Editor's Note: These are courtesy translations of local news provided by the U.S. Army Garrison Poland Public Affairs team for the benefit the military community stationed here. Views or opinions are not endorsed by USAG Poland or the U.S. Army.
Big changes are coming to the city center
The work related to this will be carried out as part of the reconstruction of the intersection of Taylor and Kościuszki streets.
Last week we informed that the company Poznańskie Inwestycje Miejskie announced a tender to select a contractor for the works.
"The changes that will be introduced are a continuation of the City's actions in districts with compact development, consisting of resurfacing and developing these places with greenery. They are also a complement to the actions already carried out in the city centre as part of the Centre Programme. As a result of the works, not only the aesthetics of the area will improve, but also the safety of road users," says Marcin Gołek, Vice President of the Management Board of Poznańskie Inwestycje Miejskie.
As part of the investment, the surface at all entrances to the intersection and along Taylor Street, to the intersection with Kościuszki Street, will be unpaved. "There will be 12 new trees (including plane trees and ginkgo trees), shrubs - almost 150 roses, hydrangeas and Buddleia Davidii, and over 300 perennials (including catnip, perovskia, Chinese miscanthus) and bulbous plants (ornamental garlic and hyacinths). The composition was designed in such a way as to ensure the attractiveness of the area throughout the year, but above all so that it does not pose a threat to vehicles traveling at the intersection of Taylor and Kościuszki Streets," inform representatives of PIM.
The rebuilt area will feature benches, seats, waste bins and bicycle racks. The lighting on Taylor Street will also undergo modernization, which will be stylistically consistent with the lighting on Taczka Street. The entire development is to refer to the recently renovated Wojciech Cieślewicz Square, creating a harmonious space with it.
"To calm traffic and ensure pedestrian safety, the intersection of Taylor and Kościuszki streets will be raised and built of granite blocks and rebuilt in a way that allows for efficient movement. The works are to be completed before the start of work related to the construction of the tram route in Ratajczaka Street, i.e. in the third quarter of 2025," it added.
Entities interested in participating in the tender procedure can submit their offers until February 10.
Ceichowski medal presented in Los Angeles
The W. Celichowski Medal was presented to the director of the Polish Music Center in Los Angeles.
The medal was awarded for outstanding services in promoting and popularizing Polish culture abroad as well as achievements in artistic, creative and research work.
"The distinction in the form of the Witold Celichowski medal is awarded to people working for the benefit of Wielkopolska and its inhabitants. This time, the Voivode of Wielkopolska Agata Sobczyk decided to award Marek Żebrowski. Hailed as "strong and extremely musical" by The Boston Globe and the Washington Post. His oeuvre includes works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Scrabin and Prokofiev recorded for Polish Radio. His performances and compositions are also included in the portfolio of Titanic Records and Harmonia Mundi" - inform voivodeship officials.
In addition to his musical career as a pianist and composer, Marek Żebrowski teaches music at many universities in the United States and abroad. He collaborates with the Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, visiting the city on numerous occasions to give occasional lectures and recitals.
"The Witold Celichowski Medal - the first Voivode of Poznań after regaining independence - was presented to Marek Żebrowski for promoting Polish culture abroad, but also for outstanding artistic and research achievements," adds voivodeship officials.
Lake Malta drained: scooters, skateboards, and toy weapons are found at the bottom
This operation, which is performed once every four years, allows the bottom of the tank to be cleaned.
As we have already reported, at the end of November, the Poznań Sports and Recreation Centres began draining water from Lake Malta. As the director of the Poznań Sports and Recreation Centres, Łukasz Miadziołko, explained at the time, after draining the water, the area will be handed over to a contractor who will clean the reservoir. " The work will help maintain the desired depth on the entire regatta track," he said.
The operation, carried out once every four years, allows the bottom of the reservoir to be cleaned of rubbish and sediment. As the water level dropped, the rubbish that had been lying on the bottom of the lake was revealed. As we have already reported, it was not only cans and bottles, but also a shopping cart. It turns out that this is not all. New information about the "treasures" lying on the bottom of the lake was provided by the spokesman for POSiR Filip Borowiak in an interview with Radio Eska. As he pointed out, these were 6 scooters, 3 skateboards, 18 pairs of glasses, 4 phones, 1 toy gun, 1 fishing rod, and a lot of bottles.
"The works related to the desludging of the Cybina riverbed are coming to an end. We are going to segregate waste and remove it. We are also starting inspections of the quays and water structures. After their completion, if necessary, these devices will be renovated," Borowiak said in an interview with journalists.
The reservoir is planned to be filled with water at the end of the first quarter of this year.
International congress will take place in Poznań in April
The Ministry of National Defense has concluded a partnership agreement with the PCC Group (Poznań Convention Centre) regarding the co-organization of the 2nd edition of the International Cybersecurity Congress IN.SE.CON. The event will take place on April 2-3 in Poznań.
"The first edition of the congress, held in 2024, was well received by an international group of experts in the field of cybersecurity. Particular emphasis was placed on the high substantive level of the presentations and the prestige of the event, due to the speakers and listeners taking part in it, " city officials inform.
IN.SE.CON 2024 was attended by almost 2,000 people from 15 countries, and high-ranking representatives of the uniformed services and defense ministries constituted almost half of all conference participants.
"As organizers, after last year's success and an excellent substantive agenda, we have set the bar very high for the next edition. That is why we want to take an even closer look at the area of security in cyberspace, civil-military cooperation and activities raising public awareness of the opportunities and threats in the dynamically evolving cyberspace," announces Paweł Dziuba, director of the cybersecurity department of the Ministry of National Defense.
The aim of the conference is to further support the capabilities of the Ministry of Defence in conducting operations in cyberspace. The PCC Group project team will once again be responsible for the trade fair part and the technical support of the conference.
"In the context of the still unstable geopolitical situation, as well as the pace of technological development - including the "tools" of cyberattacks directed at the infrastructure of many countries - the importance of international meetings of experts and the exchange of experiences between them is invaluable," said Tomasz Kobierski, President of the Management Board of PCC.
Poznań welcomes almost a million daily visitors, far outnumbering its taxpaying residents
Data show that over 716 thousand people live in our city.
How many people live in Poznań? The answer to this question is extremely important - based on it, we can plan activities for residents, create programs for them or adapt the city's infrastructure to their needs. To find out this number, the city obtained mobile data from Selectivv. Its database contains information on 24 million users of mobile devices - e.g. smartphones - throughout Poland. Based on this, we can more accurately estimate the number of people who passed through the capital of Wielkopolska last year - the city council reports.
According to data from the company for the past year, over 716,000 people live in Poznań. It was assumed that the residents are people who spent at least 22 nights a month in Poznań. - This is 180,000 more compared to the data published by the Central Statistical Office and almost 250,000 more than is in official registers. Compared to 2022, the actual number of residents increased by 38,000 people - he adds. The data from the Central Statistical Office concerns 2023. At that time, according to the Central Statistical Office, over 538,000 people were supposed to live in Poznań.
Mobile data obtained by the city council indicate that even more people are in Poznań every day. - In 2024, an average of 942.7 thousand people used the urban space during the day, including 29 percent (269 thousand) from outside Poznań. The information obtained also shows that in total, almost half (45%) of the residents of the municipalities of the Poznań Metropolis stayed in the capital of Wielkopolska every day.
Among the visitors are people who visit Poznań regularly (at least 4 hours, at least 11 days a month), but also those who are in Poznań 4 hours a month. In the first group, the most people are from Swarzędz, Luboń and Tarnów Podgórne. There were about 2 million occasional guests in Poznań last year. Most of them were from Ukraine, Mazovia, Lower Silesia, Germany and Western Pomerania.
Mobile data also shed new light on people from other countries living in Poznań. Last year, 79.3 thousand foreigners lived in the capital of Wielkopolska. The majority - as much as 93% - were citizens of Ukraine (68.8 thousand) and Belarus (4.7 thousand). Foreigners made up 11% of the actual number of Poznań residents, but there were 2% fewer of them compared to 2022.
As Mariusz Wiśniewski, deputy mayor of Poznań, emphasizes, although over 716 thousand people live in Poznań every day, only 460 thousand people pay taxes in our city. And thanks to taxes, the city has more money for city infrastructure.
Poznań launches PE:GAME project
As part of the Poznań E-sport and Gaming Academy of Masters and Experts (PE:GAME), a project has been launched, the aim of which is to promote e-sport and support young people who want to link their future with this industry. The first, pilot training and coaching program is being implemented as part of Poznań CityLab.
Poznań E-sport and Gaming Academy of Masters and Experts (PE:GAME) is a project in which specialists will train players from Poznań to compete in e-sports games. They also want to prepare them for a career in e-sports and teach young people various aspects of organizing e-sports tournaments.
E-sport is a huge industry today, where everyone can find their place - from gamers, through video technicians, commentators or coaches, to nutritionists, psychologists and lawyers - says Michał Łakomski, director of the Department of Digitization and Cybersecurity at the Poznań City Hall. - It is a constantly developing and very future-oriented industry offering almost an infinite number of possibilities, and yet it is still perceived - especially by parents of young people - through the prism of negative stereotypes. We want to change this so that Poznań becomes the first city in Poland to support e-sportsmen in a professional way and the most important e-sports center in the country, focusing on the professionalization of this type of competition, its development and the highest possible level.
The PE:GAME project program is divided into two parts: e-sports and education. In the first part, specialists will select, train and prepare two teams of e-sports players to compete in professional competitions: players in Counter-Strike 2 and League of Legends.
The 10-week, 40-hour training program will include everything a player seriously considering a career as a player should know and be able to do - announces Mateusz Matysiak, president of the GG League e-sports agency. - We will teach students from Poznań schools, among other things, team building, effective communication, equipment preparation, the specifics of both games and match tactics. We will talk about working with sponsors and budget management, or maintaining a healthy balance between training and everyday life. We want to give our players a full set of skills that will allow them to compete effectively in professional tournaments.
As part of PE:GAME, two 10-person teams (students aged 16-20) will train, whose members will be selected in a series of online tournaments. The organizers want to encourage girls to participate in the competitions as well - that is why Martyna "LETi" Owsik, a professional CS:GO and Counter-Strike 2 player, will train young people.
The educational part of the PE:GAME project consists of twelve open training courses, during which specialists from Collegium Da Vinci (CDV) among others, will present e-sports-related professions as interesting, modern and future-oriented paths of professional development.
The most important postulate of this year's XXX Sejm of Children and Youth was a request for young people to organize support in choosing a life and career path - explains dr hab. Marek Zieliński, prof. CDV, rector of Collegium Da Vinci. - As part of the Academy, we want to do this not only by working with students, but also with parents. That is why we have divided the training cycle into two parts: for young people who want to gain knowledge on how to navigate the world of e-sports and for those parents who want to support children who intend to get involved in e-sports.
During the training, CDV specialists will introduce professions related to this industry - including: image and sound production, network operation, cybersecurity and anti-cheating, player preparation, commenting and streaming. They will talk about the health and well-being of players, combining training with daily duties, legal aspects, marketing, the role of social media, as well as cybersecurity and career management.
The PE:GAME 2025 pilot program in its current form has its roots in the "Play, tej! - E-sport and gaming center" project submitted as a proposal for implementation under the Poznań Citizens' Budget in 2020 and 2022. The PE:GAME project will be implemented under the Poznań CityLab program operating as an element of the Smart City Poznań concept.
Today, our first success is gathering a team of professionals who care about the development of this industry in our city - says Michał Czajka, coordinator of the Poznań E-sport and Gaming Academy of Masters and Experts. - We are paving the way with the first edition of the project. We want not only to check how much interest e-sport enjoys in Poznań, but also to create buzz around it, to make young people not only really interested in it as a great career path, but also to get a signal that there is a place where there are people ready to support them. Our assumption is to organize Academy classes in annual editions, from October to June, so that subsequent generations can benefit from them.
The PE:GAME project, financed by the City of Poznań, started in November 2024 and will end in June 2025. All information about the training is available at www.pegame.pl and on the Academy's profile on Facebook.com.
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