Fundacja Wolności

Description

Fundacja Wolności is a non-governmental organization based in Lublin, Poland, active since 2012. It describes itself as the only, and the largest, independent watchdog organization in the Lublin region. It monitors and controls the actions of local authorities and officials.

It works to expose irregularities and defend access to public documents. It upholds ethical standards in public life. It works to ensure public money is spent sensibly, not merely legally.

The foundation collaborates with local media, local civic groups such as district councils, and the national watchdog network Sieć Obywatelska Watchdog Polska. Residents submit complaints and support the organization with donations.

Its work includes the “Jawny Lublin” newspaper and web portal on transparency, which does investigative journalism into local government and public spending. It set up publicly accessible registers of contracts at the Lublin city hall, the marshal’s office and the voivodeship office. It proposed a participatory budget for Lublin. It also runs a study monitoring Lublin city councillors’ activity.

The foundation has received and handled more than 300 complaints and petitions from residents of Lublin and the surrounding region. It won 125 court cases against local authorities or municipal companies over access to public information. Its team includes a legal-affairs coordinator, a foundation council chaired by a legal expert, academics in public administration, and investigative journalists who produce the Jawny Lublin portal.