On December 16, 2022, an international scientific and practical conference entitled “The role of public administration in managing urban revitalization. Experiences of Poland and Moldova”. The conference was held under the honorary patronage of the Rector of UMCS prof. dr hab. Radoslaw Dobrowolski. Media patronage was provided by TV 3 Lublin and Radio Lublin. The conference was held in parallel in stationary form at the Institute of Political Science and Administration of the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (Lublin, Poland) and in Institutul Muncii (Chisinau, Moldova) and in the remote form.
The welcome word to the participants and guests of the conference was addressed by Prof. dr hab. Marek Pietraś, Director of the Institute of Political Science and Administration of the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, dr hab. Wojciech Ziętara, prof. UMCS, Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Grzegorz Pragert, Counselor, Department of Aid Programs, Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy; Zbigniew Wojciechowski, Deputy Marshal of the Lubelskie Voivodeship; dr hab. Beata Surmacz, prof. UMCS, Director of the Institute of Central Europe, Alexandru Bujorean, Mayor of City Hall of Leova, and dr hab. Mariusz Sienkiewicz, prof. UMCS, President of the Center for Local Development Foundation and Project Coordinator. Congratulations on the conference organization and wishes for fruitful deliberations were sent by His Excellency Tomasz Kobzdej – Ambassador of Poland to the Republic of Moldova and prof. dr hab. Zbigniew Pastuszak, vice-rector for development and cooperation with the economic enviroment UMCS.
Further on, prof. dr hab. Walenty Baluk, Director of the UMCS Center for Eastern Europe, gave an introductory lecture entitled “Centralization vs. decentralization in the area of the former USSR in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Selected Issues”.
Dr. hab. Mariusz Sienkiewicz, prof. UMCS, the coordinator of the project, presented the project “Our Leova”. Implementation of a model of participatory management of the revitalization of the city of Leova in Moldova effects.
Then the speakers delivered speeches in two panels. The first one, moderated by dr hab. Katarzyna Kuć – Czajkowska, was devoted to the issues of the role of public administration in the process of implementing changes related to the revitalization of the area. It was attended by: Sergei Severin, Solidarity Fund in Moldova, The role of the Solidarity Fund in the forming process of the urban revitalization system in Moldova, Dr Izabela Rudzka, Warsaw School of Economics – Strategic Revitalization Model, Dr Kamil Glinka, University of Wrocław – Urban revitalization? European Parliament towards the Urban Agenda for the EU, Ewelina Makoś, M.A., UMCS – Issues of the revitalization process of Polish cities in the context of digitization and computerization of society, dr Agnieszka Ziętek, UMCS – Socialized revitalization – reality or apparent action?.
The second panel, moderated by dr Marta Drabczuk, concerned the experiences of revitalizing cities in Poland and Moldova in the context of opportunities and challenges for the future. Practical experiences of revitalization activities, taking into account the inclusion of the local community and non-governmental organizations and the results of scientific research were shared with the participants: Grzegorz Pragert, Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy – The process and results of building a system of urban revitalization in the Republic of Moldova based on Polish experience as part of development projects of Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy in 2017-2021, dr Aleksandra Jadach-Sepioło, Aleksandra Kowalska, M.A., Warsaw School of Economics, Institute of Urban and Regional Development – The first years of urban revitalization in Moldova – conclusions from the evaluation, Alexandru Bujorean, Mayor of City Hall of Leova, Moldova – Revitalizarea urbana. Importanțaproceslui de revitalizare pentru dezvoltarea echilibrată a localităților din Republica Moldova, dr hab. Mariusz Sienkiewicz, prof. UMCS – Participatory management model on the example of the city of Leova in Moldova, dr hab. Katarzyna Kuć-Czajkowska, dr Monika Sidor, dr Justyna Wasil, UMCS – Participation in the revitalization process on the example of the Nikiszowiec district in Katowice, Leszek Włodarski, City Hall in Łęczna – Revitalization in the Łęczna commune on the example of the Podzamcze Park.
At the end of the conference there was a discussion and a summary of the proceedings. Dr hab. Mariusz Sienkiewicz, prof. UMCS, President of the Center for Local Development Foundation, Project Coordinator thanked the speakers for their speeches, the participants for participating in the discussion, the project funder – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland – for financing the project activities, Moldovan partners for fruitful cooperation, the entire project team both on the Polish and Moldovan sides, as well as volunteers for their cooperation and help in organizing the project.
All those interested in the subject of the revitalization, the role of public administration in the revitalization management process, the participation of residents in co-decision processes in terms of assumptions and the shape of revitalization activities, are invited to read the conference publication “The role of public administration in managing urban revitalization. Experiences of Poland and Moldova”, edited by K. Kuć – Czajkowska and M. W. Sienkiewicz, Lublin-Leova 2022.
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