NASZA HISTORIA

RzeczJasna was founded in 2012. Our activities focus on three main areas:

– local development and civic engagement;

– education, with particular emphasis on new technologies, media, and online safety;
i bezpieczeństwa w Internecie;

– running our own media outlets: the RzeczJasna Community Internet Television and the RzeczJasna Magazine.

2012

  • Reveal Yourself.The first edition of the event took place on September 22, 2012, in Ostróda,
    in the underground halls of the Ostróda Castle, where artists revealed themselves – including photographers, painters, musicians, writers, and sculptors.

2013

  • The Young City – City of Youth Project was carried out from January to June 2013 with funding from the Orange Foundation. As part of the project, creative workshops were organized in photography, visual arts, music, technical skills, and street juggling arts, engaging a total of 70 participants
    aged 7 to 18.
  • Partnership in the Local Leaders’ Academy Project (funded by the Swiss Grant Block). We implemented the project together with the Association of Enthusiasts of the Dylewo Hills until September 2014. The aim was to prepare 30 local leaders to play a greater role in community life. We were responsible for developing the substantive content of the training sessions.
  • Reveal Yourself. The second edition took place on October 12, 2013, in the halls of the Amphitheater. Young (and not only young) creators revealed themselves — representing visual arts, film, theater, as well as photography and music.
  • Family Creative Recycling Zones – workshops at the Ostróda Reggae Festival
    in cooperation with Positive Music Promotion.

2014

  • Decode Ostróda , co-financed by the Orange Academy (2014) – a series of history and film workshops for children and young people, along with historical urban games.
  • We carried out the social campaign SEE. LISTEN. TRUST. as part of the Przystanek BezTroski Social Revitalization Program, where together with a group of young people we drew attention to the lack of youth voices in public discussions.
    A television and radio spot was produced for the campaign, and the materials were featured in the regional press, TVP Olsztyn, and Radio Olsztyn.
  • 2014–2016– the “We Have a Voice” project,funded by the EEA Grants under the Citizens for Democracy Program – running four youth editorial teams
    in cooperation with Gazeta Olsztyńska in Ostróda, Morąg, Lubawa, and Nowe Miasto Lubawskie.As part of the project, we published supplements to local weekly newspapers as well as online content created entirely by young editors
    (a total of 48 such supplements).
  • Family Creative Recycling Zones – workshops at the Ostróda Reggae Festival
    in cooperation with Positive Music Promotion, and at the Green Olsztyn Festival
    in cooperation with the City of Olsztyn and the festival organizer, Agora.
  • Since 2014, we have also been implementing tasks commissioned by local governments in the field of ecological and media education for children and young people.

    2015

    •  The “Just the Same” project, within the framework of the Polish–Ukrainian Youth Exchange Program financed by the NCK and the Ministry of Culture – in 2015 we carried out
      a youth exchange together with our Ukrainian partners.
    • Family Creative Recycling Zones – workshops at the Ostróda Reggae Festival
      in cooperation with Positive Music Promotion, and at the Green Olsztyn Festival
      in cooperation with the City of Olsztyn and the festival organizer Agora,
      as well as at the Jarocin Festival in cooperation with the City of Jarocin.
    • 2015 –the “Open to Partnership – Long-term Investment
      in Cross-sector Cooperation” project, implemented within a partnership established
      with other institutions and co-financed by the Civic Initiatives Fund (PO FIO). The aim was, on the one hand, to create a map of resources and needs together with partners and the local community, and on the other hand to strengthen the partnership, formalize it, and bring in new institutions.
    • We also carried out public tasks in 2015–2016
      co-financed from the local government budget – ecological education for school students in Ostróda, an after-school club for children from low-income families, remedial classes at the railway station (for the City of Ostróda), as well as advisory and training activities for non-governmental organizations (for the Ostróda District).
    • The "Philosophy Station" Project was an attempt to popularize education in philosophical thinking. It offered an opportunity for a moment of reflection and self-exploration, as well as intellectual conversations on various topics in an atmosphere of tolerance and dialogue.

    2016

    • From March 2016 to November 2017, we implemented the project of an online community television"Community Television – a channel of communication with residents and a platform for public debate at the local level”, with support from the Civic Initiatives Fund (FIO) and in cooperation with the Ostróda Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (a two-year project).
      We continued the initiative with our own resources even after the project formally ended.
    • Station Success. Implementation of programs addressed to children at risk
      – from marginalized environments, threatened with demoralization and social exclusion, as well as children with special educational needs, as part of universal prevention.
    • Family Creative Recycling Zones – workshops at the Ostróda Reggae Festival
      in cooperation with Positive Music Promotion, and at the Green Olsztyn Festival
      in cooperation with the City of Olsztyn and the festival organizer, Agora.

    2017

    • Take the side of Nature . Promoting ecology and environmental protection among residents. From March to December 2017, we carried out a variety of planned activities: workshops for 4th and 5th grade students at Primary School No. 3; summer workshops at the RzeczJasna Station; we also used open events and animation zones to conduct Family Creative Recycling Zones. Altogether, we delivered 250 hours of diverse workshops (combined ecological workshops with accompanying media workshops).
    • Forum of Real Education.On October 21–22, 2017, together with the Bednarska Real School in Warsaw and the Center for the Development of Real Schools, we organized the 2nd Forum of Real Education, which took place in Ostróda.
    • We also organized a panel at the 8th National Forum of Non-Governmental Initiatives entitled“Exist Online! New Media in the Service of NGOs”,where we presented our television.

    2018

    • At the turn of 2018 and 2019, together with the City of Lubawa, we carried out the training project“Me on the Internet”,in which we taught seniors, parents, and teachers, among others, how to use new technologies and media.
    • In May 2018, we received the nationwide Sektor 3.0 Award for our activities. The award of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation, “Sektor 3.0”, is a distinction for NGOs
      with outstanding achievements in promotional, research, and educational activities related to the use of new technologies in the third sector, or in the innovative application of ICT in their work – https://sektor3-0.pl/festiwal/nagroda/.
      We are the first small grassroots organization from outside the major urban centers in the history of this award.
    • Since 2018, we have been cooperating with the Copernicus Science Centre by runningthe Young Explorer’s Cluband bringing CNK specialists to conduct workshops with teachers.
      We also brought the mobile exhibition NAUKOBUS to Ostróda.

    2019

    • In 2019, we implemented the project “From Virtual to Real: Tools for Strengthening the Role of Dialogue in the Local Community”, supported by FIO funds – a series of workshops and meetings dedicated to dialogue, where we hosted, among others, Henryk Wujec, Jacek Jakubowski, Katarzyna Batko-Tołuć, Krzysztof Czyżewski,
      and Rev. Halina Radacz.
    • For 2019 and 2020, we received support under PROO Priority 3 for the development of our community television.
    • “Golden Light Bulbs” for the most active individuals and organizations in our county. The aim of the award was to recognize the social, selfless activities of people
      and organizations working for others. It highlighted outstanding commitment and care for the common good, as well as appreciation for pro-social and civic attitudes.
      The ceremonial Golden Light Bulb Awards Gala took place on December 27, 2019.
    • The 6th Congress of Urban Movements in Ostróda and Iława, under the slogan “Cities Small, Medium, and Large”,which we co-organized in Ostróda and Iława on June 21–23, 2019.

    2020

    • In 2020, we implemented and settled with FIO the project at the intersection of media and
      community archives “Stitching History. Connecting Generations. Strengthening the Community”which involved recording and preserving the memories of the region’s oldest residents by young journalists.
    • We also conducted workshops for over 90 children involved in school volunteer clubs (Clubs of Eight) in the rural municipality of Ostróda. The workshops aimed to popularize the idea of volunteering among children and youth and to increase the importance of youth volunteering in the municipality. Due to the pandemic, some of the workshops had to be held online.

    • We carried out activities related to providing information and promoting changes in waste management and methods of waste segregation in the area of the “Clean Environment” Association of Municipalities. We designed and launched an informational website on the rules of waste segregation, along with a waste search engine: https://www.segregujemy.info/, as well as a social media page: https://www.facebook.com/SegregujeMy.
      Both platforms were regularly updated and supplemented with content, including videos.We also designed and printed promotional materials: 70,000 DL leaflets and 2,000 posters. The materials illustrated in a simple way how to properly segregate waste, were delivered directly to the municipalities forming the Clean Environment Association, and distributed to
      the residents of those municipalities.

    • We carried out another edition of the competition for Social Activist of the Year and Organization of the Year under the slogan “Golden Light Bulbs” for NGOs from the Ostróda County.
      Due to the pandemic, this time we could not meet in person, and the award gala along with the conclusion of the competition was held online: https://www.facebook.com/simrzeczjasna/videos/3626304517449176
    • We took part in the “Niepodległa” (Independent) initiative, where, on the occasion of Independence Day celebrations, we live-streamed the performance of the national anthem from two small towns: Lubajny and Ostrowin. These performances were later featured in broadcasts on Polsat, TVP, and TVN.
    • In 2020, we continued the development of RzeczJasna Television. That year, we produced over 300 video pieces, including 274 films with the support of PROO. These were, of course, diverse materials, ranging from reports to purely informational videos related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    2021

    • In 2021, we continued the project “Stitching History. Connecting Generations. Strengthening the Community” with funding from the Niepodległa Program through the initiative “A Long Road to Poland. Pioneers of the Recovered Territories”, collecting and
      preserving the stories of residents about the history of our region after 1945.
    • From 2021 to 2022, we implemented the project “Advice for Neighborhoods”, funded by the Active Citizens Fund – National, in which, using the method of community organizing, we encouraged residents to become involved in the affairs of their neighborhoods, including neighborhood councils, as well as in grassroots efforts to address local challenges. “Rada na Osiedla” dof. z programu Aktywni Obywatele Fundusz Krajowy, w którym metodą organizowania społecznościowego animowaliśmy aktywność Mieszkańców na rzecz zaangażowania się w sprawy ich osiedli, w tym rad osiedlowych oraz zaangażowania w oddolne rozwiązywanie wyzwań w ich osiedlach.

    • On behalf of other organizations and institutions, we carried out entire social and media campaigns and produced films.
      In this area, we cooperated, among others, with the Watchdog Poland Network and the
      Congress of Urban Movements, and we produced a series of 48 educational films for the Stare Jabłonki Forest District.
    • We also continued our cooperation with the Municipality of Ostróda and the Municipality of Dąbrówno, running a local community television for these municipalities as a public service task.

    2022

    • In 2022–2023, we carried out parallel activities aimed at providing assistance and support to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
      We organized, among other things, Polish language courses, animation activities, and in 2022 also a food and clothing bank as well as an aid and information point, in cooperation with The Lutheran World Federation. In 2022, through their support, we operated a UNHCR financial assistance distribution point, within which more than 3,000 families from the region received aid.
      W 2022 r. za ich pośrednictwem prowadziliśmy punkt dystrybucji pomocy finansowej UNHCR, w którego ramach z pomocy skorzystało ponad 3 000 rodzin
      z województwa.

    2023

    • Since 2023, we have been implementing a two-year project under the NoweFIO Program “Neighborhood Groups – Active and Aware Local Hosts”, in which we returned to direct work with neighborhood groups and small communities in Ostróda, focusing on addressing their very local challenges and problems in their immediate surroundings.
    • Since 2023, in cooperation with Bażyński High School No. 1 in Ostróda, we have been running a group of young volunteers engaged in creating their own media content. Together with them, we launched the project “Youth Editorial Team – A Space for the Voice of Young People in Public Life” within the framework of the Youth Fund.

    2024

    • Since 2024, we have been implementing the project “Supporting the Socio-Economic Integration of Third-Country Nationals, Including Migrants and Their Families in Ostróda County”, co-financed by the European Union under the European Funds for Warmia and Mazury 2021–2027 Program.The aim of the project is to increase the level of activity and integration with the local community of 120 people (90 women and 30 men) – third-country nationals, including migrants and their families living in Ostróda County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship – through the provision of high-quality educational, social, cultural, and health services, contributing to their active participation in socio-economic life.
    • On September 27–28, 2024, together with the Student Council of Jan Bażyński High School No. 1 in Ostróda, we organized a unique educational event – WIEDZA FEST.As part of WIEDZA FEST, workshops and lectures were held primarily for young people from our region, especially primary school students (grades 7–8) and high school students who wish to broaden their knowledge in an inspiring atmosphere.
    • This year, together with Katarzyna Chwała (Divinity.Coach) and the Psychological and Pedagogical Counseling Center, we organized the Empathy Festival for the first time in Ostróda.During five lectures, our guests spoke about how empathy manifests itself in everyday life, what the key to success is when applying empathy in communication, and what role empathy plays in our lives. At the end, we had the opportunity to listen to a conversation among four guests in an Intergenerational Discussion Panel.
    • We are continuing the project “Youth Film and Journalism Editorial Team”, aimed primarily at 2nd- and 3rd-year students of Jan Bażyński High School No. 1 in Ostróda, as well as young people from surrounding towns.The group we have already started working with consists of about 20 dedicated participants, who have been voluntarily and irregularly collaborating on various film materials for a year.

    2025

    • Since 2024, we have been implementing the project “Supporting the Socio-Economic Integration of Third-Country Nationals, Including Migrants and Their Families in Ostróda County”, co-financed by the European Union under the European Funds for Warmia and Mazury 2021–2027 Program.The aim of the project is to increase the level of activity and integration with the local community of 120 people (90 women and 30 men) – third-country nationals, including migrants and their families living in Ostróda County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship – through the provision of high-quality educational, social, cultural, and health services, contributing to their active participation in socio-economic life.

    • We are continuing the project “Youth Film and Journalism Editorial Team”, aimed primarily at 2nd- and 3rd-year students of Jan Bażyński High School No. 1 in Ostróda, as well as young people from surrounding towns.The group we have already started working with consists of about 20 dedicated participants, who have been voluntarily and irregularly collaborating on various film materials for a year.

    • RzeczMłodych – Youth Leadership is an innovative social project implemented in partnership with the renowned School of Leadership, under the Honorary Patronage of the Marshal of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and the Honorary Patronage of the Rector of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.The project was created in response to the key challenges of the region and to strengthen the voice and influence of young leaders in Warmia and Mazury. As part of the project, on August 25–29, 2025, we organized the Summer Leadership Camp in Olsztyn.