Do you know the regions supported by the Interreg NEXT Programme Poland – Ukraine 2021-2027 well? If not, there will be a great opportunity to get to know them, and if you do, you will certainly find out interesting facts you did not know. We are starting a new series of articles about the 10 regions of our Programme. We look forward to reading!
As the first area of support, we would like to present the Mazowieckie Voivodeship, located in the heart of Poland, which, although it participates in the Programme only partially (the eastern Ostrołęka and Siedlce subregions), as a whole has many ‘the best of-....’. It is the largest Polish voivodeship in terms of area and population. It has the largest airport and several regional airports, and the most important road and rail routes intersect here. In terms of GDP and population, it surpasses many European countries and is one of the fastest growing European regions.
Nearly one in five businesses in Poland is based in Mazowieckie. Almost 300,000 students are educated at the region's higher education institutions – the highest number of any voivodeships. The region's capital is Warsaw, Poland's most populous city with a population of almost 2 million. The most recognisable attractions of the region are, above all, the historical buildings: the palace in Wilanów, Royal Baths Park and the Warsaw Old Town.
The region's landscape is predominantly lowland, divided by the valleys of large rivers, including Poland's longest, the Vistula. Mazowieckie also has places of natural value: Kampinoski National Park, 9 landscape parks, 189 nature reserves and 62 protected landscape areas. In the midst of such nature, agriculture and agri-food processing have developed well, including mainly horticulture, dairy and meat industries.
As can be seen, Mazowieckie is not a homogenous region. Apart from the capital city, it also has areas with a much lower GDP. The eastern periphery of the region, covered by the PL-UA Programme, lies partly in Podlasie, close to the external border of the European Union, and is subject to the same phenomena as the entire so-called ‘eastern wall’ of Poland, which are: outflow of young people and flight of capital to big cities, ageing population, less accessibility to services, weak industry, communication exclusion and many other challenges.
Population: 5.5 million people (including Ostrołęka and Siedlce subregions: 0.7 million)
The Mazowieckie Voivodeship is effectively reaching out for Programme funds. In the 2014-2020 perspective alone, institutions from the Ostrołęka-Siedlce subregion (at that time it was one common subregion) implemented 11 cross-border projects with a total Programme funding of around 20 MEUR.
The region is vast, so efficient and safe transport plays an important role. Thanks to 2 projects from the previous programme: DW698 and FasterSafer, you will be able to move more easily around Łosice and Bielany (Sokołowski district). Modern information and communication technologies will be introduced to the former railway station in Ostrołęka thanks to the ICTCompet project.
From the outset, the Programme has placed great importance on addressing safety in its broadest sense. In this area, the PBU Programme 2014-2020 has funded 3 health projects, supporting hospitals in Siedlce (RUOK project), Ostrołęka (HCS) and Łosice (BAMS), as well as a project on firefighting and emergency services (COORDINATION).
After the new, safer roads of Mazovia, we can set off on a journey through the province's attractions supported by the Programme. To start with, it is worth visiting the church and monastery in Węgrów, which were thoroughly renovated as part of the TwinMonasteries project. The nearby churches in Mokobody and Hołubia are also worth a look, especially after the completion of the CBCPilgrim project. Then you can head north to discover the rich culture of the Kurpie region, enriched by the PROFolk project, carried out with a Ukrainian partner by the cultural centre in Myszyniec.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the University of Warsaw has an important stake in the PIMReC project. It concerns the adaptation of the former observatory on Mount Pop Ivan in the Carpathian Mountains for a training centre for mountain rescue services.
For more information on all projects funded under the PBU Programme 2014-2020, click here.
In the current edition of the Programme, i.e. Interreg NEXT Poland – Ukraine 2021-2027, partners from Ostrołęka and Siedlce subregions of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship are participating in 4 health projects (entities from Ostrołęka, Łosice and two from Siedlce) and 8 environmental projects (including Garwolin, Siedlce, Łosice).
Last year, a ceremonial signing of a grant contract for the InsideImaging project took place in Siedlce. Konrad Wojnarowski, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, signing the agreement on behalf of the Managing Authority, emphasised:
We are trying to make the Programme close to the ordinary daily affairs of our neighbours, patients, residents, so we started its implementation by preparing projects in the field of healthcare, the quality and accessibility of which should constantly improve in both Poland and Ukraine.
As a result of this joint venture, hospitals on both sides of the border will carry out the necessary modernisation and adaptation work and replace outdated equipment. The TransCare project, in turn, will introduce innovations to make life easier for the elderly and war invalids. In Siedlce, facilities offering long-term care, including palliative, in-patient and home care, will be expanded.
As part of a major EMERGENCY project, part of the infrastructure at the Mazowieckie Specialists Hospital in Ostrołęka will be modernised, including one that is crucial to the efficient handling of urgent patients, as a new helipad will be built there.
The Mazowieckie Voivodeship is also actively involved in the projects under the Programme's ENVIRONMENT priority. For example, Garwolin is the lead partner in the Interreg4water project to support the development of sewage infrastructure and improve sustainable water management for the protection of the environment and the quality of life of people living in the border area. Siedlce Municipality's SAFETY project, on the other hand, aims to improve the safety of the environment and the population living in the border area by increasing the capacity and speed of services during rescue operations. The project will purchase rescue equipment and 3 fire engines, and the partners will also organise joint training sessions. The implementation of the IFSynergy project in Siedlce will improve the management, monitoring and efficiency of water supply systems. The water treatment plant will be modernised, the water supply network expanded, and specialised vehicles for technical services purchased.
In addition, the Mazowieckie Voivodeship will be represented in a strategic road project under the ACCESSIBILITY priority, which is being prepared jointly with Ternopil. On the Polish side of the border, the project will concern the reconstruction of voivodeship road No 627, with a total length of approx. 5.2 km. We asked Ms. Janina Ewa Orzełowska, member of the Board of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and representative of the voivodeship on the Monitoring Committee of the Interreg NEXT Programme Poland – Ukraine, some questions about the participation of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship in the Programme.
Mazowieckie voivodeship is associated as a centrally located region, so why is it so actively seeking funding from a cross-border programme?
Very often when we talk about Mazovia, we think of Warsaw. However, Mazovia is very diverse and also includes the eastern subregions of Ostrołęka and Siedlce, which are located close to the eastern border. They face similar difficulties as other eastern regions of Poland and that is why they have successfully benefited from the Programme from the very beginning. It is worth noting the unique nature of the cross-border programme, which allows Polish regions and cities to build together with their neighbours from across the eastern border. It is more than just a partnership. In the difficult political situation in which Ukraine finds itself, the Programme not only provides much-needed financial support, but also demonstrates our solidarity with our Ukrainian partners, allows for the exchange of experience and the search for common solutions. The form and idea of this Programme are much needed in these difficult times.
Implementation of programmes under the new EU perspective is in full swing. What can beneficiaries in the Siedlce and Ostrołęka subregions count on?
In October last year, we signed as many as five grant contracts. This brings the number of projects involving partners from the Mazovian Voivodeship to 10. The total funding amounts to as much as 19.5 MEUR. Beneficiaries from our region will benefit from funds under two priorities – ENVIRONMENT and HEALTH. These will include such important investments for local communities as the construction of a sanitary sewage system in the town of Garwolin and Siedlce municipalities, as well as the modernisation of a water treatment plant and construction of a new water supply system in Siedlce. Volunteer fire brigades can also count on financial support. Funds have also been found for the establishment of 9 new mini parks in Siedlce. All these projects will receive a total of nearly 38 MPLN in funding. Of course, in line with the idea of the Programme, similar investments will be made on the Ukrainian side. This demonstrates the solidarity nature of this extraordinary Programme.
You also mentioned the second priority – HEALTH. Who can benefit from it?
Our regional hospitals in Siedlce and Ostrołęka are successfully using this priority. Together with their Ukrainian partners, they are running projects to improve the quality of treatment. One example is a project run by the Mazowieckie Voivodeship Hospital in Siedlce together with the Lviv Regional Clinical Diagnostic Centre, which increases patients' access to imaging diagnostics. But not only provincial hospitals receive support from the Programme. Local hospitals are also successfully applying for money. A total of 11 projects will be implemented, the leaders of which are municipalities, hospitals or other units from our region. This amounts to a total of more than 21 MEUR in support.
We encourage you to visit the attractions offered by the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and to enjoy the results of all the Programme's projects. And we invite you to regularly follow our website, where we will publish new episodes of the series ‘Get to know the PL-UA Programme regions’.
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