This year, the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship is launching the first edition of the pilot sports and tourism budget programme “Active Lower Silesia”. It will enable Lower Silesians to genuinely participate in making decisions about social initiatives for the region. This is a civic project for spending public money that responds to the need for public participation. The sports and tourism budget aims to build and develop Lower Silesians’ identity by activating civil society at the regional level. It also promotes competition in obtaining public funds.
The pilot budget will have a PLN 600,000 fund and will concern “soft” projects involving the promotion of sport and tourism and the promotion of the region’s tourist attractions, such as tourist events, local sports competitions, rallies, conferences and seminars on tourism development and regional promotion, the promotion of local products and tourist attractions, as well as, for example, publications of tourist materials (i.e. guidebooks, brochures, catalogues, information booklets, etc.).
The budget will be implemented throughout the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, divided into five districts:
- Jelenia Góra: including the city of Jelenia Góra and the counties of Jelenia Góra, Kamienna Góra, Lwówek Śląski, Lubań, Zgorzelec and Bolesławiec
- Wałbrzych: the city of Wałbrzych and the counties of Wałbrzych, Kłodzko, Ząbkowice Śląskie, Dzierżoniów and Świdnica
- Legnica: the city of Legnica and the counties of Legnica, Głogów, Polkowice, Lubin, Złotoryja and Jawor
- Wrocław: Wrocław County, Środa Śląska, Wołów, Trzebnica, Góra, Milicz, Oleśnica, Oława and Strzelin
- the city of Wrocław.
Sports and Tourism Events Budget
The “Active Lower Silesia” sports and tourism budget is part of the Voivodeship’s budget placed at residents’ disposal for sports and tourism events. For the first time, they have the opportunity to submit their ideas, discuss them and then choose solutions by voting. This year’s first edition will be a pilot project whose main task is to assess how willing residents are to engage in this form of public participation. An important element of this edition will be verifying the project’s technical aspects.
In each district, the budget amount will be divided equally, PLN 120,000 each (PLN 600,000 in total for Lower Silesia). Any adult resident of the voivodeship may submit an application. The amount for an individual task carried out under the budget may not exceed PLN 40,000. Ultimately, each subregion will select its “own” winning projects.
The regulations submitted for consultation provide that initiatives may be proposed by residents of the voivodeship who are at least 18 years old and have persuaded at least 50 people to support their idea. The Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship will be responsible for verifying submitted projects, including their compliance with the law and the feasibility and costs of implementation.
Under the regulations, adult Lower Silesians will be entitled to submit applications. However, 16-year-olds will be entitled to vote on the competing projects. “These young Lower Silesians, who actively practise sport, are often already Polish or European champions in their disciplines at this age, so I believe that their active participation in voting on the projects is simply fair to them,” said Jerzy Michalak, Member of the Voivodeship Board.
The primary aim of the “Active Lower Silesia” Budget Programme is to create an effective tool for building civil society in Lower Silesia and strengthening identification with the region. The jointly created budget will also serve as a consultative mechanism for the Voivodeship Board. However, it will not be an investment budget. Any supra-local civic initiative that contributes to the development and popularisation of sport and tourism in Lower Silesia may be submitted, excluding tasks previously co-financed from the Voivodeship’s budget and infrastructure projects. In this context, it is worth recalling that the Lower Silesian local government is successfully implementing pioneering investment programmes, including the construction of athletics stadiums (“Lower Silesia for the Queen of Sport”) and school-adjacent swimming pools (“Lower Silesian Dolphins”).
“We are beginning public consultations on a programme that incorporates elements of a participatory, civic budget. We want to consult on this project and want it to be a joint effort by civic groups and local government. We are opening up to the groups participating in the allocation of public funds for sport and tourism,” Jerzy Michalak said during the conference.
Public consultations will take place from 1 February to 15 March 2016 in Jelenia Góra, Bolesławiec, Strzegom, Wałbrzych, Legnica, Złotoryja, Wołów, Wrocław and Brzeg Dolny. After the consultation period, project proposals will be submitted (16 March–6 April this year).
Following the formal and substantive verification of applications, they will be put to a public vote (8–22 May this year). Competitions to implement the winning projects selected by vote will take place between 5 June and 18 July this year. Project implementation will begin on 19 July and continue until the end of 2016.
UMWD/ii