Together with Fundacja Pole Dialogu and the Institute for Sustainable Development, we have started a new project for involving citizens in planning activities of the municipalities in Poland for the green transformation.
Where did the idea come from?
The project has been initiated and coordinated by Fundacja Pole Dialogu. The project consortium believes that inviting residents to the discussion may bring social acceptance for the pro-ecological efforts of the municipalities, raise the awareness of citizens and their co-responsibility for the success of the implemented policy, as well as create a local atmosphere of dialogue and cooperation for a higher goal.
Project goals:
- inclusion of residents in the process of deciding on the climate policy of their municiplaity, increasing involvement, as well as taking responsibility for the pro-ecological solutions introduced in the commune;
- supporting municipalities in the creation of strategic climate documents with the participation of residents and strengthening the negotiating position in applying for EU funds for climate investments;
- a pilot use and adaptation of a participation tool that is not very popular in Poland: civil courts for the needs of small and medium-sized cities.
Who is the project aimed at?
The project is directed to Polish cities with 10 thousand to 100,000 residents. In these cities, there is a strong need for climate action, the social capital of residents to engage in participatory processes, as well as the city authorities’ awareness of the importance and benefits of such processes. On the other hand, they have smaller resources – both financial and personal – for the implementation of large participation processes, such as climate panels, which have been held in recent years in large cities – in Warsaw, Gdańsk, Lublin, Łódź, Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań. We see value in adapting and tailoring a different participation tool to the needs of small and medium-sized cities, which would help to achieve similar goals to climate panels on a smaller scale.