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Before you start you should know

In a democracy the involvement of citizens in social and political life of the country is very important.
The Constitution guaranteesto guaranteeguarantees a number of rights to Polish citizens that allowto allowallow them to influenceto influenceto influence their situation.

You will learn

You will find out about ways you can get involvedto get involvedget involved as a citizen to change the reality around you.
You will understand why volunteering is important and beneficial.
You will be able to organize voluntary work for yourself or a group of friends to solve a problem in your neighbourhoodneighbourhoodneighbourhood.
You will be able to explain the difference between a foundation and an association.
You will be able to name a couple of non‑governmental organizations functioning in Poland and describe their achievementsachievementachievements.

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Nagranie dostępne na portalu epodreczniki.pl

nagranie abstraktu

What can you do if you do not like something in your surroundings? Like your favourite lake being all full of trash, your neighbour’s children having trouble at school or the school’s fencefencefence looking really ugly? You can either be frustrated and complain, or try to do something about it, and change the reality around you. It will not always work out, but it is always worth trying!

Civic engagement or civic participation can be defined as citizens working together to make a change or difference in their community. Their actions can be both of political, and non‑political nature. The most important thing is the goal – to address public concerns and promote the quality of life of the community. There are many forms of civic engagement. Two most common non‑political ones are volunteerism and organizational involvement.

Volunteering is an altruistic activity where an individual or group provides services for no financial gain to benefit another person, group or organization. You do not have to be rich, you do not have to be over 18 years old. You have to be willing to help, responsible, empatheticempatheticempathetic. Look around you, there is always somebody you could help – maybe an older neighbour that has trouble shopping on her own or a friend strugglingto strugglestruggling with a certain subject at school?

It is worth mentioning, that volunteering has benefits for the volunteer himself – it helps him develop skills, gain experience, make contacts, become responsible, etc. Read the social worker’s guide and start acting!

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Fotografia barwna przedstawiająca wyciągnięte dłonie kilku ludzi. Na fotografii umieszczono następujące napisy: 1. If you want to do something, start doing it! This is the most important advice. We often have trouble with moving from planning to action. The analysis stage is very important. Sometimes it decides about the success of the whole plan, but in the end we have to act. Otherwise, everything that we have in mind will never turn into reality and will not result in anything good. If you have a problem with this, join someone who has "doing" in their blood. This combination of organization and spontaneity is a recipe for great social projects. 2. Small important things. Take a look around you, maybe make a list, talk to your neighbors and start your activity from the smallest needs that will be the easiest to do. Cleaning the lawn or building a few benches will be appreciated and noticed, and you will gain social worker’s experience. It may be a signal for your neighbors who will join you and you will build a team. And with such a group you will successfully implement even very daring projects. 3. Listen to the people, they are right. Social workers have a sense of agency, of being an important part of the community, they feel appreciated. It's nice, but it should be a side effect of good actions. If it's the driving force and the main goal, it will quickly lead you astray. Only one person came to the meeting with a gardener? Perhaps you have paid too little attention to the preparatory part - analysis of the needs of people in your area. Do not be discouraged, just draw conclusions and suggest something that you will be happy to use with your neighbors. 4. Do not be a lone wolf, gather a herd. If you like working alone, then maybe the social work is not for you? Here you have to listen, but also to like people. In social activism, the idea is to unite people in a joint action, take responsibility for what everyday life looks like and not wait for “someone” to do it for us. The leader in every activity is needed, but social work is a team sport. 5. Have fun. Whatever you do with your team has to bring you joy. Common actions and achieving the goal bring people together and give satisfaction. Of course, there are difficult times, but you cannot give up.

Social worker's guide

There are two types of non‑governmental organizations (NGOs) in Poland: foundations and associations. Look up more information about these organizations, find some examples and do the exercise.

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Exercise 1

Do you know the difference between a foundation and an association? Read the definitions of these forms of social activity carefully and fill in the gaps.

taxes, taxpayers, nonprofit, endowment, founder, non-governmental, fine, health, public benefit, non-membership, self-governing, beneficial

Foundations are ................................ organizations established by a ................................ (who provides the initial ................................) that pursue economically and socially ................................ objectives such as ................................ care, education, culture and ................................ arts, etc.

Associations are ................................, lasting, membership entities formed of free will and with a ................................ motive, either for a mutual benefit of the members or for ................................ purposes. Some ................................ organizations may receive a public benefit organization status, which means that ................................ can assign 1% of their ................................ to that organization.

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Exercise 2

Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise. Match the pairs: English and Polish words.

zaangażować się, wpływać, pozwalać, mieć trudności, nie radzić sobie z czymś, otoczenie, osiągnięcie, kapitał początkowy, empatyczny, wrażliwy