Internship in Norway as part of a project co-financed by the Norwegian Funds organized by the Association of Polish Cities

On 10-19 January 2025, a total of 16 people from Zabrze, Przemyśl, Cieszyn, Busko-Zdrój, Legnica, Głogów, Rydułtowy, Konin, Stalowa Wola, Włocławek, Hrubieszów, Nowy Targ, Radom, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Jarocin and Chełm were on an internship in Norway as part of a project co-financed from the Norwegian Funds organized by the Association of Polish Cities at the invitation of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities – Kommunesektorens organisasjon (KS) and the Association of Polish Cities.

The stay began in Oslo, where representatives of the Norwegian institution and cities presented the system and realities of functioning of local governments in Norway. During the meetings in Oslo, we were presented with, among others:
Volunteering activities in Norway.
Good practices in the field of universal design and architectural accessibility.
Activities involving residents, in particular children, youth and seniors, in the design of public policies.
The meeting with the representative of the city of Nordre Follo was very interesting and inspiring, as he presented his own experiences in the area of Innovation and creativity in public administration.
In the second part of the day we had a meeting at the Oslo City Hall

• The participants ultimately went to various Norwegian local governments on Sunday, January 12. Representatives of Zabrze and Przemyśl were sent to the city of Narvik in northern Norway, where the internship supervisor was Mr. Lars Sigurd Eide, who works in the municipal company Futurum as the head of the commune’s economic development. We were presented there with, among other things:
  Ways to promote the commune through participation in fairs and B2B meetings and cooperation with the press
• The economy in the commune, including the port, which transports, among others, large amounts of iron ore from Sweden, salmon production plants, plants producing spare parts for military equipment for Ukraine, areas designated for a future computer cluster
• Museum of World War II, which in Norway began with the German attack on the port in Narvik.

During the last day of the local government internship in Norway, representatives of individual cities presented summaries: what we saw, what we experienced, what we learned, what can help in everyday local government work and what we would advise Norwegian local governments and institutions.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Polish Embassy in Norway, including Ms. Małgorzata Kosiura-Kaźmierska – head of the facility, representatives of the Association of Polish Cities and some Norwegian cities, and the entire meeting was led by employees of KS – the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities.
The observations and conclusions articulated by the interns concerned various areas of local government functioning, including social services, cooperation with business, activation of residents and volunteering, building trust in local government, tourist promotion of cities, strategic planning or investing in staff. Regardless of the subject matter and guiding idea of the visit, all interns were warmly welcomed by the Norwegian side, established many professional contacts and friendships, and the professionally organized internship program allowed them to expand their knowledge and obtain information on good practices that can be used in Polish cities. In Narvik, Poles had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the operation of logistics hubs that also operate in Przemyśl and Zabrze. Together, methods of promoting cities characterized by 1-day tourism were discussed, and opportunities for cooperation at the tourist, scientific, military or technological level were noted.