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Programme supporting non-governmental organisations and civic initiatives acting to the benefit of specific local communities.
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The Act Locally Programme had been implemented during the period of January through June 2001.
The Programme objective had been to support civic initiatives serving the purpose of resolving local problems. When considering the Programme criteria as well as the procedures and expected results thereof, we had assumed that the planned beneficiaries should be able to respond to each and every one of the questions listed below in the affirmative:
- Do we have an idea how to resolve a major local problem in our town, village, commune, or county for an approximate amount of PLN 15,000.00, during the period of January through June 2001?
- Shall we involve a large group of residents, other organisations, authorities, and the media in the process of resolving the problem?
- Will our initiative change anything in our community? Will our social initiative support the process of building a sustainable local development mechanism?.
- Will our social initiative support the process of building a sustainable local development mechanism?
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In order to participate in the Programme, applicants had to acquire 20% of the programme budget as planned from local sources. This requirement was to emphasise the necessity of planting any actions firmly in the local community.
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THE FIRST EDITION
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69 local initiatives The Selection Committee approved for 69 projects to be implemented in small communities, with the overall grant amount totalling PLN 1,141,700.00. The value of single grants ranged from PLN 6,500.00 to PLN 46,500.00.
One of the most important assumptions of the Program was not to impose subject of the project so that they could answer real problems of given communities. Consequently implemented projects were diverse, related to problems like, for example: spare time offer for children and youth, preservation of cultural heritage, stimulating development of small and medium-scale enterprise, development of the civic sector on the local level, or preservation of natural environment.
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WHAT WAS ACHIEVED by 69 local organisations and institutions?
During 6 months of project implementation it could be observed that resources of activity dormant in Polish society are huge, and local environments are interested in operations aimed at their communities. All that can be confirmed by:
- participation of 3,400 volunteers in the implementation of various tasks as part of the Act Locally Programme. Among others, their work involved help in preparing open events, project promotion campaigns, web site design, and graphic solutions.
- co-operation of more than 1,000 different social partners: local authorities, education and cultural organisations, the police, local businesses, etc.
- forming 136 task forces who took on the task of implementing a wide variety of local initiatives.
- founding of 26 new organisations who - after the Programme has been closed - shall be working to the benefit of local development,
- establishing a mechanism of co-operation between local authorities and the non-governmental sector on the background of 52 Co-operation Resolutions
- organising 524 training sessions and workshops, including courses targeting young people (glass painting, environmental protection and tourism classes, etc.), the unemployed (job search techniques, craftsmanship and folk art classes), rural area leaders, farmers, and people interested in operating agritourism farms.
- expansion of the cultural life of numerous towns, for example, a theatre ensemble and a music band was organised for children from 4 neighbouring post-state farm villages; a playground was set up; 64 performances, 29 f?tes, 31 concerts, and 64 exhibitions were organised. These included an exhibition set up in three villages of the Varmia-and-Mazurian voivodship to present old family photographs, as well as craftsmanship and folk art exhibitions.
- preparing and print of 60 publications, including a folder promoting different locations and their agritourism farms, a mini-dictionary of the Babia Góra regional dialect, a manual for the disabled and people taking care of them, an information brochure on non-governmental organisations operating in the region, etc.
The success of the programme can also be proven by the number of recipients by project. A total of 19,000 individuals attended seminars, workshops, and other educational events. Open events, such as f?tes, concerts, competitions, and happenings, had an audience totalling nearly 68,000 participants. The number of recipients of all projects implemented as part of the Act Locally Programme reached 207,000.
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FINAL OF THE FIRST EDITION/SELECTING MODEL INITIATIVES
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At the final stage of the project implementation we decided to honour and promote the best local initiatives. Of all the projects co-funded, 12 top-class implementation case studies were selected and awarded prizes totalling over 367 000 zl. Awarded project can be considered as model solutions to some problems and can be adopted and implemented in other communities ? where similar needs are not satisfied. Projects concerning the following problems in a model way were distinguished:
- how to enliven cultural life in small communities
- how to stimulate people to common activities
- how to deal with crime- how to prevent social marginalisation
- how to increase educational opportunities for the young people
- how to extend educational offer in small localities
- how to cope with unemployment
On November 16, 2001, in the Exhibition Hall of the Warsaw University Library Building the final Gala of the ?Act Locally? programme was organised. During the event representatives of the 12 organisations were presented awards. The Gala was accompanied by the exhibition presenting awarded initiatives.
Major publications:
69 ideas for the local development, Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland. Warsaw, 2001.
12 model local initiatives, Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland, Warsaw, 2001
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