Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
European Funds have been changing our region for years. These changes happen next to us. They have already blended into the fabric of cities, towns, and villages. It is impossible to show all of them. Therefore, in the album “Changing Silesia Together”, which we now put into your hands, we present some selected, interesting and useful projects, implemented with the support of the Regional Operational Programme of the Silesian Voivodeship for 2014-2020. Like in a lens, they reflect the spectacular metamorphoses taking place in the region.
Today, Silesia is a modern, competitive region, deeply rooted in Europe. We eagerly draw from our heritage and cultivate values which help us continue to follow the path of development. There are many challenges ahead of us. The shape of the new EU budget for 2021-2027 is being discussed in Brussels. We will still want to develop Silesia as a region of dynamic changes, with the new technologies and innovations being the driving force behind economic changes. A safe, friendly, well-communicated place, ensuring its residents a high quality of life and attracting both investors and tourists. In short: a region which makes a good place to live!
I hope that the projects presented in this album will act as an impulse for change and an incentive to boldly seek EU funding. After all, we are changing Silesia together!
May you enjoy the reading.
Jakub Chełstowski
Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship
Silesia is making good use of its development opportunity. During 15 years of Polish membership in the European Union, with the help of the European Union’s cohesion policy funds, Silesia region has transformed itself from a mainly coal and steel region into a booming centre of business and culture, which attracts entrepreneurs, tourists and artists. Cohesion policy investments became not only locomotives for economic transformation but above all, they facilitated the daily life of the inhabitants of the region.
Today Silesia is a place where life is better, with good conditions for new investments and development of entrepreneurship, well connected with the rest of Europe and with a developed tourist base, attracting tourists from home and abroad.
In this album we are proud to present Silesian cohesion policy projects, implemented in partnership by the Silesian regional and local authorities and the European Commission, that are helping to shape a modern image of Silesia region.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank our Silesian beneficiaries for the impressive results achieved! Our common success is not only the infrastructure itself, which is used by citizens, but equally great progress in the quality of administration. The European Union not only provides finance, but also requires transparency in the selection of projects and public procurement, environmental impact assessments with consultations and economic analysis of supported projects showing that each project will indeed be conducive to the region’s development – and all this in a strictly defined time frame. This is the merit of all governments, self-governments since Poland’s accession to the EU, but above all Silesian city and municipal authorities that prepare and implement most of the investments and other beneficiaries who were ready to implement valuable and often challenging projects!
These Silesian cohesion policy projects show how European solidarity transforms into good investments!
Christopher Todd
Head of Unit, Programmes and projects in Poland, Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission
On the accession of Poland to the European Union structures in 2004, the Silesian voivodeship began a long march aimed at systematic improvement of the level and quality of life through reconstructing its infrastructural base and changing the economic profile. The Silesia region – due to its specific nature, industrial legacy, and the degree of environmental degradation – was the area which received the greatest support.
The end of the implementation of ROP SV 2014-2020 is a good moment for reflection and asking ourselves a question: could our region have possibly implemented such an ambitious development and transformation plan without the money from Europe? Have we made a good use of the help we received so far?
If we consider such emblematic projects as the creation of the Culture Zone in Katowice on the area of a former Katowice mine or the extension of the Road Intercity Route on the Zabrze – Gliwice section, the answer seems obvious. Many companies received subsidies enabling them to purchase devices or process lines. Silesian high schools and research institutes have been equipped with unique laboratories and research tools. This approximate list should also include investments in the area of healthcare and culture as well as hundreds of enterprises of oftentimes strictly local nature and importance. Effective metamorphosis of Silesian cities cannot be overlooked. Renovation of previously neglected, degraded tenements or entire fragments of cities turned them into vibrant, representative public spaces. Successful revitalisation projects are the best symbols of Silesian cities and good practices aimed at effective restoration of long lost values, while maintaining the historical heritage of these places. It would be impossible to implement such a wide spectrum of investments without the EU support. This is undoubtedly the list of benefits.
Still, we cannot forget that many of these investments need to face the reality of daily operation, secure the means for continuous maintenance and development. This infrastructural drive has been partly balanced for the purposes of the currently implemented, largest European regional operational programme for 2014-2020. Great emphasis was put on the development of social capital, improvement of competitiveness, and development of innovative projects. Smart regional specialisations were formulated to reinforce the meaning of entrepreneurship, research, and technology.
It is worth taking advantage of the earlier experience, which is also reflected by this publication.
Jan Bondaruk
Ph. D. Eng, Deputy Director for Environmental Engineering at the Central Mining Institute
1. MCD Electronics Ltd. in Żywiec
2. Silesian Risings Museum in Świętochłowice
3. Traffic control system in Gliwice
4. Telecare in Częstochowa and Rybnik subregion
5. Social enterprises in the central subregion
6. Cosmotech Ltd. in Mikołów
7. Municipal nursery in Katowice
8. Żabie Doły Landscape-Nature Protected Complex in Bytom
9. Transfer node in Wisła
10. N-S route in Ruda Śląska
11. Upper-Secondary School Complex No. 4 in Ruda Śląska
12. School and Kindergarten Complex No. 1 in Żory
13. Social Services Centre "Integration" in Katowice
Presentation of selected projects co-financed from the Regional Operational Program of the Silesian Voivodeship for 2014-2020:
This is how innovations are created
History shows that human curiosity and creativity know no limits. It is thanks to them that breakthrough products and services are developed. Innovative companies do not have to be alike. They operate in various industries, have different leaders and strategies. They are connected through the fact that they all understand the spirit of time. Amoung them, MCD Electronics from Żywiec...
About everything that Silesia is
“I am not objective, that is for sure, because for me it is not only the history of uprisings. For me it is the history of my family.” This is one of numerous entries about the Silesian Risings Museum. Even if it is not the history of your family, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First Silesian Uprising, visit the place which tells our history in an...
No more traffic jams in Gliwice
Jammed streets constitute a problem, not only for drivers but also other residents who have to face the question of increasing air pollution, noise levels and the lack of parking spaces. Communes are looking for effective solutions, reaching to those which worked in other countries. The most popular of them is building intelligent traffic control systems. One of the most modern...
A wristband which brings help
This solution is only in its infancy in Poland, but thanks to the European Funds more and more people can afford it. Telecare, because that is what we are talking about, secure the safety, comfort and health of elderly people, as well as relieve traditional care services. Half a thousand inhabitants of Częstochowa and Rybnik sub-region successfully use this modern form of senior...
This is not a regular business
It might as well be a film script. And who knows, maybe it will be turned into a film one day. For now, it is a recipe for a great initiative and a prosperous social enterprise. The Katowice marketing agency Leżę i Pracuję (Work from Bed) used subsidies and employed people who are disabled to such an extent that earlier they had been sentenced to live within four walls. The initiative...
A wheelchair from a printer
You do not know how difficult and uncomfortable moving around in a wheelchair is unless you have had to face this challenge. We only think about it when life forces us or our dearest ones to do it. Meanwhile, every day millions of disabled people have to deal with different barriers which are plenty in their surroundings. It is where high technologies offering innovative solutions...
When mom and dad go to work
Nurseries – sometimes a life necessity, sometimes a deliberate and thoughtful choice. Either way, parents do everything to choose the best possible nursery for their child. Placing a several months old infant under external care, even in the best hands, causes a lot of stress to both children and parents. In the Katowice municipal nursery, which is located in various districts...
Nature’s huge concert
Birds, rushes, murmuring trees, and lots of water. The atmosphere can only be interrupted by an unfettered concert of the nature. Here you can relax in the nature’s rhythm. Let go of the overwhelming urban jungle for a moment, and if you are lucky, you can meet a teal, a woodpecker… or even a long-eared owl. This place is not far away, it is perfect for family walks, romantic dates...
Get on the train and go to Wisła
Wisła – the home town of Adam Małysz. In winter, it is popular among skiers; in summer, it is stormed by the lovers of mountain hikes. This small town is visited by thousand of tourists every year. Increased vehicle traffic poses a serious problem not only for incomers but also for permanent residents. It was partly solved by the construction of a modern transfer node in the city...
A road to admire
The quality of road infrastructure tells us a lot about the social and economic potential of a given region. Investments in good-quality, collision-free roads always pay off: they serve to reduce transportation costs, support the environment, enhance safety and improve the quality of travel. Ruda’s N-S route which connected the intercity road A4 not only improved the traffic in...
A school which sounds good
When the Beatles were recording “Abbey Road” in 1969, nobody expected it to be the best album in their career. Likewise, nobody expected that the recording studio the album was named after would become a true legend. Abbey Road Studios is now an iconic place for all music fans as well as a dream workplace for all sound producers. Who knows what career awaits students from the...
All children dream about it
The first thing that catches your eye is the unusual shape of the kindergarten in Żory: a low building, developed on a triangle plan. It has a green roof with a playing field on it. If the weather permits, more than one hundred children can play here and run here as much as they wish. A multi-award winning design was created as a mean of knowledge and great sensitivity to the needs...
Without barriers, without mercy, without prejudice
They do not want mercy, they do not need admiration or even special treatment. They expect such conditions that, in spite of their illness, would enable them to be where others are and to do what they want to do. They want to develop, achieve self-fulfilment, get as much as they can from life. And they have the right to do so. Social Service Centre “Integration” in Katowice helps...