There are few institutions in rural areas that meet young people’s needs or support their activities. This is also the cause of a low level of civic activity (V. Kopińska, 2018 Youth). In the municipality of Zakliczyn, the only CSOs for children are sports clubs and the Chess Association. The services offered by the Community Centre do not focus on activating children, and the Municipal Youth Council is inactive. Although the number of vulnerable seniors is increasing (loneliness, technological exclusion), no Senior Council has been created either.
This project addresses the lack of educational, integration, and activation measures for children, young people, seniors, and people with disabilities in the municipality of Zakliczyn.
We will conduct a series of social and civic workshops for children in daily support facilities and seniors and people with disabilities (coaching on interpersonal skills and forms of participation in community and civic life). Seniors will produce three editions of the No Obstacles newspaper (subjects taken from workshops and information on options for support for people with disabilities and seniors in institutions of local and greater reach). For children we will organize day camps on development of local identity, and initiate Voluntary School Associations (monthly workshops). We also envisage study visits for seniors to Tarnów (meeting with the Senior Council and Municipal Youth Council), and children to CSOs in Dąbrowa Górnicza and Krakow, the Sejm, and the Centre for Citizenship Education and Ecological Education Centre in Warsaw.
36 children (aged 6 – 14) at two daily support centres and 15 seniors and people with disabilities from the Municipality of Zakliczyn will participate.
The project will increase the participants’ sense of agency and awareness of possible community and public activities.