Polish Air Traffic Controllers Association POLATCA is an organization of people performing profession of air traffic controller. Primary task of Association is to contribute into increasing safety in Polish air space by carrying for high level of professional qualifications and ethics of associates.

POLATCA CHARTER

"Aware" Controller.

Controller - a person that controls, checks. This is the definition by Polish vocabulary PWN from 1978.
So how to find in this definition us - air traffic controllers? Though I'm from the youngest generation of controllers, my experience connected to emplacement of our profession by average people are rich enough. I think, that anyone of us can say the same, but that's not most important.  There are a lot of us. Everyone has to get this job somehow.
A few of us, entering this magic world, had different view of what they want to do, than  definition in the vocabulary. But in some strange way we have remained and we're doing what we're doing. We're so different in all regards. From external look (but it's obvious) to the deepest secrets of human existence. The matter of external look is not so obvious. Our older colleagues, sorry - more experienced colleagues perfectly remembers uniforms. But that's a little digression.

However those differences don't disturbs all this people in carrying out their jobs and only they know, how much knowledge, attention, efforts and many other elements are needed to prove. Like in other professions, you need to have "this something", that isn't described and you can't see it. This is why he's a surgeon, she's a professor in the college, they are artists, and me and my colleagues are controllers. We're able to cooperate, depend on each other, trust others..
In such differenced environment it can be recognized as peculiar phenomena. No matter, that it's in Europe, or Africa, Asia, Australia, we can understand and communicate with each other. It's working. It's one of main causes, that I'm doing this and I think, that I will be doing it  in some time. I don't want it to be recognized as an anthem for controller's glory. After all we're ordinary people. We have families, interests (sometimes quite original).
Unfortunately, the truth is that world knows only a little about us (see the definition in the vocabulary). The truth is also, that there's very few of us, comparing to the count of all employees in our company.
But that's not the most important problems, that we're encountering. Our health is a focal point not only for  the concerned. All, that is part of the air control's body: devices, rules, work organization and hundreds of others. Here I see the place for our association.

I hope, that we will be able convince our environment, that it's worth of interest, to give minimal effort to enforce us as a group, to integrate. A group, in which everybody and everyone feels good with each other. Doesn't matter, that its in the workplace or while fishing. It's worth, that others can notice us and be able to define us. It's worth, to have a respect for yourself, for colleague and enjoy this respect not only in close group of well informed people.

Tomasz Wojciechowski