From imagination to policy recommendations: The final RFLL in Katowice

Katowice’s fourth and final Regional Futures Literacy Lab (RFLL) had two principle aims: first, to encourage communities to further imagine what the region’s future could like; and secondly and importantly, the policies that might shape that journey. To do so, participants drew on ideas first developed in earlier workshops and later tested through Pol.is, sparking more nuanced dialogue for moving forward.

Read on to find out what arose from the discussions!

Industrial Heritage: Honouring the Past, Building the Future

Participants emphasised the importance of setting clear priorities for redeveloping industrial sites. This included cataloguing locations with revitalisation potential, selecting those with the highest heritage and investment value, and seeking investors aligned with each site’s character. For areas with little promise, demolition was considered a realistic option.

Equally important was opening dialogue with residents, through campaigns, cultural promotion, and opportunities for participation, to ensure development reflects community needs. Ideas for transforming these sites ranged from community and cultural centres to biodiversity parks, solar farms, and innovative commercial ventures using post-mining infrastructure.

Education

Education was identified as a cornerstone of the region’s future. Participants called for aligning curricula with local specialisations such as IT, energy, and creative industries, while promoting STEM and vocational training as respected career paths.

Strengthening partnerships, between schools, universities, and employers within the region and internationally, was seen as essential, as was building educational infrastructure, including the bold proposal for a “mega-university.” At the same time, participants stressed the importance of supporting interpersonal and social skills, and ensuring vocational training continues in mining until the sector fully transitions.

Reskilling and Upskilling

A flexible, market-responsive education system was seen as critical for community resilience. Proposals included career guidance from early school years through adulthood, support for mid-life career changes, and teacher involvement in career counselling.

Specific retraining programmes were suggested to help workers transition from mining into sectors like defence, while temporary employment could be created through co-financed mine liquidation projects.

Participants also raised the role of AI, as both a tool and as an area for public awareness and training. Finally, the idea of a “Community Transformation Assistant” was proposed: a locally rooted facilitator, formally recognised and funded, to help communities adapt to change.

Energy Transition

Energy security remains a top concern, with calls to maintain coal reserves during the transition while exploring new, stable energy sources such as small modular reactors (SMRs) and renewable energy co-operatives.

Participants emphasised the social dimension of the energy transition, respecting the 2021 Social Agreement to close mines by 2049, and ensuring fairness through subsidies for energy costs, thermal modernisation support, and clear communication of benefits.

Post-mining areas, it was suggested, could play a key role in hosting new energy projects, boosting both security and innovation.

Metropolitisation

The vision for Katowice as a metropolitan city focused on strengthening its national and international standing while ensuring fair and inclusive development across its municipalities. Transparent governance, public awareness campaigns, and dialogue were seen as salient for building trust.

Specialisation areas such as medicine, renewable energy, IT, space industries, and creative sectors were highlighted as engines of growth. At the same time, participants stressed the need for equity: fair allocation of resources, balanced labour market development, and stronger housing policies across the metropolis.

A truly polycentric urban region was also imagined, with stronger links to nearby agglomerations like Rybnik, Bielsko-Biała, and Częstochowa, allowing growth to be both connected and inclusive.

Be sure to stay tuned to our media channels to hear about the RFLLs in Lusatia.