Q&A :: Civil society in the making

“Statistics show that people mainly know about charity organizations, and are aware of their activity,” says Jadwiga Przewłocka, from the Klon/Jawor Association.

"We have to change our attitudes, our opinions. This is work not only for social campaigns, but for schools, families, the whole society. We have to be aware this will take time," she says.

Under Polish law, taxpayers may deduce one percent of their taxes and designate it to any non-profit organization, which Poles most often pick among 50 of the most known ngos, chiefly centered on helping the ill and children. At the other end of the continuum lie sports and culture.

While the one-percent deduction scheme has been operating since 2004, still less than a half of Poles (43 percent) give away a fraction of their taxes to non-profit organizations. The entire sum of transferred money over the last nine years fell below 500 million zloty (over 120 million euro).

In this week’s programme we continue talking to Jadwiga Przewłocka, as we look at the ngos’ efforts at building social capital in Poland, and the challenges ahead.