Project n°15

INTRODUCTION

CHILD project was focusing on children’s wellbeing. The aim of the project was to build partnerships using local resources, tools and methodologies as well as knowledge transfer on the subject of children´s wellbeing. During 15 months of this activity we were exchanging of good practices among partners, establishing cooperation between NGOs, schools and peers, introducing new solutions to schools and organizations working with children and youth and changing of eating and ecological habits among project participants. During the project, 6 study visits were held – two in each country, a number of online meetings and workshops for children, as well as a competition for primary schools, a sports event for children and young people, and a conference summarizing the project in Poland.

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PRESENTATION

The activities of the CHILD project began in March 2023, although talks with partners took place several months ago, when the first official activities were undertaken. The logo of the project was prepared – which referred to all 3 partners and under this banner joint activities began.

In May 2023, 2 study visits took place – in Finland and Sardinia. Then, in September, the project partners came to Poland, and in October another group went on a study trip to Sardinia. The study visits ended with a trip to Finland in March 2024 and a visit of the partners to the conference summarizing the project in Poland in May 2024.

The visits were attended by representatives of local authorities, educational institutions and representatives of NGOs. We wanted the participants to be able to exchange good practices in the field of working with children and youth, thus transferring good solutions to our country.

In the meantime, online meetings of the partners were held to discuss the next steps of the project. In May 2023, a webinar was also held with specialists from each partner country, who presented interesting initiatives implemented by them in their countries. The webinar was open to the public and was attended by representatives of interested entities, including educational institutions.

At the beginning of 2024, workshops on ecology and artistic activities carried out jointly by Poland and Finland took place. Children taking part in workshops in Poland connected online with Finland. The workshops were aimed at increasing children’s awareness of chemicals in water and counteracting the pollution of water reservoirs. At the same time, workshops in this field were also held in Finland. The Italian partner also joined these activities, preparing a story with the children about the protection of the seas and the use of garbage from beaches. In Poland, there were also workshops “Immersed in green”, in which children prepared their costumes and then recorded pro-ecological messages in a nearby park. In addition, each country also carried out its own individual activities. In Poland, 3 types of workshops for children were held, these were art classes – in the field of aromatherapy, classes in sewing small cuddly creatures – “Eaters of sorrows”, as well as workshops “Secrets of the winter forest” – where children learned about the world of forest fauna and flora. A large sports event was also organized – Runmageddon Kids – where children’s physical activity and the principles of healthy competition were promoted.

In the course of the project, there was also a competition for primary schools “A healthy mind in a healthy body”, in which schools sent films with the participation of children, in which the possibilities of active spending of time by students during lessons or breaks were presented. The whole event ended with a conference summarizing the project, during which the special guest was also invited to give a presentation on the possibilities of introducing innovations to Polish schools, project activities in each country were summarized and awards were given to schools participating in the film competition.

554 children took part in all project activities in Poland, plus additional children involved in the preparation of films promoting physical activity (11 schools). Another 80 people took part in the study visits. Therefore, the project affected a large number of inhabitants of our area, thus contributing to increasing its effects in the field.

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PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

Building the partnership among partner’s countries and knowledge transfer on the subject of children´s wellbeing, which can help institutions, NGOs etc. improve activities and help addressed to children.

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ADDED VALUES OF THE PROJECT

From the very beginning, the CHILD project implemented the assumptions of the LEADER programme, thus responding to the needs of the inhabitants of the LAG area in an even better way. The assumptions of the project were created when creating the LAG’s strategy for the next years of activity, thus the tasks formulated were bottom-up and directed to a specific territory and the needs of its inhabitants. By combining a range of topics, including diet, leisure, health, etc. the entire integrated scope of the project was built, aimed at the well-being of the child. The participation of diverse actors (LAGs as project partners), children and young people, representatives of authorities, educational institutions and NGOs, further underline the complex scope of the project and thus its wide range of impacts. Innovative tools and activities were also used in the course of the project. For the first time in the area of operation of the “Ziemia Pszczyńska” LAG, an event called Runmageddon Kids took place – which is known as a sports brand in other regions or countries.

There has been interest from sports clubs to continue this topic in the future.

3 partners – 3 Local Action Groups – were involved in the partnership structure. Two of them in financial terms, one participated in the project at no cost. The choice of partners was not accidental. The project connected both the north of Europe and its south area, and the link of this project was Poland located in the central part.

Topics in the field of education, health support, and body hardening, which were the flagship for Finland, were combined with the topic of diet and leisure, which were presented in the project by Sardinia. Poland skillfully combined the whole, presenting its wide range of activities in the field of child well-being, thus tying together the scope of project activities.

The cooperation mechanisms developed by LEADER were an incredible help to undertake project activities. The possibilities of searching for partners in Europe or the common direction of the LAG’s activities certainly laid a strong foundation for the entire project, thus showing that the added value of LEADER projects is noticeable.

The partnerships that have been established in the course of the project have already shown that the next stage of the project is possible and the activities can be continued. Educational institutions that got to know each other in the course of the project are already starting talks about further joint projects, including the ERASMUS program (Poland-Finland). Non-governmental organizations working in the field of support for disabled children are also taking steps to jointly exchange experiences (Poland-Finland). There were also talks on joint sports activities (sports clubs from Polish and Italy) or further activities within the partnership of Local Action Groups.

CHILD thus enabled the exchange of experiences, thanks to which the actors involved in the project were able to get to know each other and now take further joint activities. The project has brought many benefits in terms of mutual learning and skills transfer. Through the organization of workshops, its participants could tangibly learn about each other’s good practices, which they can then transfer to their countries. The project has therefore shown that cooperation within many countries and institutions can contribute to increasing both the awareness of residents on a specific topic and also gives the opportunity to learn about new cultures, customs and history of partner countries.

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