Bydgoszcz open to people and business

An open gate in the coat of arms of Bydgoszcz is not just a symbol. This is the real approach of residents, authorities and representatives of local business, who create a friendly climate in the City more and more often appreciated by tourists, guests and people deciding to live or invest here.

"Be our guest" – this long promoted slogan of Bydgoszcz still perfectly reflects the openness and hospitality of the City and its inhabitants. This can be seen in many different spheres of life: from social and cultural, through educational, to the business sphere. In today's special situation, when, like many other cities, Bydgoszcz welcomes and provides a second home for many newcomers from war-torn Ukraine, this slogan becomes even more relevant and gains wider meaning.

ACCORDING TO THE WORDS ON THE WALL

Anyone who has visited Bydgoszcz may know that the City is full of murals. Each of them has not only aesthetic values, but also carries some important, social, cultural, or historical message. "Bydgoszcz open and tolerant" – one of them says. It was made in 2017, as a result of a competition run at that time, related to the campaign of the Forum of Bydgoszcz Citizens under the same slogan, which was won by the work of Justyna Dziabaszewska. The art warmly and harmoniously represents a cross-section of modern society, promoting the equality of all citizens and showing that diversity is a great value. The mural shows people of different ages, races, professions and interests who coexist in one city – in Bydgoszcz.

The initiative was quickly picked up by Bydgoszcz schools, which started with the Bydgoszcz City Project "Open and Tolerant School", which continues to this day. Their common goal is to strengthen, already at the stage of building the school community, the identity and image of Bydgoszcz as a city open and friendly to everyone. Bydgoszcz actively supports educational activities that spread the values related to tolerance and openness to others.

INTERNATIONAL ATMOSPHERE OF BYDGOSZCZ

In recent years, one can feel the international atmosphere of Bydgoszcz more and more fully. On a daily basis, it is composed of various groups of foreigners who perfectly fit into the local community. Among them are students gaining knowledge and first professional experience and freshly minted graduates from various corners of the world. There are also small and larger entrepreneurs, transferring their cultural values and traditions to their businesses, managers of Bydgoszcz branches of foreign corporations, employees of various industries and sectors.

 There are NATO soldiers living here with their families, working and training in the JFTC centre in Bydgoszcz, athletes or musicians taking part in numerous international events and festivals, as well as a growing number of tourists and business guests who visit Bydgoszcz, not only in the spring and summer season.

The fact that Bydgoszcz is a city open and friendly to foreigners is also present in its multicultural history. Even in the times of the First Polish Republic, in its social structure, Bydgoszcz recorded significant German and Scottish colonies, Czech and Jewish communities, or Italian families (a certain Stefan Parkuzi even served as the mayor of the City several times). Today, there are newcomers from all over the world who have perfectly assimilated into the local community.

Since the seventies, there have been, for example, Vietnamese who run their restaurants in Bydgoszcz, and their third and fourth generation are developing their businesses not only in the catering industry. A large group, especially in recent years, are Ukrainians.

This was significantly due to both the growing staffing needs of local business, as well as the activities of universities, mainly the University of Economy, which many years ago opened its doors wide to students and employees from across our eastern border. The founder and president of the university has even been the honorary consul of Ukraine in Bydgoszcz for several years (N.B. as many as 9 countries have their honorary consuls in the City, who actively care for international cultural, social and business relations). Naturally, in the face of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, it is in Bydgoszcz that thousands of Ukrainians have found support and a second home in recent weeks.

CITY FOR BUSINESS, BUSINESS FOR THE CITY

The openness of Bydgoszcz and its residents has also created a convenient climate for developing business in various industries and locating new investments here, including from abroad. In a relatively short time, from a city strongly associated mainly with industry, Bydgoszcz has become a place where modern businesses, services and technologies are dynamically developing. The local economy flourished and unemployment levels reached record minimum rates. The Bydgoszcz manufacturing sector has successfully entered the era of the new industrial revolution, and the rich industrial heritage of the City is reflected today both in the mirror of the Brda River flowing through the City, as well as in the attractive facades of newly built office buildings, windows of designer apartment buildings or beautifully renovated monuments and urban infrastructure facilities.

Probably the most significant economic effects were brought to the City by the concept of a "city open to outsourcing", which has been consistently implemented for several years, and which has made Bydgoszcz today one of the most important locations in Poland for investments in the modern business services (BSS) sector. Currently, there are about 60 BPO, SSC, IT, R&D service centres operating here, and the number of jobs in the sector is constantly growing and currently reaches 11.5 thousand, of which over 80% are generated by IT services, creating a strong local specialization.

Such a dynamic growth of the BSS sector would not have been possible if it had not been for many foreign investors (including those representing such global brands as Nokia, Atos, Mobica, Sii or SDL), who chose this location and are still developing their branches here.

Almost half of the business service centres operating in the City have their headquarters outside of Poland. Companies from France, USA, Great Britain, Finland, Germany, Canada, Sweden or the Netherlands develop their business activity here and employ a total of over 75% of BSS employees in Bydgoszcz (according to the ABSL report "Business services in Bydgoszcz"). For international companies with a recognised position on the global market, it is important that the environment in which they operate reflects the global nature of their work, while providing access to technical knowledge, skilled resources and excellent infrastructure.

They find all of this in Bydgoszcz. On the other hand, the presence of foreign capital in companies operating in Bydgoszcz has an impact on their attitude towards the City and their own organisational culture. Patterns derived from parent offices or resulting from the global nature of the organisations are often transferred not only to the structure or management, but also to the approach to employees, recruitment or cooperation with the local community in which the company operates.

It is also conducive to the creation of multinational teams within the Bydgoszcz branches, which implement global projects, cooperating with branches and clients around the world. The whole process shows, therefore, that the openness present in the city-business relationship has a practical effect in both directions, with mutual benefit.

– We continue our strategy of openness to business, constantly striving to interest new investors in our City and support in further development those who have already settled in Bydgoszcz – assures Edyta Wiwatowska, President of the Management Board of the Bydgoszcz Regional Development Agency, a dedicated municipal company responsible for comprehensive investor service, economic promotion of Bydgoszcz and supporting local entrepreneurship.

– At the same time, we care just as much about being a hospitable and liveable city for everyone, regardless of origin, age, abilities or worldview. The gate of our City is always open – both for people and for business.

*Photo: Justyna Dziabaszewska, Behance.net.

This article comes from magazine:
FOCUS ON Business #4 May-June (3/2022)