4th LECHSTARTER edition completed! SPACE will shortly be created in Kielce.

On 20 May the 4th LECHSTARTER program, in which 15 cities from all around Poland were fighting for PLN 1 million from Leszek, came to an end. Nearly 300,000 votes were cast during the 5 weeks of voting. Among the cities which gained the most votes were Kielce, which won for its residents the original open SPACE designed by Jakub Szczęsny!

Kielce, Szczecin, and Rzeszów – these were the cities which won SPACE for its residents, winning in the 4th LECHSTARTER vote. This year Leszek came back with a revamped mechanism of the activity which allowed LECHSTARTER to engage a well-known Polish architect – Jakub Szczęsny. Out of this cooperation a unique urban space project was born.

While creating the concept, Jakub Szczęsny’s studio, SZCZ, focused on the problem of many Polish cities, namely lack a place dedicated to local communities. As a result, a project called SPACE was born, for which 15 cities represented by NGOs were contending. The fight was very fierce until the last day of the vote. Residents of regions which won, still this summer will be able to enjoy green space that will be ideal for taking a breath away from the hustle and bustle of the city, for organizing cultural events, or simply for meeting friends.

Almost 300,000 votes were cast during the program thanks to 15 NGOs and many entities involved in the program. The communication of Lech Premium brand, which is the program sponsor, was supported with publications by many well-known celebrities engaged in the project – Areta Szpura, Zofia Zborowska, Michał Piróg, and Krzysztof Jankes Jankowski. The program was also supported by program ambassadors – Filip Springer and Jakub Szczęsny, who in addition to substantive support helped raise awareness about the program and motivated people to vote.

Since 2016, LECHSTARTER has been positively changing the space of Polish cities, implementing original projects dedicated to residents. In the previous editions of the program, Lech Premium devoted a total of PLN 3 million to implement interesting initiatives created together with local communities. So far, projects funded from LECHSTARTER grants were implemented both in large cities, like Poznań, Gdynia, or Szczecin, and in smaller ones, like Wolbrom, Włocławek, or Morawica.