On 5-6th November, 2024 in Janów Podlaski, we organised an inaugural conference for projects implemented under the HEALTH priority of the Programme. The event was attended by representatives of the Programme Monitoring Committee and partners of Polish-Ukrainian health projects.
The conference was an excellent opportunity not only for partners implementing joint projects to get to know each other better (some of them meeting for the first time), but also to initiate cooperation and the exchange of experiences between all projects of this Priority, especially those dealing with similar themes.
We believe that projects that deal with health care issues can together, can exchange experiences and results within the cross-border platform. If we connect projects in cooperation network, especially those that deals with similar issues, the effects will certainly be better for residents of border regions, stressed Andrzej Słodki, Head of the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg NEXT Programme Poland – Ukraine 2021-2027.
Participants of the meeting got acquainted with a summary of the implementation of health projects under the Poland-(Belarus)-Ukraine Programme 2014-2020 and the assumptions of the HEALTH priority and projects within the Poland – Ukraine Programme 2021-2027 (presentation: in Polish and in Ukrainian).
The key players in the event, namely the project partners and representatives of the Monitoring Committee, then took the floor. During the two panels, we were able to listen to reflections on both the challenges faced by individual medical units in both countries, experiences in preparing and implementing health projects, as well as future plans in this field. Although the scope of ongoing projects varies, partners often face similar problems, which would be much more difficult to solve without the exchange of experience and good practice.
We find points of commonality with our partner, we find differences and points where we complement each other. We have largely only cared for adult patients. When it comes to adolescents, we have carried out examinations of schoolchildren. We have less experience when it comes to paediatric patients, hence the idea of joint projects, said Agnieszka Ciechan from the Regional Work Medicine Centre, Prevention and Treatment Centre in Lublin.
In the less formal part of the event, during a joint workshop, participants had the opportunity to get to know each other better and demonstrate their skills in efficient communication and teamwork. The effects of this can be seen in the video.
On the following day of the meeting, we organised individual consultations with project managers from the Joint Secretariat. Project partners could discuss the procedures and rules of the Programme and obtain instructions on further implementation of the project activities.
At the end of the meeting, participants visited the famous Janów Podlaski Stud, which was established as a Monument of History by the Regulation of the President of the Republic of Poland. The stud is commonly called the "Pride of Poland", and its turbulent history also includes elements of common Polish-Ukrainian history. Both the place, its heritage and the charges made a huge impression on the participants.
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