POZNAÑ - CAPITAL OF THE PROVINCE OF GREATER POLAND IN POLAND

Poznañ - a city of 574.100 inhabitants in north-western Poland. The capital of the most affluent province of the country, with flourishing agriculture and industry, inhabited by over three million people. Poznañ lies half way between Berlin and Warsaw. It links East and West.
In the oldest section of the city-Ostrów Tumski-Poland itself had its origin. It is there, in the Cathedral's Golden Chapel, that we pay homage to the first rulers of Poland.

The people of Poznañ value tradition but they also learn quickly and are open to the world. That favourable mixture of characteristics won approval of a group of independent experts from the Empirica Institute of Bonn and of the "Wirtschaftswoche" weekly, who counted Poznañ among the cities with the most potential for business investors. On a list of 150 cities from Central and Eastern Europe, Poznañ ranked as high as fifth. Similarly, the latest report of the national Institute for Economic and Developmental Research brings information that, after Warsaw, Poznañ is the second most investment-friendly Polish city.

The city owes its high position to the International Trade Fair, commercial exchanges, banks, modern companies, universities as well as the quality of labour market and political stability of the local populace which are higher here than in other regions. Poznañ is the commercial capital of Poland. The Poznañ International Fair (PIF) successfully competes with exhibitions in Leipzig, Hanover, and Milan as the rising markets of Central and Eastern Europe entice business people from all over the world. Forty specialised exhibitions, salons, and meetings take place annually on the PIF exhibition grounds.

Presently, there are 73 000 private companies here. Poznañ merchants successfully compete for customers with foreign chain stores present on the market. Foreign investment concluded between the years 1991 and 2000 amounted to USD 2 billion (including future commitments).

Poznañ is a research and university centre with a dynamic potential. 120 000 students are enrolled in 19 state run and private institutions of higher education here. The largest of them are: the Adam Mickiewicz University, the Poznañ University of Technology, the Academy of Economics, The Academy of Agriculture and the Karol Marcinkowski Medical Academy.

The arts in Poznañ - a city of commerce, business and science-have always played a special role. You can find there theatres and theatre festivals (including the famous "Malta International Theatre Festival"), concerts, galleries, ensembles that perform at concert halls all around the globe. Music connoisseurs all over the world are familiar with the Henryk Wieniawski Violin and Violin Making Competition, the Poznañ Musical Spring, and international jazz festivals.

Healthy Cities
In the years 1993 – 1997 Poznañ was the first Polish city to join the European Healthy Cities Network and was a participant in the 2nd Phase of the Healthy Cities Project. The effects of Poznañ’s involvement with the WHO and our participation in the 2nd Phase of the Project included popularisation of the broadly understood health promotion and health prophylaxis among the residents of the city. The priority was given at this time to actions connected with dental care prophylaxis among children and young people, prevention of faulty posture among children and young people, as well as diabetic, cancer and cardio-vascular system prophylaxis. Poznañ did not join the 3rd Phase of the Project foreseen for the years 1998 – 2002, but some of the actions carried out in previous years are still being continue at the present moment:
- prophylaxis of virus hepatitis B
- prophylaxis of dental caries
- cancer prophylaxis (breast cancer, skin cancer, prostate cancer),
- promotion of healthy lifestyle through popularisation of active recreation and fitness,
- fighting other health hazards.
In these actions the city cooperates with numerous non-governmental organisations and other civic associations.

In the year 2000 the City of Poznañ, solicitous as it is about the health of its residents, implemented two schemes involving anti-smoking prophylaxis:
1. an anti-smoking scheme involving training projects,
2. an information and education anti-smoking campaign with the participation of the local mass media.
These schemes were financed by the Ministry of Health within the framework of “The Scheme for the Primary Prophylaxis of Nicotine Diseases in Poland in the Year 2000.” Another scheme, “The Educational Anti-smoking Campaign Directed at Secondary School Students” was implemented from October till December 2001. The information about this scheme was passed to the Centre for Cancer Treatment – Institute of Marie Sk³odowska-Curie in Warsaw. The scheme was also by the Ministry of Health.

In February 2001 the City of Poznañ joined the Polish Association for Healthy Cities. This access allows even more extensive actions in the field of health prophylaxis and health promotion based on cooperation with various cities both in Poland and abroad.

In 2001 City of Poznañ was one of the organisers of the education fair, taking place as part of the celebration of the World Environment Day in the Greater Poland Province. The fair involved activities connected with health promotion and health education as well as competitions for participants (both children and adults) which were not focused on health issues. The education fair included anti-smoking prophylaxis connected with the World Cigarette-Free Day which took place in May. Several non-governmental organisations and institutions involved in prophylaxis and healthcare cooperated in organisation of this education fair.

From 2001, once a year, there is organized an Anti-drug march in Poznan. This event has a character of demonstration of young people against common drugs. A major part of this idea is an attempt to initiate active involvement of young people attending primary and secondary schools, who would themselves determine the agenda of the march.