Accessibility Tools

Lubelskie under control

Project Promoter: Fundacja Wolności
Proposal: 1st thematic call
Co-financed from the program: 101 800,00 EUR
Partners: None
Duration time: 01.10.2021 -30.09.2023

We are a watchdog organization that exerts influence on local authorities. This year we received 54 reports of irregularities and requests for help from local residents. The cases concern suspected corruption, conflicts of interest, irregularities in the functioning of government offices, and the exertion of pressure by the authorities. Journalists are rarely involved in monitoring activities: investigative journalism accounts for 0.04% of publications in the local press. Young people are not engaged in local affairs and do not use the tools of co-decision. During the last elections to the district councils, out of 608 candidates, only 38 were under the age of 26 (6%). The participation of young people in voting for the civic budget in Lublin has been declining for several years. The aim of the project is to engage the residents of four county towns in the Lublin Province (with a particular focus on youth) in watchdog activities at the local government level. We will conduct monitoring of the mayors’ pre-election promises and research the activity of councilors. The reports prepared as part of the project will serve as a tool for the citizens before local elections planned for 2023. We will develop the ‘Open Lublin’ newspaper by engaging citizen journalists in its co-creation. Young people and university students from Lublin, Zamość, Chełm and Biała Podlaska will benefit from planned activities, especially those showing interest in local affairs, civil society, openness of public life and human rights. Community activists and people interested in local affairs will receive support and gain an opportunity to broaden their knowledge about the right to information, civic control and journalism. The project will result in an increase in independent and objective accountability of mayors to citizens regarding the fulfillment of their electoral promises, an increased activity and accessibility of councilors, and a greater sense of youth’s influence on local affairs.