WHAT:
‘Cities are at the forefront of today’s greatest challenges and opportunities. Climate change, intergenerational gaps and digital disruption are just some common turning points for European cities. And yet, cities are also home to cultural diversity, economic opportunities and essential services. It’s by sharing experiences with other cities that we can harness the many opportunities of sustainable urban development. This is where URBACT comes in.

URBACT promotes integrated development to support cities implement horizontal and vertical policy integration. Positive change can best be made when local authorities collaborate with different levels of governance (regional, national, EU) –vertical integration – and when they tackle challenges and problems in a holistic way that considers environmental, economic, and social dimensions at the same time – horizontal integration.

‘Collaboration at national and regional levels can be vital for cities to achieve integrated urban development. A National Campus engages URBACT members with their national, regional and metropolitan partners to jointly develop the skills necessary to bring about change and push for multi-level governance models. With the support of the National URBACT Points, these seminars provide an opportunity for cities to share experiences with peers who understand their language, context and specific urban challenges.'(2)

HOW:

Dr Lidia Gryszkiewicz (The Impact Lab) and Dr Elżbieta Szulc-Wałecka, both validated URBACT experts, have been invited to lead the URBACT National Campus in Poland. The Campus itself was organised by Aldo Vargas-Tetmajer, the National URBACT Contact point in Poland. The Campus was divided into two days. On the first day, city representatives learned about the mindset switch from strategy to implementation and discovered the various European funding mechanisms available for urban initiatives. On the second day, the focus was on pitching the integrated action plans to funders, politicians and key stakeholders, and there was an opportunity to meet representatives of several important funders, such as the World Bank. In the afternoon, a Climate Fresk workshop was organised by dedicated climate action trainers.

RESULTS:

Selected representatives of 14 cities participated in the URBACT National Campus in Poland, among them Gdańsk, Kraków, Koszalin, Lublin, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Bielsko-Biała, Sosnowiec and Skawina. Various URBACT Action Planning Networks took part: Agents of Coexistence, AR.C.H.ETHICS, C4Talent, Cities@Heart, DIGI-INCLUSION, FEMACT Cities, GenProcure, Green Place, In4Green, Schoolhoods, Techdiversity, U.R. Impact and WELDI.

(1) https://urbact.eu/who-we-are

(2) https://urbact.eu/capacity-building

Photos by The Impact Lab and Elżbieta Szulc-Wałecka.

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