A total of 16 people from Zabrze, Przemyśl, Cieszyn, Busko Zdrój, Legnica, Głogów, Rydułtowy, Konin, Stalowa Wola, Włocławek, Hrubieszów, Nowy Targ, Radom, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Jarocin and Chełm reported on their visits to six Norwegian cities. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Polish Embassy in Norway, including Ms Małgorzata Kosiura-Kaźmierska – the head of the post, representatives of the Association of Polish Cities and some Norwegian cities, and the entire meeting was hosted by employees of KS – Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities.

In their presentations, the interns focused on the following questions: whether their expectations had been met, what they had learned, what differences they perceived between Polish and Norwegian local self-governments, what they would share with their colleagues in Poland and what advice they had for Norwegian cities.

The observations and conclusions expressed by the interns referred to various areas of local self-government operation, including social services, cooperation with business, residents' activation and volunteerism, building trust in local self-government, city tourism promotion, strategic planning or investment in human resources. Irrespective of the topic and focus of the visit, all interns were warmly welcomed by the Norwegian side, established plenty of business contacts and friendships, and the professionally organised internship programme allowed them to broaden their knowledge and acquire information on good practices which may be used in Polish cities.

In Narvik, the Polish visitors had the opportunity to learn, among other things, about the operation of logistics hubs, which also operate in Przemyśl. Methods of promoting cities characterised by 1-day tourism were jointly discussed, and the potential for cooperation at scientific, military or technological level was recognised.

In the town of Alta, the guests had the opportunity to see how the youth centre functions, how volunteering and NGO activities are organised, how the town is involved in creating corporate social responsibility and how trust in the authorities is built. The interns observed how wonderfully organised the town is and, above all, how active its residents are.

The Polish interns hosted in Verdal were mainly interested in the organisation of social services, heritage activities, volunteering and investing in human resources. They quickly recognised the difference between Polish and Norwegian local self-governments, not only in terms of the different budgets for such activities, but also Norwegian cooperation networks in these areas. They observed how a number of institutions deal with seemingly the same area, yet through different means, and how their cooperation translates into great results. They saw how gaps in employment are filled with voluntary work, how Norwegians become active in their local communities and how women develop and work professionally.

On the other hand, the intern visiting Elverum looked at the organisation of pre-school care in Norway, and then presented a range of contrasting points between Polish and Norwegian kindergartens in terms of outdoor time, approach to the preparation of activities, meals or the organisation of children's time. These significant differences are mostly due to mentality and a completely different approach to raising children. The Hrubieszów representative went home with a head full of inspiration and ideas for action.

Meanwhile in Kinn, the focus has been on strategic planning in health, education, housing, culture and other areas. The Polish officials visited an integration and immigrants' centre, a business incubator, a fish farm, learned about the activities of the tourism organisation and the specifics of cooperation between business and the city in the field of tourism.

The team visiting Ovre Eker shared their observations on organising work in local self-governments, based on trust and empathy, Norwegian democracy, support for immigrants and a number of other issues they had encountered in Norwegian self-governance.

Nevertheless, both sides found inspiration. The Polish side also shared their ideas and good practices with the Norwegians, including the use of neighbourhood relations to build social relationships, opportunities for student exchanges at universities or cooperation in the field of activation and the labour market. They showed how municipal budgeting and public procurement work in Poland, and what solutions work in social and educational services in Poland.

The interns announced that they would present their experiences to a wider audience in their cities.

At the end of the meeting, the Norwegian KS organised a surprise for everyone – a meeting with Pellegrino Riccardi, a speaker who talked in an attractive and interactive way about the impact of the chemistry of love on efficiency in the workplace.