Lectures at foreign universities
One of my activities is international popularization of strategic governance of the development of communes, cities, districts and regions as well as Polish achievements in this field. I do this by giving keynote speeches and guest lectures at foreign universities. Interest in this governance is particularly high in countries undergoing decentralization reforms and strengthening local and regional authorities. In these countries, the patterns of local development governance are sought, and Poland as a rapidly developing post-transition country with a developed self-governments, is a source of perfect examples. In turn, Polish unique local and regional development policies are interested for countries with a long tradition of self-government.
In addition, keynote speeches and lectures abroad give me opportunities to discover processes of local development and local government inspirations unknown in Poland, as well as to establish contacts with foreign scientists and local authorities. So far, I have given lectures and keynote speeches at the following universities (see reference letters):
- Brazil: University of Campinas, Campinas – São Paulo (2018).
- Brazil: Communitarian University of Chapecó Region, Chapecó (2019).
- Bulgaria: University of National and World Economy, Sofia (2016, 2018).
- Cyprus: P.A. College, Larnaca (2011).
- Cyprus: CIM The Cyprus Business School (2022, 2023).
- Czechia: Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Ústí nad Labem (2016, 2017, 2021, 2022).
- France: University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris (2019).
- Germany: Berufsakademie Sachsen Staatliche Studienakademie Bautzen, University of Cooperative Education, Bautzen (2016).
- Indonesia: University of Jember (2017).
- Ireland: University of Limerick, Limerick (2015).
- Italy: University of Bologna, Bologna (2013, 2014).
- Italy: University of Messina (2019).
- Malta: The University of Malta (2023).
- North Macedonia: Integrated Business Faculty, Skopje (2013).
- Portugal: University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada (2022).
- Singapore: National University of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore (2019).
- Spain: University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).
- South Africa: The University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg (2018).
- South Africa: The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (2018).
- South Africa: The University of Zululand, uMhlathuze (2018).
- South Africa: The North-West University, Vaal (2018, 2019).
- Sweden: Stockholm University, Stockholm (2014).
- Turkey: The Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa (2023).
- Ukraine: Ternopil National Economic University, Tarnopol (2011).
- Ukraine: Lviv University of Trade and Economics, Lwów (2017).
- Uruguay: The University of Republic, Montevideo (2019).
- United Arab Emirates: SP Jain School of Global Management, Dubai (2021).
- USA: University of Kentucky, Lexington (2022).
- USA: California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson – Greater Los Angeles (2022).
One of the conditions for developing a good strategy is to listen to residents and entrepreneurs, especially leaders and decision-makers.
I don’t just develop city development strategies. Mayors also let me review their projects. I’ve done two recently. The idea is that I find their imperfections, the authorities correct them and the strategy becomes better – for residents, business and the environment.
A draft amendment to the *Environment Protection Law* has just been submitted to the Polish Parliament, obliging the authorities of all 2477 communes to set not only social, economic and spatial strategic goals in their strategies, but also “climate and environmental” ones!
Roseto is a small city in the USA (PA) that surprised scientists in the 20th century. The mortality rate of its inhabitants, Italian migrants, was approximately 1/3 lower than the average. This phenomenon could not be explained for a long time.
The recent amendment to one of Polish legal acts determined that the MASTERPLAN takes into account in particular the spatial policy of the commune specified in the commune’s development strategy or the supra-local development strategy of communes.
As part of my travels in search of local development and inspirations for local & regional governments, I had the honor and pleasure of talking about Maltese local governments with the Acting President of Malta Prof. Frank Bezzina and with the Director General for Local Government in the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, Natalino Attard
A lot is happening in politics, law, economy, technology, society, environment, etc. How can you find your way in this with your commune/city? What its development strategy you should develop, adapt and implement?
There are few things only that can teach you as much as a solid, but well-thought-out failure! This also applies to strategic governance of the cities’ & communes’ development.
The Development Strategy of the Dobrzyniewo Duże Commune for 2023-2033, prepared by me, was adopted unanimously. I also prepared the previous one, and within its framework the authorities and employees of the commune managed to achieve a lot.
As many as several dozen professors and doctoral students came to my lecture at Manisa Celal Bayar University. Self-government is also a hot topic in Turkey, so current Polish reforms in the field of development strategies of communes are of great interest here.
A quarter of a century of work on city/commune development strategies and hundreds of training courses I have given on this subject tell me one thing. Poland needs thousands of highly qualified and motivated local authorities and self-government managers.
So it happened! Yesterday, the President of Poland signed an act that not only revolutionizes our spatial planning, but also gives a superior role to commune development strategy (we have 2477 communes), making it mandatory soon.
The book I reviewed for AOSIS Scholarly Books describes the methods of promoting sustainable economic development used by South African local authorities.
This is Aizhana Kazybayeva, a PhD student at Almaty Management University, Almaty, Kazakhstan and a graduate of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Sejong, South Korea. She won a grant of Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange to come to me for a month-long internship at the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, Poland
You can like the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher or not. However, this great novel by A. Sapkowski is definitely worth reading. And in Polish City of Ostrołęka they went even further.
When building a commune development strategy, it is necessary to talk to the inhabitants, including young people and seniors. However, it must be a thorough, honest and well-prepared conversation.
This is Megna Kalvani, PhD student at SP Jain School of Global Management. He came from Dubai to learn on development strategies of Polish communes.
The new law on commune development strategy raises the expectations bar high for the Polish local authorities and senior management. However, it also gives them a chance to improve their governance style, which will be all to the good for residents, businesses and the environment, as well as for themselves.
This is João Paulo Moreira Silva, PhD student at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte. He came from Brazil to learn on development strategies of Polish communes
I stayed in Compton for a week. It has industry, but is known for crime and rap. According to the FBI, in 2010 it was the 8th most dangerous city in the USA.