Safety and Resilience of Local Communities
During the Local Government Forum in Zakopane, an interesting discussion panel took place entitled: “Safety and Resilience of Local Communities.” The panel featured the following participants: Konrad Kochana – Manager at CCD Skills Sp. z o.o. (as moderator), Tomasz Pawłuszko – Professor at the University of Opole, Agnieszka Kordalewska – President of the Management Board at the Gotowi.org Foundation, Krzysztof Papadis – President of Smart Target, Robert Bylica – Deputy Mayor of Myślenice, and Jaśmina Kasenko – Founder of Scholarly.
The discussion began with remarks by Robert Bylica, who pointed out that in Poland the topic of resilience and local safety has clearly grown in importance, and that many organizations and initiatives have emerged to support it. These initiatives are multifaceted—social services centers, for example, have been established—but independent, grassroots initiatives remain the foundation. The panelist noted with satisfaction that awareness of the need for security is one of the most important pillars of social order. He observed that without a sense of safety among citizens, all other state resilience systems may be flawed and unreliable. Therefore, building a sense of social resilience is crucial for the resilience of the entire system.
Agnieszka Kordalewska, President of the Management Board at the Gotowi.org Foundation, referring to her own experience, noted that as population grows in metropolitan areas, the willingness to engage socially in initiatives related to public safety decreases. According to the panelist, this is linked to social anonymization and a greater perceived sense of safety in large urban centers. She added that it is connected to local identity and the sense of direct threat, which is stronger in smaller towns. She stated that the key element in changing the mindset of big cities is conscious communication—communication that engages residents and shows them the purpose and real value of their involvement. This can translate into the creation of safer spaces and better community functioning in crisis situations.
Jaśmina Kasenko, Founder of Scholarly, confirmed that it is indeed difficult to encourage society to broaden its knowledge about safety. She also pointed out that in emergency situations, Poles are often not prepared to take appropriate action. They are unprepared not only in terms of agency but also lack basic knowledge enabling them to take initiative. They are not trained in first aid, basic survival skills, alarm signals, etc. In her view, certain measures of “gentle coercion” would be needed to help guide society toward responsible behavior and crisis preparedness.
When the moderator raised the issue of educational foundations, Krzysztof Papadis, President of Smart Target, strongly emphasized that safety education in Poland is insufficiently utilized and ineffective. According to the panelist, education in this field should be systemic, well-thought-out, and implemented from the earliest years—without this, we cannot build a conscious, prepared society. He added that training and competency-building must be cyclical, because without consistency there will be no results. Every citizen should know how to behave in crisis situations. Such training, in cases where the state cannot deliver it, should be outsourced to certified institutions, following the example of Finland.
Prof. Tomasz Pawłuszko began his statement by noting that the current law on safety has many shortcomings. There are staffing gaps, a lack of trainers, and a shortage of specialists who could conduct preparations. He stressed that the biggest problem is educating adults—this is much more difficult than working with children or youth. He pointed out that one of the most effective methods is educational applications, as confirmed by experiences in Ukraine. He also assessed that evaluating current activities only next year is too late, because changes are needed now. He highlighted that the implementation of procedures depends primarily on mayors and commune heads, who are responsible for many key components of the safety system.
This statement was reinforced by Robert Bylica, who, agreeing with the previous speaker, emphasized the urgent need to introduce systematized safety education in schools. Education in this area should have the same priority as health education. “Without this, it will be difficult to build responsible civic attitudes,” he concluded.
