The 8th European Congress of Local Governments has become a history. Time for a summary.

On March 6-7, at the Gołębiewski Hotel in Mikołajki, the 8th European Congress of Local Governments was held. The Congress’s motto was “New Solidarity for a New Era.”

The European Congress of Local Governments is one of the leading conferences in Poland dedicated to local government issues. Its aim is to create an independent platform for discussions on key challenges facing Poland and Europe.

This year’s program consisted of over 170 events, including plenary sessions, panel discussions, workshops, talks with well-known figures from social, economic, and political life, and book presentations. The events took place on 13 thematic tracks, including Economy, Future Local Governments, Environmental Protection, Business and Management, Finance, and Society.

Among the special guests of the Congress were, among others, Ossi Savolainen – Mayor of the Uusimaa Region of Helsinki (Finland), Gustaw Marek Brzezin – Marshal of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Cezary Przybylski – Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Dmytro Razumkov – Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine), Even Aleksander Hagen – Mayor of the Innlandet Region (Norway), as well as numerous mayors, city councilors, and village heads.

The Polish government was represented in the discussions during the Congress by, among others, Paweł Szefernaker – Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak – Secretary of State at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, as well as Maciej Miłkowski and Piotr Bromber – Undersecretaries of State at the Ministry of Health.

We were also honored by the presence of Katarzyna Suchcicka – CEO of OX2, Michał Ziółkowski – CTO of Play, Andrzej Jaworski – President of PZU ZDROWie, Arkadiusz Urban – President of National Real Estate Resources, and Agata Stremecka – President of the Four Reasons Foundation.

The business community was also represented during the VIII European Congress of Local Governments by companies such as OX2, Play, AstraZeneca Pharma Poland sp. z o.o., Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Phizer, PZU Zdrowie, Polish Development Fund, Signify, Pessa, POLREGIO, PKN Orlen, ARP e-vehicles.

One of the guests of the VIII European Congress of Local Governments was also Bert Häggblom – Chairman of the Åland Lagting (Finland), who during the plenary session thanked all Polish women and men for their incredible support in connection with the war in Ukraine.

During the Congress, there were also many author meetings with eminent experts, scientists and journalists, including Prof. Andrzej Zybertowicz, Editor Bronisław Wildstein, Dr. Marek Budzisz, Prof. Marcin Solarz and Editor Andrzej Krajewski.

During this year’s VIII European Congress of Local Governments, the Special Poland-Ukraine Common Cause Award was presented in the categories of Human, Local Government, Non-governmental Organization and Company.

The Human category award was presented to Paweł Szefernaker, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration and government commissioner for refugees from Ukraine. The Local Government category award was presented to the city of Przemyśl. The Siepomaga Foundation received the award in the Non-governmental Organization category, and POLREGIO in the Company category.

On the second day of the Congress, the following awards were presented: the European Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Award, the President of the Institute of National Remembrance Award for local government units, the “Youth-friendly Local Government” award presented by Minister Piotr Mazurek, the government’s representative for youth policy, and the European Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Award for Regional Journalist.

The winner of the European Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Award was Ossi Savolainen, Mayor of the Uusimaa Region in Helsinki. The award was presented by former Rector of the Warsaw School of Economics, Professor Marek Rocki.

The winners of the “Youth-friendly Local Government” award were Robert Bagiński, Mayor of the Giby Commune, Krzysztof Gołaszewski, Mayor of Łapy, Michał Prószyński, Member of the Mazovian Voivodeship Regional Assembly, Andrzej Pruś, Chairman of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Regional Assembly, Bartłomiej Stawiarski, Mayor of Namysłów, and Robert Waraksa, Mayor of Olsztynek. The award was presented by Piotr Mazurek, Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Government Representative for Youth Policy.

The President of the Institute of National Remembrance Award for Territorial Self-Government Units was presented to the cities of Włodawa and Mysłowice. The award was presented by the Deputy President of the Institute of National Remembrance, Dr. Mateusz Szpytma.

The winners of the European Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Award for Regional Journalist were Karolina Klimecka Laptuta from wlc.pl editorial staff and Paweł Więcek, editor of Echo Dnia Świętokrzyskie.

The gala was accompanied by music performed by the Academic Orchestra of the Warmia-Mazury University under the baton of Rafał Krauze and the Sądecka Chamber Orchestra with a guest appearance by the Tango Attack ensemble conducted by Colonel Leszek Mieczkowski.