new, previously unknown space. In cooperation between Piła local government and the LunAres Association, an Aviation Education Centre was established. We adapted an aircraft hangar into an Aviation Education Centre, equipping it with interactive toys for children and young people and accessories for young astronauts. The Piła airport is also associated with the development of innovative aviation, space and energy technologies. In the second half of 2023, four analogue space missions took place at the LunAres research station, in a hangar at the Piła airport, with 26 scientists and space enthusiasts from around the world. The residents of Piła had the opportunity to hear about what was happening at the base during meetings with participants in the mission. We also organised a series of scientific workshops, which aim was to popularize knowledge of physics, chemistry, robotics, programming, space, renewable energy sources and environmental protection.We rebuilt and modernised the so-called ‘Okrąglak’ building, where the Piła Institute for Integration and Education was created. The building was renovated and adapted for people with disabilities. It is supposed to be a meeting place for NGOs and active Piła residents of all ages. From October 2023 to April 2024, the facility hosted activities involving both young people and seniors. There were refresher classes for seniors in English and French, as well as a series of environmental workshops in which children from Piła’s public elementary schools and seniors created an organic garden. During the ‘e-Senior’ training, senior residents from Piła learned how to use a computer, the Internet, a tablet, a mobile phone and e-government In School European Clubs in nine primary schools in Piła, we promoted the idea of the European community. We also organised an International Miting at the POW cemetery in Leszków. Participants paid tribute to the thousands of victims of the camp and learned about its history. We also supported the local labour market by helping young people to choose their career paths. So there could not miss activities that helped young people broaden their horizons in terms of developing entrepreneurship and equipping tchem with the competences and skills currently in demand on the labour market. Hence, the idea of organising events concerning vocational education, such as “Piła na start”, “Piła Academy of Skills”. Two editions of Entrepreneurship Lessons were also organised - open workshops for young people, developing entrepreneurship and preparing them to run their own business. With the demographic ageing of the population in the city of Piła, there is a growing need for care services and family support services for dependent people. To meet these needs, we have equipped the Senior Activation Centre with equipment for relaxation and sports activities. We conducted many lectures and workshops, sports and recreational activities, and integration and relaxation trips for seniors and people with disabilities. We organized The „4 Elements” Festival of Light Theatres, a unique cultural event, attracting theatre, art and light effects enthusiasts not only from the region. The event’s programme consisted of performances that used light and colour to tell stories inspired by the four elements: earth, water, air and fire, with laser shows as one of the highlights. Within the activity „Active Piła residents do not waste resources we bought the mobile kitchen, equipped with various equipment and appliances. The Piła Food Bank held 22 workshops and presentations for residents of the city and surrounding communities. During the workshops, the principle of ‚zero waste’ was applied i.e. how to cook a tasty meal without wasting food. At the Piła Skateplaza, we organised sports activities for residents, demonstrations by professionals, sports shows and tournaments, but also an educational and recreational festivities. These activities were received with enthusiasm and initiated the PIŁA SKATE FESTIVAL. The great interest of young people, but also adults and seniors in modern technologies, gave rise to the need to create a media workshop called ‘Television - Young Energy’. For this aim we renovated the premises in the building of the Regional Cultural Centre in Piła. We purchased professional equipment and conducted a series of workshops on filming techniques and the use of audio-video equipment. Together with the communes forming the Urban Functional Area of the City of Piła, we organised 6 ECO events. The idea was to shape pro-environmental patterns of behaviour, enable the acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary for environmental protection and to integrate residents. We did this by means of ecological competitions and workshops on waste segregation “zero waste”, promoting care for the natural environment and the immediate surroundings, shaping pro-ecological behaviour.
Cooperation with the Norwegian city of Lorenskog has been an extremely interesting and inspiring experience for both Piła and Lorenskog. The exchange of good practices and study visits have shown that both municipalities have a lot in common. The first joint workshops were held in September 2022 in Piła. During them, we outlined common thematic areas and the framework of the partnership agreement. During another study visit to Piła, we addressed culture and senior citizen policy with our partners. Social integration was the topic of the next meeting. We hosted our Norwegian partners at a Skateplaza, an EKO picnic, a science picnic and a zero waste cooking workshop. In September 2023, we continued discussions concerning cooperation in the area of ‘Culture and Senior Policy’. Together, we organised one edition of the ‘4 Elements’ Festival. Visitors from Norway visited also the Senior Activation Centre, the City Apiary run by the Bee Foundation and the LunAres Research Station - an analogue research station for simulating manned space missions. The topic of the last visit in March 2024 was the education system in Poland. The guests visited Piła’s kindergartens and schools and learned about the “Piła Skills Academy” project. During our first revisit in Norway we got to know the twin city and signed a letter of intent concerning cooperation. Climate, environment, mobility, innovative learning processes in schools, culture and senior policy were the themes of our another study visits in Norway.
The delegation from Piła had the opportunity to visit Kjennskole – a school in Lorenskog, Skarer Gardfarm - a place for social integration, Lokenasveien - a care home and kindergarten, Igloo Innovation and SNO - a centre for knowledge and innovation in areas such as the sports industry, business and health.