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Description
Within the project two regional editions of the School of Watchdog Initiatives will be held, and the knowledge developed will be made available in the form of an online course. The School is a series of in-person and online training sessions for people acting locally, interested in watchdog activities and responsible governance. One training cycle lasts approximately six months and consists of three full-time sessions and 10 webinars. The goals of the project are: to prepare 40 people acting locally for systematic and effective watchdog work; to gather knowledge, experience and ideas for action that can be used by other people throughout Poland; to strengthen and network the local watchdog community in Poland. The current edition is attended by people who already have some watchdog experience. Some of them are active in some formalized initiative, but most of them are citizens for whom civic control is an additional activity. They want the municipality to be a friendly place and they try to improve something or convince the officials to make a change for the better. 9 out of the 10 planned webinars have already taken place. During the 3-day training in Wroclaw the participants planned their activities in a specific thematic area, e.g. observance of students’ rights, public communication strategy, or a platform for social consultations in the municipality.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to strengthen civil society in relations with local authorities. People who operate locally and conduct watchdog activities often lack competence in such relationships. There is a lack of awareness of one''s own rights, competent dialogue and the ability to influence decisions. Their actions are also often incomprehensible to other residents of the commune/city. So there is a feeling of loneliness. They are also time-consuming. Often, such activists pursue them after their professional work, sometimes at the expense of time spent with their family.
As part of the project, two regional editions of the School of Sentinel Initiatives (SIS) were implemented.
The first edition of the School was addressed to residents of North-Western Poland, the second to South-Eastern Poland. Each edition of the School was completed by 20 people.
One training cycle consisted of three stationary meetings, 10 online meetings and the development of mini-monitors by the participants.
The activities of people participating in SIS were described and recorded to serve as an inspiration to other people throughout Poland. Based on the experiences of people participating in the School and their own knowledge, an online course on human rights and monitoring was developed. The course is available free of charge at serwis.siecobywatelska.pl.
Thanks to participation in the School, people acting locally gained knowledge in the field of guard activities, human rights and local government activities. An important part of the School was the practical part - i.e. planning and carrying out monitoring in a selected area. It was a group task, so the participants also had the opportunity to work on joint activities.
Most of them have become experts in their local communities in accessing information and influencing the authorities'' decisions. They advise on how to write an application, who to ask, how to check something, and ask questions submitted by residents to the commune authorities. Still, such activities are often met with a negative reception by the commune authorities or misunderstanding by other residents. Therefore, an important effect of the School is that graduates have a support group. They often discuss their ideas, discuss problems, take joint actions and inspire each other.
As part of the project, two editions of the School of Guardian Initiatives were implemented. 40 people took part.
• A new version of the course on human rights and monitoring has been created: serwis.siecobywatelska.pl.
• 9 mini-monitorings were carried out. The effects of the monitoring were presented to the audience - the first school to the "intersectoral" group, the second to people preparing to monitor the elections.
• Number of new initiatives that are active and created during the School: 3.
• Number of people from social organizations who use the knowledge acquired in the course to monitor decisions made by public entities: 23
• Number of individuals who use the knowledge acquired in the course to monitor decisions made by public entities: 12. These are people who attend city/municipal council meetings, observe the activities of their communes/cities on specific topics, participate in social consultations and share knowledge and information with other residents of the commune.
• Number of journalists who use the knowledge acquired in the course to promote access to online information: 4
• Over 20 inspirations were created: 9 presentations from monitoring activities, 14 interviews describing people''s experiences and monitoring activities, recordings of people''s statements (mainly used in promotion and in an educational course).
• Graduates of the School took part in the Fan Rally (this year and last year). During the Meetings, they shared their experience by conducting workshops/presentations, including monitoring activities carried out within the School