Oxford debate of the youth from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski

In the building of the educational and pre-school complex Zespół Edukacyjno-Przedszkolny Szkoły z Pasją im. Elżbiety Sołtys, an Oxford debate took place as part of the Youth City Council Academy, implemented under the project “Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski — the City Renewed", co-financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA grants. It marks the launch of a series of four debates, with the participants of the first being elementary school students, the second — high school students, the third — adults, while the fourth will be an intergenerational debate. Their role is to prepare the younger generation of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski citizens for the Youth City Council elections. Eighteen elementary school students took part in the first debate. Its thesis was contained in the sentence: "The development of civil society depends on the youth."

The first debate was attended by Deputy Mayor Artur Łakomiec on behalf of the Mayor of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski Jarosław Górczynski.

“I am glad to be here with you. Today's debate is a valuable experience that should be applied to our daily lives. It has always been my view in private and public life that it is not the argument of strength that matters, but the strength of the argument. In recent years, the political space has lacked precisely this element of dialogue and solid argumentation. Therefore, I wish the participants in the debate, on behalf of the Mayor and myself, a fruitful discussion within the framework of the Youth City Council Academy,” the Deputy Mayor said at the meeting.

Civic workshops were held in twenty-two schools in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski by the end of December 2022. This first stage was the beginning of building a strong foundation for the Youth Council of the City of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. Usually, each school reported more students willing to attend than the fifteen anticipated spots for the workshop. Methods of active work with students were used during the sessions. Educational games were used to train the process of cooperation, decision-making and construction of substantive statements. The methodology was directed at strengthening the young person's sense of influence on the reality around us.

Enrollment for the final stage of the Youth City Council Academy will begin soon. After the winter break, thirty candidates for the Youth City Council will receive further training. The students' interest exceeded the organizers' expectations. Elections for the Youth City Council will be held later this school year.

The “Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski — the City Renewed” project (orig. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski — miasta OdNowa), implemented as part of the “Local Development” Program, envisages strategic, integrated and comprehensive management of the city, aimed at improving the situation of its residents in such areas as broadly understood education, environmental protection and support for the local job market and entrepreneurship. The project will also aim to raise the level of competence, quality of provided services and responsibility of the local administration, contributing to building trust of the residents towards local authorities as institutions administering local development.