The research from the Centre for Public Opinion Research from 2015 showed that 38% of Poles believe they have no influence over what is going on in their country, or their local community. Only one third of citizens of Poland is interested in the public life, even when not always actively engaged in it. As we go through the pandemic of Covid-19, we are observing diminishing of the trust in the government, lack of understanding of the decisions made by those in power, and very limited knowledge of the country’s operations.

We would like to address these issues by creating five nationwide series of educational and activating lectures designed to educate and active citizens, which will focus on participation in the legislative process and the opportunities and ways to debate with the representatives in Parliament. The lectures will be based on tools and data from MamPrawoWiedziec.pl and will help in building a dialogue between the citizens and the lawmakers. The participants will learn how to file questions to representatives’ offices and learn about their positions. We will organize online meetings with the lawmakers on the subject as well. We will also have workshops focused on civic engagement and tools for influencing issues on a local and national level, as well as the value of collaboration. We will organize civics and politics competence training on citizen rights, opportunities for participation in public life and the operations of specific government institutions in Poland. We will conduct practical workshops with educators, during which participants will create a model civic project that will help them solidify the knowledge they have acquired. Recruitment for the project will be conducted in collaboration with NGOs, culture centers, businesses, and informal groups from all over Poland.