XVI Smart City Forum

Regional civil servant, social activist, teacher and sportsman. During his social service he also has acted as the councilman in Ostrovian County. In the years 2010-2014 he has been the vice-starost of Ostrovian County. Currently, he is the Mayor of the city of Ostrov Mazowiecka since 2014. In years 1989-1990 he has acted as the chairman of the Independent Student Association at School of Physical Education. Graduate of the AWF (Jozef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw), Warsaw University in the field of geography and administration, SGGW ( Warsaw University of Life Sciences) in the field of property management. He has worked as a teacher for 20 years, including 9 years when he was the Principal of School Complex in Ostrov Mazoviecka. Since 1983 connected with Folk Sports Club OSTROVIANKA, at first as an lifiting weights athlete and then as a coach and the club president. The co-funder of the association called People with passion. The initiator of local ornithological meetings. The co-organiser of regular scientific and educational events in Ostrov Mazowiecka: Regional Conference – Passion. Culture. Heritage, The Development Forum of Ostrov Mazowiecka and Yearbooks of Ostrov Mazoviecka.
Husband and father of three.

He graduated from the Faculty of Navigation at the Gdynia Maritime University. He had been working for the Polish Ocean Lines as a navigation officer on merchant ships for 6 years.
He obtained a degree in Finance and Banking at Poznań University of Economics, postgraduate diploma in Accounting and Finance at Poznań University of Economics and EU Tax Law postgraduate diploma at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. In the years 1994-2005 he worked in the Office of Fiscal Control. In 2005 he obtained the right to practise the profession of a tax advisor and set up a tax consultancy firm. As a lecturer of tax law he cooperated with the Association of Accountants in Poland. In the years 2006-2007 he was a Deputy Mayor of Bydgoszcz responsible for strategy and development of the city, European funds programmes, investor services as well as education and sport. In the years 2007-2010 he served as the Voivode of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship. Since December 2010 Mayor of the City of Bydgoszcz.

Arkadiusz Chęciński, born in 1971 in Sosnowiec, The President of Platforma Obywatelska (name of the political party) in Sosnowiec. University graduate in Public Administration at Humanitas University. For 20 years he has been led the company in the field of quality of the steel products. In 2006 he was elected as a Councillor of the city of Sosnowiec and in December 2010 became a chairman of the City Council. In 2007-2011 he was a chief of parliamentary office of Platforma Obywatelska in Sosnowiec. In October 2011 he became a First Deputy Mayor responsible for the Public Utilities, Housing and Infrastructure. He represented Sosnowiec in Związek Miast Polskich (Polish Cities Association) and Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia. From June 2013 to November 2014 he was Member of Silesian Voivodship Board. On November 30th 2014 he won the elections for the Mayor of Sosnowiec. He received 63,16% (29284) of the votes.
Hobbies: sport, movies, traveling, music

Krystyna Danilecka – Wojewódzka Mayor of Słupsk since 2018, before Deputy Mayor, five time councilwomen.
She is an experienced manager with abundance of expertise in leading team in professional manner. Her personality and experience makes her especially suited to guide her team in delicate administrative matters.

Konrad Fijołek was born in 1976 in Rzeszów. He is a graduate of the 4th Secondary School of General Education Mikołaj Kopernik in Rzeszów and the Faculty of Sociology of the Pedagogical University in Rzeszów. In 2018, he graduated from Apsley Business School of London with the title of of Executive Master of Business Administration
In the years 1998 – 2021 a councilor of the city of Rzeszów. In 2006–2010, he was the chairman of Rzeszów City Council, and since 2010, the vice-chairman of the Council.
For many years, he has been creating numerous initiatives for the benefit of the residents. In 2015, he established one of the first municipal movements in Rzeszów – “Rzeszów Smart City”. The movement has become, inter alia, promoter of the use of modern technologies in city management.
He is the co-author of the pioneering project of Urban Lab, a municipal laboratory in the center of Rzeszów. An open place for ambitious and creative people who want to improve the quality of life in the city. A team of scientists, people from non-governmental organizations and business help in this. All of this aims to solve local problems and facilitate the life of the local community.
On June 13, 2021, he won the early elections for the Mayor of the City of Rzeszów in the first round.

Piotr Grzymowicz, BEng, Phd – a graduate of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the University of Agriculture and Technology in Olsztyn. Doctor of Technical Sciences.
In 2001-2007, he was Deputy Mayor of the City of Olsztyn. The Mayor of Olsztyn since 2009. Until he was elected Mayor of Olsztyn, he was a lecturer at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
During the presidency of Piotr Grzymowicz, a number of investments were implemented in Olsztyn: the tram search was restored, the shores of Lake Ukiel, the most beautiful parks in Olsztyn were revitalized, the constructed Water Recreation and Sports Center “Aquasfera” was built and tens of kilometers of Olsztyn streets were modernized.
For his activities, Piotr Grzymowicz was honored with the title of the “Leader of the Self-Government 2016” by the Rzeczpospolita daily and the winner of the “Golden Tens” ranking of the “Pearls of the Self-Government 2017”, a website by “Gazeta Prawna”.

Jacek Jaśkowiak was born on 10 March 1964 in Poznań. He is a devoted community worker, sports activist, and former businessman. He graduated from the Faculty of Law, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, where he also earned his postgraduate studies degree in accountancy, finance and taxation. He was awarded a scholarship from GFPS (Association for Student Exchange in Central and Eastern Europe) to the University of Bielefeld in Germany.
He gained his professional experience in commercial companies in the 1990s. His past employment includes e.g. working for Dr. Jan Kulczyk at Kulczyk Tradex. From 1997 to 2014, he ran his own company, providing accountancy and advisory services to foreign entrepreneurs. Together with business investors, he contributed to creating employment for thousands of people in Poland.
Owing to his public activity, in 2010, he was appointed as a candidate for Mayor of Poznań, representing the urban movement My-Poznaniacy. He ran for the office of the Mayor of Poznań in 2014.

A resident of Sopot, boy scout, and community worker since childhood. Former pupil of the Joseph Golec primary school “no.8” and grammar school no.2 in Sopot.
Doctor of Economics at the University of Gdansk. Graduate of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Technical University of Gdansk. During his studies was Deputy Speaker of the Student Parliament. He completed a postgraduate in Local Government Law, and the School of Management at the University of Gdansk and Central Connecticut State University.
Councilman and vice-president of Sopot since 1990, and president of Sopot since 1998. In the years 1990 to 1998 Councilman of Gdansk Provincial Assembly and chairman of the Environment Committee. He holds the post of Vice-President of the Association of Polish Cities since 2007; delegate to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Co-Chair of the Team for Joint Constitutional Commission of Government and Local Government.
He began his political activism in college as a member of the Young Polish Authorities Movement. He was also co-founder and board member of the VERBUM Association of Academics. He was detained, and deprived of his passport for opposition activities. Co-founder and board member of the Conservative Party and the Conservative fraction.
From 2001 to 2008 was closely associated with the Civic Platform Political Party (PO). He was the plenipotentiary of the Gdansk Region and later a member of the Board of PO (Civil Platform) in the Pomerania region.
He was an employee of the Gdansk Railway Station Project Office from 1988 to 1990.
Honours:
• Papal medal “Pro ECCLESIA ET PONTIFICE” (The Church and the Pope)
• Medal “Pro Memoria”
• Badge of the Polish Minister of Culture “Cultural Activist of Merit”
• Silver Medal of Merit for the Fire Service
• Gold Badge of Merit for Physical Education
• Craftsmen Badge of Honour
• Silver medal for services to the Police
• Gold Badge of PZ Basket
• Grzegorz Palka award, also known as; the local government “Oscar”
An extraordinary member of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers and the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association.

Jacek Karnowski is a lifeguard and founder of the Sopot WOPR (Water Volunteer Rescue Service), holds a yacht and motorboats skipper certificate. He is also a ski instructor.

She has held the position of Mayor since 9th December 2014. From 2010 to 2014 she was a member of the Town Council. She graduated from the Faculty of Social Science at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (political science, specialization: local government administration).
She started her professional career in the 1980s as an employee of Ostrów Cultural Center. Then, for 10 years she has worked in the media (radio and local and regional press titles). Since 2000, she has been a self-government employee of the Poviat Starost’s Office in Ostrów Wielkopolski.
On November 30, 2014, in the second round of elections, she was elected Mayor of Ostrów Wielkopolski. She run from her own electoral committee “Przyjazny Ostrów” /Friendly Ostrów/. Since 2015, she has been a member of the Team for Functional Metropolitan and Urban Areas as part of the Joint Commission of the Government and Local Government and the Smart City Forum’s Program Council.
In her local government activity Beta Klimek focuses primarily on developing pro- family policy and on acquiring external funds for investments. Equally important for her is the environmental protection. That is why green and blue projects are successfully implemented in Ostrów Wielkopolski. She is the founder of the municipal maternity grant called “miejskie becikowe”, introduced in 2015 in Ostrów Wielkopolski. She also launched the Senior Citizen Card and the Participatory Budget.
She is among the best polish cities mayors in the N15 ranking published in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022 by “Newsweek”.
In 2021, “for managing the city in the spirit of sustainable development and implementing activities for the development of local government in Poland” she received Złoty Klucz / the Gold Key/, a prestigious award of the magazine “Wprost”. In 2022, she took the 1st place in the ranking “Perły Samorządu” / Pearls of local government/ organized by “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”, in the category of the mayor of the cities up to 100 000 of residents.