Study tour to Gdynia was organized as part of the project entitled "Youth City Council Academy"

On April 20-22, 2023, a study tour to Gdynia was organized as part of the project entitled "Youth City Council Academy" which is part of the project "Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski – City ReNEWal."

The trip was organized by the Space for Social and Cultural Initiatives Association, which is a partner for the Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski City Hall in the project "Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski – City ReNEWal." Within the framework of this project, the association is carrying out a project entitled Youth City Council Academy.

“Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski – City ReNEWal” benefits from a grant of EUR 2,974,766 received from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA grants. The project aims to improve the lives of residents of all ages by achieving various changes in the city’s socio-economic development, and in the sphere of local public administration.

The study tour was intended for participants of the Youth City Council Academy and chaperones. The purpose of the trip was to meet with the active Youth City Council of Gdynia. The site was chosen based on the recommendations of 3 independent experts, who indicated the Youth City Council in Gdynia as a good example of a well-functioning council.

In Gdynia, Janek, Karol, Kuba and Damian, together with Mrs. Zofia Gawlik, gave us an extremely kind and warm reception, presented their most important assumptions, told us what their tasks look like the behind-the-scenes. Of course, there was no shortage of questions from the extremely ambitious group from Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, Youth City Council Academy participants until the very end of the meeting asked the youth from Gdynia both about organizational matters concerning the Council, but also about their most interesting experiences. Any topics raised at the meeting were already the main topic of conversation to be heard among the youth during the trip itself. Important conclusions from the conversation with representatives of the Gdynia Youth City Council include that members of the Youth City Council must study in the city (they do not have to be residents of the city), that it is worth to react to what is happening in society locally and take initiatives, and that it is extremely important to have a well-thought-out communication plan in order to always be able to reach each student individually in each school.

The meeting was complemented by a workshop block, during which an extremely important problem that can be encountered when undertaking any kind of initiative – a decrease in motivation – was raised. Among other things, the young people were able to learn about the need to be able to delegate tasks, to focus on quality rather than quantity of initiatives and to focus on concrete actions, and that crises are inevitable, but they should not be feared, and a solution should always be sought.

During the trip, the young people also had time to strengthen ties and get to know each other even better while visiting, among other things: the Gdynia Aquarium and Orłowski Cliff, or the beautiful city of Gdańsk.