As part of the project, we will activate the community of citizens from Chełm neighborhood in Gdańsk. According to the diagnosis of citizen needs conducted in the city of Gdańsk, the neighborhood of our choice is confronted by issues such as poverty, high crime rates, higher-than-average unemployment, significant percentage of students held back at school, and a significant population of seniors. Our analysis suggests that an insufficient civic infrastructure, lack of culture centers and meeting places for the community is an additional challenge in the neighborhood.
We would like to address these issues by creating a Neighborly Energy Incubator – a local spot for the civic engagement. In collaboration with the neighborhood community, we will organize a series of activities, meetings, workshops and events. Additionally, we will engage local leaders to run classes, during which members of the community will be able to organize meetings and share their knowledge with others. We will also support grassroots initiatives – ideas from the local citizens that we will support and help organize and sometimes even fund. What is more, we will open an information and advisory hub where members of Chełm community will be able to share their problems and learn about available support.
One of our partners will be Fremtenkt AS organizations from Norway that engages in similar activities at home. We will organize two working visits – in Poland and in Norway – to exchange experiences and best practices for working with a local community. Two remaining partners will be: Chełm Neighborhood Council and Wzgórza Radości Seniors Club. Collaborating with these organizations will allows us to create a network of support for civic engagement in the neighborhood and increase the longevity of our actions. It will also help us reach a broader population and enrich the offer of our center.
