structural development

Hello!  

My name is Jasna Zajcek (that comes from Czech, but I'm from West Berlin) and I'm new to the ENO to understand structural change...in all its facets first of all. And then to present it to the public in such a way that every inhabitant in the district of Görlitz gets the desire to actively help shape the "structural change" opportunity of the century.   

I definitely have a great desire to be a part of the huge change and mega opportunity, the structural change.  

Ever since I was drawn to Görlitz for the first time as part of a research in 2017, this word has appeared again and again when it comes to the district of Görlitz, (Upper) Lusatia or the prospects after coal. Without knowing the ENO, as a journalist researching intercultural coexistence in the district, I was an enthusiastic reader of the informative booklets published by the district of Görlitz and the ENO. When the ENO launched the Unpayableland campaign in 2019, I immediately thought that I would love to get involved somehow. Join a campaign?  

Yes, that's how women think as advertising and PR specialists who have learned everything that has to do with conveying information in a comprehensible way. In addition to many newspaper articles and books, I also produced classic advertising and public relations campaigns for committed charities and foundations. And if I see a great campaign that stands for something that I can subscribe to - I just want to be part of it!   

As a Görlitzer by choice, who is enthusiastically exploring the district, especially now in spring, I am always amazed at what there is here and even before I started working as a public relations worker for the ENO, I never tired of telling my Berlin acquaintances about the beauty of the region . No joke: since I've settled in Görlitz in 2017, I've been constantly asked when I'll "finally" become an official tourism advertiser for the city, the district, Lusatia or when my next book: "Better living in Lusatia" or similar would be expected. On the one hand, of course, because I actually find the quality of life in the LK GR priceless and I never tire of doing this privately either.  

On the other hand, because every time I drive through the district, I not only notice how much I like everything, but also how frighteningly empty and deserted some towns seem. I wonder whether "structural change" is more likely to scare people here and bring back bad memories, and I keep thinking to myself: something has to be done about it. So that the residents stay in their homeland, so that young people see the beauty and opportunities, the freedom and the good life that is possible here. So that more and more young people don't move to the cities where there is no longer anything affordable to live in and no space for their own ideas. I can only report from Berlin: anyone who realizes that they are stuck in traffic jams or in overcrowded public transport every day just to reach their office at the other end of the city, while spending more than half of their income on rent, also realizes that they work rather than live. Some of the reasons I chose Pricelessland.   

What does structural change have to do with it?  

Structural change offers a huge opportunity for everyone with commitment and the desire to enrich their living environment, for example with what is missing in rural areas for a perfect life. Eliminate the reasons for churn, fill in the gaps with what's dreamed of (or what's objectively just missing).   

Maybe you get involved with small community projects, the positive effects of which will quickly become noticeable in the rural living environment, maybe you have an idea for starting a business, whether as a one-man business or the really big thing. Above all, we want to inspire enthusiasm to be an active part of a big positive change, even if some of the progress may be slow at first.   

How every citizen can get involved in the structural change process, how easy it will be to come up with your own ideas - and if necessary to implement them with active and financially strong supporters and funding, I would like to explain at this point in the coming times. 

But first I have to confine myself to listening and learning when my colleagues from the ENO service point Unpayableland speak as experts about the mammoth task of structural change. And because I'm responsible for informing the public about it in a transparent and hopefully a little entertaining way right from the start, you can read my ENO diary here over the next few weeks: with small steps to the big process.   

Best regards,  

Your Jasna Zajcek