A story by Grzegorz Piechota, head of social campaigns at Gazeta Wyborcza, the best read quality newspaper in Poland. Presented at the WAN-IFRA Newsroom Summit in London (9/9/2010):

The publisher of the largest Polish daily “Gazeta Wyborcza” will make an overview of the most interesting Polish startups dealing with the internet and new technologies. The overview will be organized by Gazeta.pl (internet branch of Agora) in a form of a two-day festival on 11-12th October in Agora’s headquarters in Warsaw.

The entries are already incoming (the deadline is September 30th), and the interest in this event is very strong. Not all of the entries will get to the final, only a few projects will be chosen for the final round.

The competition is open to anyone from Poland that has an idea how to make money from the web. Those cannot be solo projects – only teams of 2-4 persons can aplly for the competition.

The prize for the most interesting project is funded by Agora: 12,5 thousand Euro plus an advertising campaign worth 25 thousand Euro. The publisher will not however take charge of any shares of the projects participating in the competition.

As Pawel Wujec says (director of Gazeta.pl and marketing director of Agora’s internet branch), it is much worth to support the new initiatives on the market. Either through direct capital investment or by creating the right environment for creative entrepreneurs to present their ideas to the wide target and consult them with specialists.

Agora’s Startup Fest is not the first of its kind in Poland. There are two others popular events like that in Poland. One is Startup School, organized by the founding father of one of the most popular social networks in Poland – fotka.pl. Startup School’s rules are similar except for one difference – the organizer takes control of 50% shares in the projects.

Similar project is organized in the northern part of Poland, with 200 thousand Euro prize for the most interesting project. There are as well many investing fund on the market in search for interesting startups.

Does strong competition mean that the most interesting projects will not be entered in Agora’s competition? Agora has no need to worry, not all of the startups are interested in giving over the control of their idea to the fund or other player. Many develop their ideas with their own money. 12,5 thousand Euro plus advertising campaign could be a great chance for them to grow without losing control of their companies.

This May twenty five reporters of Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s best read quality daily, got back to their schools — primary and secondary, public and private all over the country — to check how did they embrace new technologies.
Reporters had to spend there a week going to classes, doing homeworks, talking to pupils, teachers and parents. Some of them finished their education there 30 years ago. Imagine the challenge!
Readers could follow reporters’ expedition on their blog, give them tips, share experiences.
Sadly, they found that Polish schools are “museums of chalk”, as one of teachers wrote in a letter to editors.
Grzegorz Lorek, a biology teacher from a city of Leszno, claimed: “Schools pretend the Internet does not exist. Some teachers don’t have even e-mail addresses. I am also a ‘digital immigrant’ as I grew up in the world before the Internet revolution. And my pupils are ‘digital natives’. They live in a sort of an avatar. When they go to school, they get out of their avatar for a while and what do they find? Me — a teacher at the chalk board. I work in the museum of “the chalk reality”. How can I teach them to live in the new brave world?”
We believed Mr. Lorek’s testimony was so important that we quoted his letter on the front page of Gazeta when we started our week-long series called “School 2.0″. The headline read: “The end of the chalk age”.
From May 17 to 22 we published 25 articles about it in the nation-wide edition and 205 articles in 21 local editions of Gazeta. All stories, photos and videos were posted in a new section on the newspaper site.

Findings of Gazeta’s reporters embedded into schools

Over 91 per cent of pupils in Poland have a computer at home and most of them have an Internet access. But some teachers still ask kids to write — for example — a definition of a metaphor as their homework and then surprisingly get the same answer copied from Wikipedia!
Gazeta’s journalists surveyed 2,081 pupils and learned that 71 per cent used the Internet when doing their homeworks. 45 per cent admitted their homeworks are fully based on information found online!
Nobody has taught them how to use this information critically, how to evaluate and compare sources. Where were the teachers?
When reporters talked to them, they so often seemed to be helpless or overwhelmed by the speed and variety of changes in the society.
One history teacher complained: “I ask pupils what’s the source of knowledge today and the answer they give is: ‘You log in to Wikipedia and copy”. I ask who’s been at a library recently? I hear: ‘Me, I logged in to www.library.pl’.”
But is it any wrong?
Another teacher — the Polish literature specialist — cried: “Six-graders don’t remember an alphabet as they use computer dictionary tools to write. They speak abbreviations, their sentences get poorer and poorer. The language of text-messaging has entered the everyday conversation.”
She and the others didn’t know how to include new technologies and Internet tools into their practice. They didn’t know any good examples of good practices. They didn’t know if there were any teaching materials available, where to find them and how to use them.
During our research the social impact of new technologies seemed often to be out of radar of school authorities with one exception. Schools reacted quickly when noticed about pathologies like privacy breaches on the Polish Facebook, any pictures or videos showing misbehaviors etc. The problem was they did nothing to prevent them. There were no lessons on Internet safety, privacy, or copy rights! Only 28 per cent of pupils told us their teachers had given any lesson about the guidelines to use the Internet.
But there is hope. We found out that teachers — however afraid — wanted to change their practice, learn more and share with pupils.
It is a paradox — almost all Polish schools have computers but they are rarely used during lessons other than computer science. It’s one of the reasons why teachers usually tell pupils what the rainforest looks like instead of showing it to them or sharing a link to YouTube.
Another reason is that nobody really cares if teachers innovate at work. “Despite all the governmental programs and official statements being innovative does not help teachers in their careers”, claimed our leading writer on education Aleksandra Pezda. “Their main goal is to prepare kids to national exams. And these exams are still very traditional. For example teachers fight with kids using computers to prepare homeworks claiming they would have to write exams by hand! Is this really the main problem of our age?!”
All these revelations made us think how to bring a change together with teachers, parents and pupils themselves.

From School 1.0 to School 2.0

We asked numerous independent experts, non governmental organizations and companies to help us. We want to prepare over this summer and introduce this fall new teaching materials to Polish schools, train their teachers and provide them an online platform to share experiences and good practices.
It’s going to be the largest and the most expensive social campaign this year just after our “Humane healthcare” activity. We’re now securing sponsors and merit partners.
We count on participation of at least 7,000 schools that have engaged into our earlier educational campaigns called School with Class. We run them for many years together with the Center of Civic Education, a non-governmental organization.
We are going to start in September by announcing a new Codex of School 2.0, a list of issues and ideas how to include new technologies in education.

• When and how to use computers at schools and homes to help pupils succeed in education and their adult lives?
• How to use Internet tools creatively, safely and responsibly?
• How can new technologies help students to work together on their projects?
• How to improve communication between teachers, pupils and parents?
• How should they adjust lesson plans, homework tasks, exams?

The Codex will not serve as a final list of orders for schools. Its aim is rather to start internal debates at schools and then to inspire them to adopt the results of these debates.
Schools will get a set of new teaching materials for free and will be able to apply for online training programs for their teachers. The most active ones will get additional support and become Labs 2.0.
All teachers will be free to start their own projects — plan and run innovative Lessons 2.0 or other activities — and to share their experiences with others on the Internet platform. We’re going to name Teachers 2.0 — the most creative and innovative — over the school year.
The best case studies will be presented at the national conference for teachers we want to organize next June. We will call this event Festival of Schools 2.0. It will include professional discussions and presentations to young people.
Additionally, the best Polish experts will work on sample exam questions to help the authorities in opening Polish exam system to innovations. We will invite schools to participate in the trail exams. We’ve got some experiences in such trials — we organize them every year in association with Operon, a leading publisher of schoolbooks. Over 300,000 students took our trial exams in 2009.
Last but not least we will publish a guide for teachers and parents about all the Internet tools that kids have been using already and that could be applied in education also — like wikis, blogs, Twitter-like feeds, Facebook-like networks, photo and video sharing sites etc.

Why it is a newspaper that may help

We believe in building bridges across generations. We don’t build ghettos for young readers and try to engage them into the regular newspaper and our campaigns instead. It works — we are happy with one of the youngest readerships across Polish newspapers: 53 per cent of Gazeta Wyborcza’s readers are younger than 40 and almost every fifth

young Pole aged 15-29 reads Gazeta at least once a week. In 2008 the World Association of Newspapers awarded us with the title of the World Young Reader Newspaper of the Year.
Education is on our radar for many, many years. We were supporting reforms of the system in 90s and 2000s. Our campaign called “Schools with Class” is widely recognized among educators. Many teachers are our readers. As we know and trust each other, there is just a small step to do something together again.
We are not afraid of the Internet world. We have embraced it many, many years ago and today our online portal Gazeta.pl is the fourth largest website here after Google, a Polish clone of Facebook and a TV-owned portal. It attracts 11,8 mln users in a month. It’s 66% of all 17,8 mln Polish Internet users (Poland has 38 mln inhabitants in total.)
And finally, here at Gazeta we believe that our mission is broader than just delivering honest news. We initiate and support nationwide social campaigns like “Kids get home” , “Poland runs”, “Dad’s return”, “Transparent Poland”, “Let’s save Rospuda”, “Humane birth”, “Humane healthcare”, “Loose weight with us”. Readers know our campaigns bring the real change and so they are happy to get involved.

If you want to learn more about this and other social campaigns of Gazeta Wyborcza, meet me from September 29 to October 1, 2010, in Kraków at the INMA/OPA Europe Newsmedia Conference. I am one of the organizers as the Vice-President of INMA in Europe — Grzegorz Piechota

That morning Wroclaw, the fourth largest city in Poland, became a stronghold. Defenders were not soldiers, nor fire-fighters. They were people like us armed with their mobile phones.

• Michal: “Kozanow district is fighting. 9 lorries with soldiers, 4 diggers, hundreds of people try to make the river embankment higher.”
• Marta: “They told us to evacuate the sick and old. We are so worried and now we’ve run out of sand.”
• Pawel: “Is there anybody from Piesza street? I can’t contact my grandparents. What’s up there?”
• Kajetan: “I am back from Kozanow. Working all night. Neighbors brought us strawberries.”
• Gosia: “I can’t help you as I am in France now, but I am following you and wish good luck!”
• Kiepas: “Fog over the city. Temperature: 13 degrees. Humidity: 93 per cent. No rain at the moment.”
• Kasia: “In Kozanow water is pouring through the embankment.”
• Magda: “What’s the source of this information? Put here only checked info. Don’t repeat any media bullshit.”
• Ziomek: “Confirmed: water really broke the embankment. Kozanow in panic!”.

That morning — on May 22, 2010 – I was not there. I followed all this fight with the river on the Internet blog wroclawzwyboru.blox.pl.
Its editor, 29-year-old Pawel Andrzejczuk, a small company owner, estimated he cooperated with some 300 contributors who fed his blog with over 3000 news items and uploaded 4 GB of photos and videos.
One amateur video captured the river breaking the embankment in Kozanow district of Wroclaw. One could see the crowd running away and hear them swearing to God.

The floods and media: from 1997 to 2010

Watching streets under water I could not stop thinking about another flood that had hit the city in 1997. That time I was a young reporter at a local newsroom of my newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.
Our editorial office was under water as well as the offices of the other three local newspapers. In the early days of the flood I lost my car driving through the water, so I could only sail across the city to collect information.
Fixed line phones were down. Mobile phones were big like handbags and very rare. Internet was still a toy for geeks.
The flood of 2010 was so different. It affected much smaller part of Wroclaw, destroyed many less houses and brought no casualties. But it was a bigger news event, as professional journalists were joined by amateurs who dared to provide independent 24-hour live news coverage on the Internet.
Everybody’s got a mobile phone with a camera now. Becoming an “accidental reporter” is just one click away.
Pawel’s blog directly competed with all the TV news channels, radio newscasts and newspaper portals. In just 5 days it attracted 157,000 unique users in a city of 630,000 inhabitants. It’s about one third of what our established local news portal of Gazeta for Wroclaw is attracting monthly.
50 per cent of users found Pawel’s blog when googling for “flood in Wroclaw” and similar keywords. They chose a link to an amateur news site instead of official sources, or professional media.
Official sources were in disgrace as it was a mayor who kept repeating Kozanow was safe. Professional media — a bit slower than a real-time web, more confident of the official version, cautious of the unconfirmed amateurs’ accounts — turned down some audiences.
An amateur news feed had also its flaws. Reading it I had to cut through the jungle of revealing witness-accounts and simple rumors, but at the same time I felt as a reader that I participated in something big. Such a rare feeling in our individualistic world of “Me”.
Pawel might not be a professional news editor, but over last 5 years he has built online a strong community: over 560 websites link to his blog, his Facebook profile got more than 2,600 fans and become almost as popular as our local Gazeta’s one. It all paid off during the flood.
Finally, Dan Gillmor’s “We the Media” manifesto reached its point in my part of the world.

So, how does it feel to be challenged by own readers?

Not so bad, as we have brought it in a way upon ourselves.
My newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza was founded in 1989 by anti-communist opposition to bring independent journalism to the country and support underground Solidarity’s bid for the first partly free elections in Poland.
Today Gazeta is the best read quality newspaper here with an average paid circulation of 347,000 and 4,2 mln readers reached in total every week in print. Our online portal Gazeta.pl, the fourth largest website here after Google, a Polish clone of Facebook and a TV-owned portal, attracts 11,8 mln users in a month. It’s 66% of all 17,8 mln Polish Internet users (Poland has 38 mln inhabitants in total.)
Gazeta’s publisher, Agora, is one of the most successful media groups in Central and Eastern Europe. Its offer includes magazines, books, record and movie productions, cinemas, radio stations and out-of-home advertising.
21 years later Gazeta still believes its mission is broader than just delivering honest news. Since its launch it has been a voice of “modern Poland” — supported democratic reforms, joining NATO and the European Union. It has been helping to build an open society by providing platforms for debates and inspiring people concerned with a common good.

Embracing new media

We have embraced new media as they make our efforts easier and more effective.
Our online boards (Forum.Gazeta.pl) let people discuss over 5,900 different topics ranging from politics to education and health-care to hobbies and over years our users shared there over 113 mln posts and 2 mln photos.
Our blogging platform (Blox.pl) became the biggest in Poland as it hosts over 184,000 individual blogs. Pawel’s blog on the flood in Wroclaw is one of them. When water broke embankments of that city, it became the best read blog on the platform. So in fact we have been sharing all his traffic successes.
We’ve been even ready to share some revenues! Pawel’s blog is a member of our online advertising network (AdTaily.com). This network helps to turn visitors of blogs and niche sites into advertisers and provides funding to independent voices in the society. Until today it has attracted in Poland over 13,000 amateur and professional online publishers.
(Recently, AdTaily.com was named by CNBC as one of the Europe’s 25 most creative companies. If you want to learn more, please come and listen to their story at the INMA/OPA Europe Newsmedia Conference in Kraków, Poland, on September 29-October 1, 2010.)

This post is a chapter of an article I wrote for the upcoming report on the future of journalism to be published by the International Press Institute in September 2010.