Active inhabitants of Krakow. Thanks to them, the flowerpots in front of the library were filled with dwarf pine trees, wild strawberries and tomatoes. They giv’Adam and so they ripped off illegal advertisements from Krakow streetlights. They got rid of the scribbles in the estate. They continue to show that it is possible to effectively change our city for the better.
This article was originally published in Dziennik Polski on 2 October 2015.
Grassroot action
They are not registered as an organization. They have no meetings, no presidents, no binders with reports. How many are there? As many as actually work. The Krakow giv’Adam initiative is less than two years old. The website is run and new campaigns are implemented by one person: Agata Bloswick. It all started when she had a day off from work for charity activities.
My company says: do something and gives you one day a year to do it. A year earlier, I signed up as a potential bone marrow donor. But it was a passive action, they took a sample from me, and that was it – recalls Agata. The next year, in 2013, she decided that something active needed to be done.
It was then that she moved to Kliny. She noticed that the shops there were sprayed and terribly dilapidated. Grocery store, bakery, hairdresser… She decided that something should be done about it – gather the residents and paint it together. This is where it all started. With a group of people – friends, random residents, someone from the district council – they painted over pseudo-graffiti. The paints were the ones they had taken out of the basements, mostly white, with some yellow that someone had donated.
People want to act
A few months later, a famous graffiti artist came to Krakow for a party. Agata asked if he would paint one wall in the next store in Kliny. The answer was: I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. He painted a bird, it is still there and the wall remains untouched, without any doodles.
When the neighbors took up the cause, suddenly the problem was solved and has not returned. This inspired us. Everyone from the stores told us earlier that there was no point in fighting, that the vandals would come back again, it was impossible. And we showed that it is possible! This is how the name was created – says Agata.
Who is behind the group
She is 33 years old, a native of Krakow. She graduated in chemistry at the Jagiellonian University, is pursuing a PhD, and works remotely for an American pharmaceutical company. He is responsible for testing drugs before they are introduced to the market. He has lots of energy. Sympathetic, positive, efficient.
And so are giv’Adam. They never criticize directly, their actions come from enthusiasm and disagreement with mediocrity, neglected surroundings, and cluttered common space. However, they always wonder what can be improved in a given place, and do not point out that someone messed up here. They roll up their sleeves and get to work themselves. Thanks to this, they do not alienate anyone and have already seen officials ask them for consultations on the design of a specific space.
Members of the giv’Adam (or Adams how they call themselves) meet on the Internet. And anyone can giv’Adam. There’s always someone new and new ideas being born. This informal group so far includes, among others: She has already cleaned lampposts of pasted advertisements and organized a campaign to paint a mural on a municipal block in the estate. Kliny, along with its inhabitants. On one Saturday in June this year, 25 giv’Adams planted empty flower pots along the building of the Provincial Public Library at ul. Rajska. Some dug something out of the garden, others spent a few zlotys on plants. The pots included: dwarf pine, begonias, marigolds, bumblebee, wild strawberries, and even tomatoes and basil. Then, whoever could, watched the watering.
I know that, for example, we are not able to remove the large, unsightly billboards from the Forum hotel. We deal with small issues that can be solved without a big budget, without a big campaign – says Agata Bloswick.
Community capacity building
The giv’Adam motto is to take matters into your own hands. They do not want to be a complaint box and an intervention group when called upon. They say: if something bothers you, this is the first step to success, if something in your environment irritates you and you want to do something about it, take action, set a day and time, and we will help you carry out the action. It works.
giv’Adam pursues another goal through their actions: they draw attention to what needs and can be changed. Agata Bloswick argues that it is worth getting involved and that it does not require a lot of time and money: on average, it is two hours a week, as much as watching a series. giv’Adam actions are also low-budget: the participants’ contribution is only a few to a dozen or so zlotys.
Comment. They show what the needs of Krakow’s inhabitants are
Anna Szybist, city councilor of Krakow (PO)
The slogan “giv’Adam” itself is brilliant! Because it is often said that something cannot be done in Krakow or in Poland. And it is possible, and those who are involved in this initiative prove it well. They can persuade people to plant flowers together, or even bring them themselves to beautify a street, or to clean the area around their houses. This is proof that you can really rally the residents for a good cause, and they do it in a cool and nice way, so people simply follow them. And it is very effective. Would officials be able to gather people together and make them want to do something? giv’Adam also does a great job of showing what the residents’ needs are, on a smaller scale. By following them, you can simply help the residents as they really want. This is how I use it. (MM)