BUSINESS

Poznań in Kraków

In Krakow 10 cities of Central-Eastern Europe are meeting in the network "Cities of Transformation", an organisation created in conjunction with the World Bank and the Bertelsmann Foundation. Tomasz Kayser, deputy president of Poznań, is one of the delegates.

In accord with the Memorandum of Cooperation signed on 10.04.2000 in Gurersloh (Germany), a network of 10 partner cities from 5 countries was created: Poland (Poznań and Ostrów Wielkopolski), Hungary, Latvia, Bulgaria and Slovakia. Margret Thalwitz, manager of the Development Group at the World Bank explains the establishment of the project: "The Bertelsmann Foundation together with the World Bank created a network of partner cities and will jointly manage its activities and support them in the process of planning their modernization and at the same time, these cities in the context of the network, will be able to take advantage of their own innovatory solutions through the exchange of experience and elaboration of new practical solutions".

In the program "Cities of Transformation" the process of change is not based on ideas drawn directly from Western Europe. The cities wish to share a variety of good solutions that have already proven themselves in given situations. Deputy president Tomasz Kayser comments: "We also wish to help each other in the preparation of plans that aim to accelerate the economic development of our cities as well as the joint testing of new solutions. I am convinced that Poznań will benefit from this collaboration and am glad that we are taking part in the program "Cities in Transformation". It’s worthwhile underlining that the choice of Poznań for the program was made on the basis of expert opinion from the Bertelsmann Foundation and World Bank that took note of our previous achievements and the openness of the city to the introduction of innovatory changes in management and the ability for undergoing change".

Cities taking part in the network divided themselves into two working groups: economic development (Poznań in the case of Poland) and protection of the environment (Ostrów Wlkp. amongst others).

From the 7th to the 9th of February the Krakow meeting of delegates from participating cities will discuss future directions of cooperation. Poznań, with the support of Ostrów Wlkp., will propose the creation of a unified system of quality of life indicators in cities (presented by Tomasz Kayser), an innovatory method of measurement in Poland.

The constant monitoring of standardised elements of life in this case; safety, public and private means of transport, impact of education, hygiene and cleanliness of the city, natural environment as well as city dwellers' living conditions, will allow for the creation of an objective assessment mechanism of real changes in the standard of their lives. The aim of introducing such a unified system is to gain a finite number of synthesised, clear and standard indicators that help in the assessment of community services. It is also important that in the creation of a true picture of a city that its inhabitants also take part, thus gaining a chance to influence decisions that affect them. This picture of the city, based on chosen quality of life indicators, will therefore be a compilation of the present situation (facts) and public opinion (perceptions).

Jim Soorley, Mayor of Brisbane (Australia), special guest at the Krakow meeting, will share his experience in the field of professional strategic planning at the level of local government. In this regard, Brisbane is given as a model by members of local government from all over the world.

During the Krakow symposium it is envisaged that the choice of place for the "Cities of Transformation" summit will be made. Deputy president Tomasz Kayser will officially propose that it takes place in Poznań. If that were to be the case, then in the latter half of May, Poznań will be greeted by the presidents of all member cities as well as dignitaries from the Bertelsmann Foundation and the World Bank.