Lublin Urban Club. The City Is Me

Lublin Urban Club. The City Is Me – this is the motto of the first youth urban club in Lublin, opened on Friday, November 18. For five weeks children and youth from Poland and Ukraine will be attending free workshops along with Polish and foreign experts to design an environmentally friendly city together. To join the Club, one needs only to register at the link. Participation in the Club meetings is free.

“Under the close supervision of experts and in cooperation with students of Lublin universities workshops attendees will have a chance to create a project of their dream city. I am convinced that such initiatives as the Urban Club will allow young residents of Lublin to feel comfortable in the city surroundings and make a real impact on its development and future – says Beata Stepaniuk-Kusmierzak, Deputy Mayor of Lublin for Culture, Sports and Participation, Mayor’s Plenipotentiary for the European Youth Capital 2023.

Iryna Ozymok, the author of the “The City Is Me”, and the WNISEF Local Economic Development Program manager in Ukraine, was the inspirer and creator of the Club concept.

“Poles have become an invaluable support for Ukrainians: they opened their cities and homes to help. This project aims to further unite the youth of both countries and boost qualitative changes in cities wherever they are to make them more environmentally friendly, accessible, successful, innovative and technological. This experience will serve as a basis for a responsible attitude to cities and communities both in Poland and Ukraine”, says Iryna Ozymok, the author of the Club concept.

The Club activities presuppose five meetings on various aspects of city development. The first four meetings are focused on mock discussions, group work, master classes and cooperation with experts. The organizers have prepared separate units: “Nature in the city”, “Sustainability of the energy system”, “Entrepreneurship and the city” and “(Re)construction of the city, international aspect”. During the fifth and last meeting, the project participants will visit the city hall and meet with representatives of the city authorities. There they will be able to speak out on city development.

The workshops take place in Miejscówce – an integration space for young people in SKENDE (al. Spółdzielczości Pracy 88). The first meeting was held on November 18 at 17:00. Children from Ukraine and Poland aged 11 and older can also attend the Club. And for the convenience of the group work, we speak two languages at the meetings: Polish and Ukrainian. Participation is free; you just need to register by filling a form available on the website.

“I am glad that once again we can contribute to youth project. With the young residents of the city in mind, we created Miejscówkę – our exceptional space, aimed to unite, inspire and drive collaboration. This is especially important now, when Lublin has become a second home for many families from Ukraine”, says Jacek Gorbaczewski, director of SKENDE Shopping.

At the Club meetings the organizers will introduce the attendees to the city processes and development strategies of Lublin in real terms during panel discussions. It will also be a chance to find out more about the offers of Lublin universities, since the Club encourages students’ voices and enriches their knowledge with the opinions of experts on each topic discussed. Registration links and detailed info about the project are available on the website.

The events are organized as part of the joint efforts of the Municipality of Lublin, NGO “Child Effect”, Skende, IKEA and Western NIS Enterprise Fund. Urban Club is a part of the European Youth Capital 2023. The project is co-financed by Western NIS Enterprise Fund, SKENDE and the City of Lublin.