New Voices in the City: Refugee Participation in Warsaw, Gdynia, Wrocław, and Lublin

In some Polish cities, the percentage of refugees among residents has exceeded 20%. Many of them will remain in Poland permanently. Although refugees do not have voting rights, other avenues exist for them to influence decisions made within their new local communities by officials, school principals, or city mayors. Yet many are unaware of the tools at their disposal or how to use them effectively. With the increasing presence of displaced persons among Polish urban populations, it seems timely to consider how refugees should be included in local decision-making processes. DRC commissioned a research executed by Fundacja Stocznia to understand the opportunities barriers in leveraging the existing public participation mechanisms in Poland to include voices and perspectives of displaced persons. As part of the research a database of existing public participation mechanisms was developed available at apps.stocznia.org.pl/nowe_glosy/