Meeting of the Local Stakeholders in Płock, Poland #3
The third Local Stakeholders Meeting in Płock gathered key local organizations to map immigrant needs and explore the idea of a digital tool to support their integration.
The organizations that took part in the meeting organized by the Płock City Hall team included:
• Municipal Police Headquarters in Płock
• Municipal Labor Office in Płock
• Płock Center of Culture and Arts
• Chamber of Commerce of the Płock Region
• Teen Challenge Christian Social Mission (Płock Branch)
• Mazovia Academy (NEW stakeholder)
• Primary School no 23 (NEW stakeholder)
• Student Dorm “Wcześniak” (NEW stakeholder)
• Association of Friends od “Dzieci Płocka” Group (NEW stakeholder)
The main goal of the meeting was to work on mapping the needs of immigrants and assess whether it is necessary to design a technological tool that will ensure the smooth process of local inclusion.
The meeting was held in a workshop format, with stakeholders divided into groups based on their specializations and experience in working with immigrants. The discussion covered cultural initiatives, forms of assistance in registering a business, support in finding accommodation, and activities aimed at integrating into the workplace, as well as activities aimed at maintaining order and enforcing the law.
During the next part of the meeting the participants analysed the practical examples of interactions with immigrants, to understand the mechanisms behind both successful and unsuccessful contacts. Participants were to present situations they had observed or been involved in, and then discuss why they were successful or encountered difficulties, misunderstandings or barriers. At the end, the participants managed to map the full path of contact of an immigrant with institutions, organisations and service providers in Płock, with particular emphasis on key moments (touch points) that have the greatest impact on the experience and integration.
The exchange of perspectives between the participants, on the one hand, revealed the scale of the challenges (such as the lack of unified procedures or unclear rules for data collection), and on the other hand, it showed specific solutions that can be introduced to improve the integration of foreigners. During the summary of the meeting, the stakeholders unanimously agreed that enabling foreginers to use a dedicated technological tool would be a huge help in the process of acclimatization in the new environment.