Positive changes are almost here! We know the winning projects from the 3rd edition of the LECHSTARTER programme

PLN1,000,0000 from Lech awarded! May 17 marked the end of voting for this year’s edition of LECHSTARTER and the announcement of 15 projects that will soon be executed. The residents of Polish cities once again proved that by joining forces and accepting Lech’s help, they can make some real changes in their neighbourhoods. Time to meet the winning ideas! 

Launched in 2016, the LECHSTARTER programme has been introducing positive changes to Polish cities, allowing the residents to execute original revival ideas. This year, Lech donated PLN1,000,000 PLN for the purpose! The winning crews have come a long way: this year’s edition saw almost 300 creative submissions, while the jury selected 48 out of them that best reflected the general idea. They advanced to the final, where they were submitted for voting and the local communities chose the best projects.

In the GRANT category, which offered 5 grants estimated to PLN100,000, the winning projects came form Gdynia, Lipno, Łódź, Opole and Poznań. The first one got the most votes – Pociąg do miasta  – 4th Summer Theatre Festival in Gdynia – and it assumes organization of a street festival. The goal of the projects form Lipno (Nie ma lipy – gra nam nie tylko w duszy!) and Łódź (Pracownia WIMA) is to create a space for relaxation in a park in Lipno and a common space for exploration of interests of the residents of Łódź. The project from Opole (Przystań z zachodzącym słońcem) aims to provide a recreational meeting spot by the water, while the one from Poznań (Mobilne Meble dla Miasta) assumes buying furniture that can be used in the urban space.

The MICROGRANTS category awarded grants of PLN50,000 to 7 projects. The winners represented Wolbrom, Świdwin, Zamość, Włocławek, Poznań, Golub-Dobrzyń and Morawica. The highest number of votes was collected by Wolbromska Tężnia Lecha, a project to build a graduation tower. The  list of MICROGRANT winners included: Po sąsiedzku – a project to revive a local park in Świdwin, Street Art Festival in Zamość and a car cinema “Stara Zajezdnia” in Włocławek. Additionally, another PLN50,000 was allocated for Nocne Życie Fortów from Poznań that will allow the residents of the city to discover the world of bats as well as Kulturalny Golub-Dobrzyń that will put a scene and garden houses in the city. The last project qualified for a grant was Kulturobus from Morawica and it will provide a mobile culture zone for the residents.

A new LLECHSTARTER category was the GRANT ACADEMY assuming 3 PLN50,00 prizes for individual community workers. The winners of the category were: Rewitalizacja Gwoździarni from Włocławek that will create a new cultural space within the city, Kultura poszła w las from Supraśl that will prepare a meeting spot in the forest, and Widok na Przyszłość from Świebodzin, a project for an original installation within one of the housing estates.

Here’s how Filip Springer, a reporter who joined the jury for the third time, summed up this year’s edition of LECHSTARTER: Each year, projects submitted within the LECHSTARTER programme are simply better, more mature and carefully thought out and better responding to the needs of local communities. The quality of the submissions is still impressive, but it’s not the only aspect of the programme that is worth noticing. What’s equally important is the way the authors convince the residents of their cities and supporters to vote for their initiatives. In many cases, the “clicking” period sparks off a public debate about the quality of space within particular cities. Thanks to a shared goal and the reviving character of this part of the programme, local communities unite and take up challenges together. I believe that the energy will last longer than this edition of LECHSTARTER.