XVIII National BGK Conference for Local Governments. Local governments must be ready for any crises

• The conference will focus on the resilience, security and adaptive capacity of local governments to the challenges of the dynamically changing socio-economic environment.
• Local governments should be aware of certain threats, adapt to the new reality and, above all, build resilience to various types of crises - says BGK President Mirosław Czekaj
• Village heads, mayors and presidents should have the necessary competences and expand their knowledge about security, he stressed.

Building broadly understood resilience to various types of crises by local governments will be the topic of the 18th National Conference of the National Economy Bank for Local Government Units in June

- informed the bank. As added, local government units are an important element in building a security system.

The conference will focus on the issues of resilience, security and the adaptive capacity of local governments to the challenges of the dynamically changing socio-economic environment.

As noted by BGK President Mirosław Czekaj, the situation on the international stage is very dynamic, which is why local governments should be aware of certain threats, adapt to the new reality and, above all, build resilience to various types of crises.

Mayors, heads of communes and presidents should have the necessary competences and expand their knowledge about security. Because the better prepared local government officials are for the crisis, the more resilient our country will be.

- he emphasized.

As the BGK president added, the conference is also part of the government’s activities aimed at expanding knowledge about defence.

It should not be forgotten that local government units are an important element in building a security system and are involved in implementing the act on population protection and civil defense. The conference will be an excellent place to exchange experiences on this topic

- Czekaj assessed.

According to information from BGK, the conference will be addressed by the Rector-Commandant of the War Studies Academy, former Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, Gen. Mieczysław Gocuł.

Guests from Ukraine will talk about their experiences in managing cities in the face of war: Chairman of the Khmelnytskyi City Council Oleksand Semchyshyn and Mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk Ruslan Marcinkiv.

As Czekaj pointed out, financing the local government sector is one of the pillars of BGK’s mission and activities , and the bank supports entities at all levels of the local government structure.

The mission of BGK is to support the sustainable socio-economic development of Poland. Such an ambitious goal cannot be achieved alone. It is difficult to dream of growth without the determination and cooperation of many groups and institutions, including local governments, which are a key element in the development of Poland.

- Czekaj noticed.

According to BGK, particular attention will be paid to the role of local governments in creating synergies between different levels of administration and international cooperation to minimise the risk of threats and strengthen the adaptive and regenerative capacities of local communities.

The conference will be held on 23 and 24 June 2025 in Warsaw . The official patronage over the event is assumed by the Polish Presidency of the EU Council. Media patronage: Portal Samorządowy.

BGK is a development bank owned entirely by the State Treasury, supporting the sustainable socio-economic development of the country. The bank initiates and develops cooperation between business, the public sector and financial institutions. At the end of 2024, BKG's assets amounted to almost PLN 270 billion, and equity almost PLN 41 billion.

Time: 08.00 Registration of participants

09.30-09.40 Opening of the conference - Mirosław Czekaj , President of the Management Board of BGK

09.40-10.15 Opening speeches

• Ministry of National Defense - Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz
• Ministry of Development and Technology - Krzysztof Paszyk
• Ministry of Finance - Andrzej Domański
• Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration - Tomasz Siemoniak
• Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy - Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz
• Arkadiusz Chęciński - mayor of Sosnowiec, co-chair of the Joint Government and Local Government Commission

* The organizer reserves the right to change the program

10.15-10.40 A systems approach to planning and building resilience - Markku Markkula , Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions

11:00-11:20 State Resilience to Contemporary Military Threats - Gen. Mieczysław Gocuł

11:20-11:50 Discussion on War Resilience:

Moderator: Olena Czuprynska

Panelists:

• Vasyl Novachok - Deputy Mayor of the City of Khmelnytskyi
• Swietoslav Nykorowycz - Deputy Mayor of the City of Ivano-Frankivsk (TBC)

11:50-12:45 Discussion: State Immunity

Local governments and their role in state security systems. On the cooperation of central and local government authorities (fire brigade, civil defense, crisis management teams)

Moderator: Tomasz Kayser , Association of Polish Cities

Panelists:

• Wiesław Leśniakiewicz - Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, co-author of the act on the defense of the population
• Robert Leszczyński - plenipotentiary of the Lower Silesian Voivode for population protection
• Waldemar Pawlak - Senator of the Republic of Poland, president of the board of the Main Association of Volunteer Fire Departments
• Jacek Brzozowski - Voivode of Podlasie
• Alexander McWhorter - CEO of Citi Ukraine
• Alexander Tymczuk - representative of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities

13:45-14:00 Local government in difficult times - prof. Jerzy Hausner

14:00-14:20 Presentation of the BGK report "Resilience of local governments in Poland" - Mateusz Walewski , chief economist of BGK

14:20-15:10 Infrastructure resilience - transport, urban planning, infrastructure, cooperation

Moderator: Tomasz Fijołek , Union of Polish Metropolises

Panelists:

• Eduard Carrasco Gonzalez - Technical Programming Office, Barcelona City Council
• Adam Pustelnik - Vice President of Łódź
• Przemysław Derwich - Climate-KIC, Net Zero Cities
• Łukasz Prokorym - Marshal of the Podlaskie Voivodeship
• Paweł Chomentowski - deputy head of the Internal Security Agency

15:30-15:45 The role of sustainable development in building long-term resilience of local government - Patryk Darowski , Managing Director of the Industry Risk and ESG Division at BGK

15:45-16:35 Community resilience - the role of society (civil), its institutions and the local economy in building resilience

Moderator: Marcin Bazylak , mayor of Dąbrowa Górnicza

Panelists:

• Krzysztof Iwaniuk - Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Union of Rural Communes of the Republic of Poland (ZGWRP)
• Nicolas Reynès - Representative of the European Confederation of Intermediate Local Authorities
• Bettina Zentgraf - Mayor of Morbisch am See
• Krzysztof Margol-Nidzicka - Development Foundation "NIDA"
• Jan Jakub Wygnański - researcher of civil society, volunteering and philanthropy in Poland

16:35-16:45 Summary of the first day of the conference - prof. Marta Postuła , first vice-president of the BGK management board

19:30-19:50 Presentation of honorary awards for special achievements in building self-governing Poland

20:00-2:00 Concert of Waldemar Malicki

Time: 9:30-14:00 Workshops

ROOM A: 9:30-10:30 Case study: Local resilience as exemplified by the DANA floods in Valencia.

Presenter: Nicolas Reynes

ROOM B: 9:30-10:30 Procedures for responding to CBRNe incidents.