Dębica, Stoczek Łukowski, Ełk and Milicz – at these places local workshops for participants of the 4th round of the “PAFF Local Partnerships” Program were held from July to September 2015. The meetings organized under the slogan “Good communication makes good partnership” gave opportunity to broaden knowledge not only on how to communicate effectively on joint activities but also how to maintain sustained cooperation and create space for the residents to get involved in citizen initiatives.
Each workshop was accompanied by study visits or interesting meetings that could inspire to new activities.
The first workshop took place in Dębica, in the offices of Tikkurila company, which is one of the partners in the initiative. It gathered partner organizations that took part in two projects: “Dębica painted with volunteering” and “Young managers” implemented in the neighboring Staszów commune.
The workshop participants learned how a company operating on a global scale can develop interesting CSR actions at a local level. Magdalena Olszewska, the manager of corporate communication, told about Tikkurila activity at the local level and its consistent implementation of the CSR strategy. Gabriela Gibas-Psuturi, President of Żywiec Development Foundation – Act Locally Center and leader of the local partnership in Żywiec, spoke about the partnership sustainability, on the example of the social campaign carried out in the first round of the program. Fresh air as the leading subject and common good met with the participants’ interest. It gave rise to many ideas of how to use the experiences of the Żywiec partnership in other projects. At the end Przemysław Dziewitek of the Citizen Workshop Association carried out the discussion on “Social Participation – what is that?” that is how to use the participation budget best and when to launch the social consultation process on that subject.
The host of the second workshop was the partnership from Stoczek Łukowski, implementing the “Town of battle and arms” project . This time the guests were the partners from Strachówka implementing the “My and your history” project.
“These are people who cooperate with people, and not organizations,” Stanisław Baska, President of the SML Local Fund Foundation said. He shared his experiences from the “Young and angry – the partnership for young” coalition building (1st round). Next Agnieszka Maszkowska of Soclab – Laboratory of Social Research and Activities spoke about social participation and shared good practices of its application.
At the end of the workshop the participants had the opportunity to check their abilities in a Stoczek Łukowski quest, which was created as part of the partnership project. They also met representatives of local CWA Motorcycle Club, which is involved in social activities.
“You need little time to write Ełk but much time to forget it” – such a slogan was found in social media after the completion of workshops in Ełk, which took place at the end of July. It was the meeting of representatives of “Open to diversity” project of Ełk and “Common space, common affairs” project of Supraśl. In the case of the partnership from Ełk, the project consisted of the creation of social and cultural stops while the partnership from Supraśl created citizen cafes, used to arrange public space.
These seemingly different projects found a common space and shared the experiences. On the basis of knowledge shared with them by Agnieszka Maszkowska, the workshop participants discussed the issue of citizen budgets use in the context of common good such as public space. The role of an expert at partnership sustainability was played by Stanisław Baska. The meeting was attended by Ełk starost Marek Chojnowski, among others. The crowning point of the workshop was a visit to the Stare Juchy commune, where the participants could learn about unusual activities of the District Public Library and the “Good Power” Cooperative, which serve as the model example of partner cooperation.
A series of regional workshops was closed by a meeting in Milicz for representatives of partnerships implementing the “Variety fair” and the “Colorful carp: on the carp’s trail through the Barycza Valley” projects. The participants of Milicz workshops met in the Creative Multifunctional Center room. The part of the meeting devoted to influence of local organizations on the citizen budget was conducted by Małgorzata Malec of “My Space Foundation for Support of Local Development” from Wrocław. The importance of building sustainable partnerships was emphasized by Paweł Łukasiak, President of the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland. Next the participants took part in the ceremony of the “House of Tree” opening in Wałkowa, where, thanks to partner cooperation of various institutions and organizations, the former cone seed drying plant was adapted for the center of ecologic education. The crowning point was the guided tour along the most spectacular pathways of Barycza Valley reserve, where colorful and artistically decorated carp figures prepared as part of the partnership project can be found. The last item on the agenda was a visit to the Museum of Tradition of Fishing in Milicz Ponds and Barycza Valley.
All four workshops put a special emphasis on the effective communication in the partnership activities. Katarzyna Kunert of the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland acquainted the workshop participants with tools that might serve the improvement of their promotional activities.
The regional workshops were held as part of the “PAFF Local Partnerships” Program, whose objective is initiating and developing cooperation among participants of various PAFF programs, aimed at establishing partnerships that can implement projects important to local communities.
