Suchergebnisse

The purpose of the article was to present, with regard to Łódź multinational and multi-religious contexts of the 19th and 20th centuries, the type, course, and meaning of widely understood school celebrations, in which children were the main actors. The intention of the author was to answer the key issue of this study: did children, who rehearsed for school celebrations and events and participated in them, play the role of the subject of the educational process or were they a kind of a tool, i.e. the object of the influence of the school, that is to say its owners (e.g. boards of charitable organizations or municipal or church authorities), education authorities, teachers, or carers. To what extent did the organisation of school events result from rituals of the educational institution concerned and to what extent was the need for this kind of "ceremonies" influenced by the local (social and political) environment? The historical background of the paper is the time before the Great War, the years of 1914-1918, and Poland in the interwar period. Taking the historical and pedagogical aspects referred to above into account, the author tried to present the events with child participants held in institutions run by charitable organisations (the period until 1914); ceremonies related to the promotion of pupils in the first grades of municipal schools to next grades (the years of 1914-1918); and celebrations and ceremonies held in care institutions for girls and boys. The research is based on archive materials, newspaper articles, and historical and current literature. ; The purpose of the work was to present the type, course and meaning of the widely defined school celebrations with children as the main actors in the multinational and multi-religious contexts of Lodz in the 19th and 20th centuries. The author's intention was to provide an answer to the key question of this study: did children prepared for school celebrations and events and participating in them, were the subjects of the education process or rather, were they tool on which the school (e.g. boards of charitable organizations, municipal or church authorities, education authorities, teachers, or carers) exerted its influence. To what extent did the organization of school events result from the establishment's rituals and to what extent was the need for this kind of "ceremonies" affected by the local (social and political) environment? The historical background of the work is the time before the Great War, the years of 1914–1918, and the time of Interwar Poland. Bearing in mind the historical and pedagogical aspects referred to above, the author tried to present events with young participants held in institutions run by charitable organizations (by 1914); ceremonies related to the promotion of students of initial years of municipal schools (1914–1918) and celebrations and ceremonies held in care institutions for girls and boys. The research is based on archive materials, press materials, historical and contemporary literature on the subject.

Artykuł przedstawia główne aspekty rozwoju samorządu lokalnego w Polsce w okresie ostatnich 25 lat. Pokazano w nim samorząd terytorialny jako szkołę demokracji i czynnik odgrywający bardzo ważną rolę w rozwoju lokalnym. Zwrócono uwagę na europeizację samorządu lokalnego, związaną z obecnością Polski w Unii Europejskiej. Samorząd lokalny odgrywa bowiem niezwykle istotną rolę w sferze zarówno pozyskiwania, jak i wydatkowania funduszy europejskich, z drugiej zaś strony wypełnia szereg zadań związanych z koniecznością dostosowywania się do unijnych standardów. Podkreślono, iż w warunkach polskich zajmuje on szczególną pozycję w funkcjonowaniu społeczeństwa obywatelskiego na poziomie lokalnym, gdyż jako podmiot od lat obecny w społecznościach lokalnych i tym samym dysponujący znaczącymi zasobami kapitału społecznego może bardziej efektywnie wypełniać zadania, zwykle realizowane przez organizacje pozarządowe. Wskazano też na rolę samorządu w kontekście koncepcji zasobów lokalnych i wykazano, że w odniesieniu do większości z nich trudno przecenić znaczenie samorządu. Równocześnie podkreślono, iż w Polsce wciąż dominuje model funkcjonowania społeczności lokalnych bardziej zbliżony do zarządzania (przez władze samorządowe) niż do samorządności (rozumianej jako obywatelska partycypacja). Przedstawiono również pokrótce formy demokracji bezpośredniej praktykowane na szczeblu lokalnym – referenda, konsultacje społeczne i zebrania. W ostatniej części zasygnalizowano pozytywne zmiany zachodzące w świadomości społecznej w odniesieniu do samorządu, związane ze wzrostem zaufania wobec władz lokalnych oraz ze stopniowym zwiększaniem się poczucia wpływu na sprawy publiczne na szczeblu lokalnym.This article presents the main aspects of the development of the local government in Poland in the last 25 years. It presents local government as a school of democracy and a key aspect of local development. The article focuses on the Europeanization of those aspects of local government in Poland associated with the European Union. Local government plays, on the one hand, a very important role in the area of both obtaining and spending EU funds, and on the other it performs a number of tasks associated with the need to adapt to EU standards. It has been emphasized that in Polish conditions, it occupies a special position in the functioning of a civil society at the local level. This is because it is an entity that has been present in local communities for many years, and thus has significant resources of social capital; it can, therefore, more effectively fulfill the tasks normally carried out by non-governmental organizations. The article also highlights the role of local government in the context of the concept of community capacity. At the same time, it emphasizes that Poland is still dominated by a model of functioning local communities closer to management (by local authorities) than to self-governance (understood as civic participation). It also presents in short the forms of direct democracy practiced at the local level – referendums, public consultation and meetings. In the last part, it highlights the positive changes in public awareness with regard to local government, which is related to increased confidence in local authorities and with the gradual increase of the sense of the impact on public affairs at the local level.

Legal Aspects of Lobbying in Decision-Making Processes of Public AdministrationThe process of decision-making in public administration is multifaceted, with the deci-sion being the result of complex proceedings aimed to settle a case or reach a specific goal. Public administration works in this area mainly in the legał environment, but not only. The decision-making process is determined by social conditions and includes agency of various persons whose conduct and actions lead to certain conseąuences. Due to the different tasks of public administration, its activity is not merely a result of the will of a given body but it can also be initiated by applicants interested in the attainment of defined objectives, including through lobbying. The essence of lobbying is to influence, within the confines of law, decisions of public authorities in a particular direction. In Poland, lobbying is nów an institution regulated by the Act of 7 July 2005 on Lobbying Activity in the Lawmaking Process (OJ No 169, item 1414).Lobbying is also very common in the European Union, where the phenomenon is not only acceptable, but even desirable.Lobbying is seen as bringing benefits for both parties consulted. Therefore, at the level of the European Union, certain standards have been determined defining the scope of relations between the Community Institutions

What it meant by European Integration? We mean the historical process whereby European nation-states have been willing to transfer, or more usually pool, their sovereign powers in a collective enterprise. The European Union, which today contains twenty-eight member states, which has a complex institutional structure that includes a supranational central administration (the European Commission), an elected Parliament, a Court of Justice and a Central Bank, is the outcome of this processes. Many American and European scientists of the European Union have chided "intergovemmentalist" accounts for emphasizing the duration of member state authority over the process of European integration. This article attempts to prove these criticisms in a "historical institutionalist" account that mentions the importance of research on European integration as a political process which spreads over time. Such an aspect distinguishes the limitations of member-state control over permanent institutional improvements, due to a fixation with short-term interests, the existence of unexpected consequences, and actions that "lock in" past decisions and make affirmation of member-state control difficult. Short exploration of the development of social policy in the EC advocates the limitations of conducting the EC as an international regime promoting collective activity among sovereign states. It is important to view integration as a "path-dependent" process that has composed a dispersed, but still obvious "multitiered" European polity.

The aim of the article is to present the specific nature of research on the issues of national relations in a totalitarian state based on the example of the lands of Central and Eastern Europe under the Soviet occupation from 1939-1941. In order to achieve this, the literature on the subject (in English and Polish) was reviewed as well as the most important methodological problems encountered by researchers. The research program was also outlined, along with a proposal for their conceptualization in the form of signalling the main aspects of the above-mentioned issues, including the specificity of the Soviet occupation of 1939-1941, social and ethnic relations in this area, and the Soviet nationalities policy. Several research methods and postulates were proposed, as well as perspectives and theoretical approaches that could facilitate the study of this complex and controversial subject, e.g., the interdisciplinary nature of research, methods of bottom-up formation of political attitudes of the population (the so-called "bottom-up" method), application of theories of the totalitarian state, and different theories of ethnicity. As a result, an interdisciplinary program of comparative studies of ethnic relations in Central and Eastern Europe under Soviet rule (1939-1941) was outlined, taking into account the transnational character of historical processes and the need to conduct micro historic analyses and case studies that would allow capturing of the diversity of ethnic relations and verify the effectiveness of the policy of the central Soviet authorities. The article argues that it seems obvious that the specificity of the analysed problematics can be properly grasped only by consideration it in the historical and theoretical context, adopting a comparative and transnational approach, from a micro-historical as well as everyday-life perspective that highlights the most important social factors which facilitated changes in interethnic relations.

The article tries to bring to the light the role of symbolism in the organized human life, in general, and the contemporary societies with the accelerating changes almost in all social structures, in particular. The rational of symbolism in changing socio-political and legal environment creates complexity of the issue, which has been studied in the article, taking into account the methodology of complex system theory. The interconnectivity and interdependency of law, morality and politics create the picture of synergy of different social norms with each other in changing environment. Their positive synergy is able to create a perception of the 'ethical state' – the focal point of equilibrium expressed in the attractor of future admired development. In the legal perspective, the symbol of that attractor appears to be the constitution as the society's and the nation's symbol of coexistence based on the values of mutual past, necessary present and admired future. It is substantiated that the Constitution is the phenomenon, representing a concrete constitutional idea and constitutional identity, and should be the one to be considered as such in a lot of people's minds if we intend to have a proper constitutional system and values. Hence, the Constitution is not just a document with a highest legal force, but also a symbol of a concrete constitutional system, and from this viewpoint the Basic Law has a symbolic significance. The authors substantiate that the mentioned significance of the Constitution makes it clear that constitutional policy in any state should be established and implemented in a manner, obviously demonstrating an attitude towards the Constitution, in the frames of which it is considered as a symbol of a concrete constitutional system. The most important circumstance in this context is to never transform the Constitution (directly or indirectly) from a symbol to an instrument in the hands of both the people and the state power and the whole constitutional policy of the state should be based on the discussed essential idea. Moreover, according to the authors the Constitution should not be subject to amendment parallel to every change of political situation of the state or formation of a new political majority merely conditioned by the mentioned changes. The Constitution has a fundamental role from the aspect of regulating social relations, has symbolic significance and can't be used just as a tool for solving ongoing political problems.

This paper is devoted to the analysis of selected aspects how Ukrainian schools present the historical narrative that covers the post-World War II history of this country – particularly the period of late socialism. My goal was to establish how post-Maidan textbooks presented the times when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union in its superpower phase. I was especially interested in the current assessment of such phenomena as: post-Stalinist modernization, the movements opposing communist ideology, and the late socialist concept of the Soviet people. The source material was five new textbooks for historical education at high-school level approved for use by the Ukrainian authorities in 2019. The basic research method was discourse analysis: the content of the textbooks were critically evaluated in light of the ongoing political and social situation. Among the theoretical assumptions that were applied in the paper was that the historical narrative has a key importance as a function of the nation-state and as such serves its interests. To conclude the analysis below, it should be emphasized that historical narrative of Ukrainian Schools presents the past of the country in the second half of the 20th century as a general process of gaining independence from the Soviet centre. In the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, it should be assumed that the emancipatory nature of the interpretation of Ukraine's national history is now irreversible.

The aim of the article is to analyze the consumer movement as a manifestation of civil society in Poland. The consumer movement in Europe was synthesized and the freedom of association in consumer organizations was indicated as an element of civil society. While implementing the undertaken research problem, were used the important for the field of social sciences research methods and techniques. The basic research method used in the article is the method of dogmatic analysis. It was used to analyze the legal acts regulating the discussed issues. The article also uses the comparative method to compare selected aspects of the activities of consumer organizations in Poland. As a result of the research, it was indicated that the idea of civil society in Poland was implemented through the development of the consumer movement and the right of consumers to associate in consumer organizations. The consumer movement in Poland developed much later than in Western European countries – in the 1980s. It was caused by the unpopularity and the minimization of the need for real consumer protection in the face of the realities of the socio-economic system in force in the People's Republic of Poland. After 1989, despite the existence of relevant legal regulations in this area, the existence of a demand for the creation of consumer organizations (due to the need to protect consumers in the field of health, economic interests, redress, information and education), this did not translate into the multiplicity of these entities.

The general aim of the paper is a systenatization of concepts and also an analysis of some aspects of the process of forming institutional infrastructure in Europe after the collapse of centrally managed economic system. Characteristic feature of such transformations is that they concern mainly the sphere of non-material components of economic subjects' surrouding. This involves difficulties in monitoring them and in interpreting them in a strict way. Europe needs a transformation of all the elements of its institutional infrastructure. In teh case of such institutions-organizations as European Union or NATO - an evolution is expected towards their more universal character. Within the institutions of codified principles the developing of European political infrastructure (i.e. agreements serving increased co-operation of all States of the region) is more particularly desirable. The element that unites transformations of institutions-organizations and institutions-formali zed principles is the fact that both of them are undertaken fully consciously. Also changes within institutions-non-formalized principles are of much importance for the process of European integration. The changes are the result of very complex and time consuming economic and social developments. The need for such changes involves more particularly the societies of former Eastern Europe which, under specific conditions of centrally planned economy, have developped institutional system quite difficult to adept it to the market economy. ; Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/2016

In a relatively short time the Internet has become one of the main and the most important media of our times. The increasing number of users, as well as the growth of its role and importance in almost every aspect of social and economic life have led in recent years to the intensification of the discussion on the future of the Internet and the way it should be governed. From the very beginning the Internet developed bottom-up without a decision-making center responsible for its development. There are many organizations in the world operating at local, regional and global levels, that focus on different aspects of its operation and development. This process called "Internet governance" is the process within which governments, information and communication technology (ICT) companies and civil society work together to set standards, values, norms and decisions that shape the way we use the World Wide Web. This article attempts to explain this phenomenon, shows the origins of the dispute between the supporters of the multistakeholder model of the Internet governance. It also presents the proposals of some states to strengthen the role of governments in this process and presents the position of the European Union, which in this discussion may play a key role as a mediator in the debate about the future of the Internet governance. ; Internet w stosunkowo krótkim czasie stał się jednym z głównych i najistotniejszych mediów naszych czasów. Wzrastająca liczba jego użytkowników, jak również wzrost jego roli i znaczenia w niemalże każdym aspekcie życia społeczno-gospodarczego spowodowały w ostatnich latach nasilenie się dyskusji na temat przyszłości internetu i sposobu w jaki powinien być zarządzany. Internet od samego początku rozwijał się oddolnie bez centralnego ośrodka decyzyjnego. Na świecie funkcjonuje wiele organizacji działających na poziomie lokalnym, regionalnym i globalnym, które skupiają się na różnych aspektach jego działania i rozwoju. Proces nazywany "zarządzanie Internetem" (Internet Governance), to proces, w którym rządy, przedsiębiorstwa z branży technologii informacyjnych i komunikacyjnych oraz społeczeństwo obywatelskie wspólnie wypracowują standardy, wartości, normy i decyzje, które kształtują sposób, w jaki użytkowana jest sieć. Niniejszy artykuł podejmuje próbę wyjaśnienia tego zjawiska, przedstawia genezę sporu pomiędzy zwolennikami wielostronnego modelu zarządzania internetem oraz państwami postulującymi wzmocnienie roli rządów w tym procesie oraz prezentuje stanowisko Unii Europejskiej, która może w tej dyskusji odegrać kluczową rolę stając się mediatorem w debacie o przyszłym modelu zarządzania internetem.

The author addresses the issue of ethno-business, which has been largely unresearched to date. In the approach proposed by the author, ethnobusiness is understood as a wide range of practices and behaviours related to the deliberate use of existing regulations going beyond the intentions of legislators that guarantee cultural and political privileges for national and ethnic minorities. Various activists and leaders gathered around ethnic organizations and co-creators of the discussed phenomenon most often pursue their private material or political interests. However, ethno-business is closely linked to the established Romanian legislation on national minorities. Thus, the author investigates the roots of this phenomenon, introducing readers to the regulations on minorities in Romania, and points to the social consequences of ethno-business. The analysis of the discussed problem is supplemented and illustrated by examples of specific behaviours observed by the author during his long-term and extensive ethnographic field research carried out on the Romanian-Ukrainian borderland between 2009 and 2010. Although this research project focused on aspects of ethnic and national identity among the Slavic-speaking community of the Maramures region, it also gave an opportunity to spot a number of behaviours that can be interpreted in the context of ethno-business. The ethnographic examples given in the article show how the policies related to the protection of national minorities in Romania can be exploited in various circumstances by different individuals who have relevant knowledge of the rights of national minorities.

The Complaint-Filing Right in Administrative Court Proceedings as an Aspect Influencing Decision-Making Eficiency in Public AdministrationAn overall assessment of the current system of the authorisation to file a complaint have led to the conclusion that a sheer number of regulations and the level of their complexity prevent it from being transparent enough to support eficiency in public administration. An optimal level of knowledge as regards who, when and on what conditions can file a complaint will be helpful in the decision-making applied by public administration oficials. Therefore, this article aims to provide the readers with a summary of doctrine views and court judgements as well as analysis of the complaint-filing right. It is hoped that this contribution considerably helps improve decision-making eficiency in public administration.The first chapter of the article focuses on one of most popular authorisations to file a complaint, often described as a universal complaint-filing right. The second chapter includes analysis of the authorisation to file a complaint in someone else's case. Subsections describe complaint-filing authorisation for prosecutors, the Ombudsman, the Children's Ombudsman and social organisations. The third chapter provides a description of the authorisation to file a complaint introduced by local-government acts. Its individual subsections examine the authorisation to file a complaint under local-government resolutions and under the act on the supervision of local-government units. The last chapter reviews the complaint-filing right in other lex specialis acts in relation to the Administrative Court Proceedings Act.

Publikacja poświęcona została wyborom do Parlamentu Europejskiego w oparciu o kampanię wyborczą na Lubelszczyźnie. Rozdziały kolejno poświęcone zostały genezie i specyfice Parlamentu Europejskiego, ukazaniu wyborów do Parlamentu Europejskiego jako miernika rozwoju społeczeństwa obywatelskiego w Polsce, nakreśleniu aksjologicznego tła analizowanej kampanii, pokazaniu rywalizacji wyborczej przez pryzmat problematyki ukraińskiej, problematyce kreacji wizerunku liderów list wyborczych do Parlamentu Europejskiego na Lubelszczyźnie, perswazji retorycznej ukazanej na tle innych sposobów kreowania wizerunku, prezentacji kandydatów na łamach prasy regionalnej, w mediach społecznościowych, a także przy użyciu wizualnej reklamy zewnętrznej oraz reklamy w internecie. Wieloaspektowe ujęcie tematu kampanii wyborczej do Parlamentu Europejskiego na Lubelszczyźnie w 2014 roku, zdaniem redaktorki, pozwala na lepsze zrozumienie specyfiki tej kampanii. ; The publication was devoted to the elections to the European Parliament on the basic of the election campaign in Lublin voivodeship. The chapters are devoted to the genesis and specifications of the European Parliament, showing the elections to the European Parliament as a measure of the development of civil society in Poland, outlining the axiological framework of the analysed campaign, showing the election rivalry through the prism of Ukrainian issues, the issue of creating leaders to election list to the European Parliament in Lublin voivodeship, rhetorical persuasion shown against the background of other methods of creating an image, presenting candidates in the regional press, in social media as well as using visual and internet advertising. A multi-aspect take on the election campaign to the European Parliament in Lublin voivodeship in 2014 allows for a better understanding of the specificity of this title according to the editor.

Publikacja poświęcona została wyborom do Parlamentu Europejskiego w oparciu o kampanię wyborczą na Lubelszczyźnie. Rozdziały kolejno poświęcone zostały genezie i specyfice Parlamentu Europejskiego, ukazaniu wyborów do Parlamentu Europejskiego jako miernika rozwoju społeczeństwa obywatelskiego w Polsce, nakreśleniu aksjologicznego tła analizowanej kampanii, pokazaniu rywalizacji wyborczej przez pryzmat problematyki ukraińskiej, problematyce kreacji wizerunku liderów list wyborczych do Parlamentu Europejskiego na Lubelszczyźnie, perswazji retorycznej ukazanej na tle innych sposobów kreowania wizerunku, prezentacji kandydatów na łamach prasy regionalnej, w mediach społecznościowych, a także przy użyciu wizualnej reklamy zewnętrznej oraz reklamy w internecie. Wieloaspektowe ujęcie tematu kampanii wyborczej do Parlamentu Europejskiego na Lubelszczyźnie w 2014 roku, zdaniem redaktorki, pozwala na lepsze zrozumienie specyfiki tej kampanii. ; The publication was devoted to the elections to the European Parliament on the basic of the election campaign in Lublin voivodeship. The chapters are devoted to the genesis and specifications of the European Parliament, showing the elections to the European Parliament as a measure of the development of civil society in Poland, outlining the axiological framework of the analysed campaign, showing the election rivalry through the prism of Ukrainian issues, the issue of creating leaders to election list to the European Parliament in Lublin voivodeship, rhetorical persuasion shown against the background of other methods of creating an image, presenting candidates in the regional press, in social media as well as using visual and internet advertising. A multi-aspect take on the election campaign to the European Parliament in Lublin voivodeship in 2014 allows for a better understanding of the specificity of this title according to the editor.

25 lat działalności samorządu terytorialnego w Polsce to okres w historii Polski szczególny – czas dynamicznych zmian politycznych, społecznych i gospodarczych, których samorządy w znaczącym stopniu były kreatorami. I trzeba przyznać, że to właśnie te pierwsze, najtrudniejsze przecież lata nie miały sobie równych, bo tak ogromnego entuzjazmu i zaangażowania społecznego nie udało się osiągnąć już nigdy później. Miałem szczęście uczestniczyć w budowaniu samorządu terytorialnego w Polsce niemal od początku, na wszystkich jego szczeblach.Na obejmujących swe funkcje samorządowcach spoczęła ogromna odpowiedzialność, bo kredyt zaufania, jakim ich obdarzono, związany był z ogromnymi oczekiwaniami społecznymi: 25 lat temu nie chodziło przecież tylko o możliwość przeprowadzenia wyborów samorządowych, ale o fundamentalne zmiany we wszystkich dziedzinach życia. Decentralizacja i demokratyzacja polskiego państwa nie byłyby możliwe bez samorządów. To one włączały w przemiany całe społeczeństwo, uczyły odpowiedzialności i transparentności działania.Budowa samorządu terytorialnego w Polsce była też ogromną operacją logistyczną, na niespotykana dotąd skalę ‒ 25 lat temu ponad 100 tysięcy osób z urzędników państwowych zmieniło się w samorządowych, zdobywając nowe umiejętności i kompetencje, m.in. korzystając z wcześniejszych doświadczeń innych krajów. W wyniku komunalizacji mienia gminy przejęły wtedy kilka milionów nieruchomości i ponad 1500 przedsiębiorstw.Doświadczenia legislacyjne i organizacyjne pierwszego etapu reformy pozwoliły już jednak w 1991 r. rozpocząć prace nad jej drugim etapem – tworzeniem samorządów powiatowych i wojewódzkich, co nastąpiło po ośmiu latach. Samorząd regionalny powstawał już w momencie, gdy Polska przygotowywała się na przyjęcie unijnych środków przedakcesyjnych, w których podziale samorządy regionalne miały odgrywać znaczącą rolę. To na samorządach regionalnych spoczęła odpowiedzialność za tworzenie warunków do rozwoju województwa i wzrostu jego konkurencyjności.A przed nami kolejne ogromne wyzwanie – optymalne wykorzystanie środków unijnych z okresu budżetowego 2014-2020. Nie mam żadnych wątpliwości, że zrobimy to dobrze. ; The 25 years of activity of self-government in Poland occupy a special place in Polish history. It has been a period of dynamic political, social and economic changes and self-government units have been to a large extent creators of that change. Undoubtedly, the first years, which were also the most difficult ones, played a crucial role, and never again has it been possible to achieve the same level of enthusiasm and social involvement in the process. I was lucky to participate in the building of self-governing structures in Poland from the very beginning and at all levels.There was huge responsibility placed on the shoulders of those who were appointed to the function of a local self-government officer. The credit of trust given to them was charged with enormous social expectations. The stake 25 years ago was not only the possibility of free elections; it was the fundamental changes in all aspect of life. Decentralisation and democtratisation of the Polish state would not have been possible without active engagement of self-government, which involved the entire society in the process of change, they taught responsibility and transparency.The building of self-government in Poland was a huge logistic project, on a scale not previously encountered. Over 100 thousand state clerks transformed into independent officials, learning new skills and competences, also drawing on experiences of other countries. In result of the processof passing state property to local governments, communes and municipalities (gmina) received several millions of plots of land and over acquired over 1,500 enterprises. The experiences gained in the legislative and organisational work of the first stage of the self-governance reform, enabled Poland to enter the second stage of the reform in 1989 and to commence work of the building of district (powiat) and regional (voivodship) self-government structures. That process was completed 8 years later. Self-governance at the regional level was being developed when Poland was about to receive pre-accession funds from the European Union, a lucky moment since it was self-government that was to play a vital role in their distribution. Regional self-government is also responsible for facilitating suitable and supporting conditions for regional development and competitiveness of regions.Today, we are facing another challenge which is an optimal use of the EU funds allocated to Poland from the 2014-2020 budget. I have no doubts that we shall do it well.