On April 27-28, 2023, a working meeting with this name was held in Kyiv for more than 50 representatives of military administrations, public organizations, the police, the State Emergency Service and working groups on public safety and restoration of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv regions.
What happened at the meeting:
- Representatives of the authorities and the State Emergency Service shared their pains and experiences in restoring de-occupied communities and told the representatives of the authorities of the still-occupied communities about their successes and failures.
- Representatives of six donor organizations and foundations described grant opportunities for communities, priorities and plans for work with the specified regions; NGO "Center for Middle Eastern Studies" reported on its working experience in de-occupied communities.
- Pavel Telička, former chief negotiator for the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU, State Ex-secretary for European Affairs, Commissioner and Vice-President of the European Parliament, shared his vision of the work of local authorities on the way to European integration
- Exchange of experience in the implementation of public safety projects in the Zaporizhzhia region.
- Identification of problems in communities where hostilities took place and threats that need to be solved.
- Networking, communication, and partnership building.
Unfortunately, as the meeting showed, Ukraine didn't have specific plans and instructions during the full-scale invasion of russia; there were no plans for activities during the occupation, no steps were developed after the de-occupation, and there are still no clear strategies for the recovery and reconstruction of communities. This can become a huge problem for the entire country even in the short term.
Cooperation between the authorities and the public is now a very important element of the recovery. Non-governmental organizations and volunteers were able to show their resilience during the invasion, and they are also a strong expert and resource hub that can help the authorities at all stages.
 |
| Federica Dispenza, UNDP in Ukraine |
It is necessary to start development programs that will help unite communities and prepare them for new challenges during reconstruction, concurrently humanitarian missions operating in Ukraine,
Our Foundation continues its work in the Kherson region, having planned its activities for the coming year with de-occupied communities in the region with the support of international partners.
The event was organized by the Kherson Regional Charitable Fund "Union" with the financial support of The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), in cooperation with the NGO "Melitopol Volunteer Group "Patriot"" with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine with the financial support of the Government of Denmark within the framework of the UN Program for Reconstruction and Peacebuilding, and the European Union within the framework of the project "EU4Recovery — Empowering Communities in Ukraine".