Winner of the “Change the World” programme has been chosen!

Foundation trzy czte ry!, thanks to having received the main prize in a competition organised by Budimex on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its founding, will be able to open the first school in Poland in which lessons are to be held outside all year round, regardless of the weather. “This gave us wings! The competition made us realise just how much we have already achieved,” said Agnieszka Kudraszow, the President of the foundation, holding a cheque for PLN 500,000.

“The challenge which we faced was absolutely fantastic because the harder a task is, the more satisfying it is to complete it. All projects which were discussed meant a world of changes. I consider even the very fact that we were allowed to appear among such projects an honour,” said Rafał Sonik (Gemini Holding), the president of the jury, after the session. Even as the winning project was being announced, representatives of Foundation trzy czte ry! started shedding tears of joy. “You wanted to change the world of your children - this is the most natural thing imaginable. You started with three pupils. And now you are changing the world for hundreds of children. We will help you now and, thanks to this, you will be able to have a positive impact on the lives of thousands of young people. We are proud to become a part of this rolling snowball of change,” Rafał Sonik added.

During the finals, which took place on Wednesday, September 5, at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, three teams presented their projects before a jury consisting of Rafał Sonik (Gemini Holding), Konrad Maj (SWPS), Mateusz Turecki and Cezary Łysenko (Budimex), and Maria Mikołajczak (Task Force Consulting). Each team had 20 minutes for its presentation. After that, the jury asked them questions.

The team of Fundacja trzy czte ry! proved the most convincing. They went about presenting their approach to teaching children with great passion and energy. They were so emotional while talking about their plans for using the main prize of half a million PLN that many people in the audience at SWPS had tears in their eyes.

The winning project envisions creating a base of operations with field workshops for teaching particular school subjects, making it possible to teach according to state requirements. Teaching is to take place in an unprecedented way, even under the worst of weather conditions. The school is to consist of four container-based wooden pavilions erected near Białystok in the Dojlidy forest district.

Second place was given to a hospice for children named after Saint Laurentius (św. Wawrzyniec). Their Biofilia project, i.e. a therapeutic and educational garden, involved creating a tropical garden open all year round and a butterfly conservatory close to the hospice. Third place was won by Habitat for Humanity Poland, a foundation which assists people who find themselves in accommodation-related difficulties. Their presentation of a project called Centrum ReStore - an educational initiative combined with a charity shop selling furniture and interior decoration elements - was quite original. The team prepared a journey back in time, decorating the studio where they were interviewed by a journalist about their Centrum as if it were happening 50 years ago.

The winner of the competition received the main prize (PLN 500,000). Second place meant an award of PLN 45,000 (for the organisation’s statutory purposes), and third place was worth PLN 35,000 (for statutory purposes). There was an additional prize awarded by Internet users - PLN 20,000 (for statutory purposes). It was received by Biofilia for which more than 30,000 people voted. We would like to congratulate all participants.

Foundation trzy czte ry! has to complete their project by mid-December 2018.