I already know how local government works

Description

The citizens of the municipality Michałowice aren't informed by local government about the municipality budget. they aren't aware of the possibility of participation in deciding about the spendings. The project's objective is to enhance engagement of citizens of the municipality of Michałowice in local matters, and to encourage them to participate in the local government activities. The project will have two parts. The first one concerns local finances. Through developing a map of expenditures and organising meetings we would like to explain to the inhabitants the budget of the municipality - how to read it and how to influence it. In order to increase the level of co-deciding on local spending, we plan to encourage inhabitants to participate in meetings on village funds and to implement civic initiative mechanism in practice. The second part of the project is about public space. We want to sensitise the inhabitants to the issues of public space and to encourage them to take part in the public space planning processes and make them more aware of problems connected with increasing suburbanisation. The activities should lead to making public space more esthetical.

Summary of project results

The project focussed on the low level of participation in public life by rural residents. In the cities, largely thanks to "urban activism movements", we can observe a growing interest in public issues. In the rural areas, such involvement is very limited. This particularly concerns “new" inhabitants of suburban areas, who lock themselves behind tall walls, in their manicured gardens. According to the organisation's diagnosis, one of the reasons for such passivity is the lack of knowledge about the workings of local government at the lowest level, including budget planning, designing public spaces, and civic participation. Increasing the knowledge, showing the mechanisms of the system of local government, and translating the difficult clerical jargon into a more understandable language were meant to increase the residents' participation in public life. The project's objective was to improve their knowledge about the finances of the local government, and increase their participation in budget and spatial planning. The project was also aimed at involving local residents with the community affairs and increasing attendance at meetings concerning the village fund, as well as introducing a civic initiative mechanism for improving the aesthetics of public space. Local residents learned about the operation of local government. The meetings, workshops and information on leaflets and maps drew them into decision making about the appearance of the surrounding space. Consequently, the number of people attending village meetings increased. An independent website providing information about the local government and its activity was created. Seven days of workshops and conferences were attended by 189 residents of different ages. During the workshop on designing public spaces, the participants prepared an outline design for the school garden. NGOs were trained in networking and starting new initiatives. A simplified version of the area development plan was created (4 coloured charts were prepared, presenting the most important areas of development). Expense maps for 2015 and 2016, as well as leaflets on the village fund were prepared and delivered to every house in the community. The www.jakdzialasamorzad.pl (how the local government works.pl) website was opened, and published updated information and materials. The project was addressed to all residents of the community.

Summary of bilateral results