In Kherson, A joint meeting of various police services, public organizations, and charitable foundations operating in the Kherson region was held.
The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize and establish potential cooperation between representatives of the police and existing civil society organizations that carry out their work and work with the population, various institutions, and structures in the Kherson region.
Public organizations and charitable foundations presented their areas of work, target audiences, and settlements in the region, where they implemented projects with the support of international partners. Some of them already have successful experience cooperating with the police, for example, with the Patrol Police of the region, which was also present at the meeting. Someone learned about the main directions of various departments for the first time and had the opportunity to ask questions.
“The meeting was attended by 9 public and charitable organizations and 4 different police services operating in Kherson and the region. Of course, these are not all the organizations that are actively working here, but this is the first such meeting, which allowed us to get to know each other and better understand how we can work together for the Kherson region,” said Yuriy Antoshchuk, head of the “Union” Foundation, the initiator of the meeting.
Police representatives had the opportunity to discuss their activities and areas of responsibility and openly communicate with active citizens on topics of concern to them.
For example, Tengiz Kardava, head of the Main Inspectorate of the Main Police Department in the Kherson region, presented his unit's work. “Meetings with the public and open dialogue are an important element for increasing trust in police officers and establishing new potential projects to strengthen public safety in Kherson and the region,” he noted.
Representatives of the UN Program in Ukraine, who work in the direction of “Public Safety and Social Cohesion,” also joined the meeting online and presented their areas of work and opportunities to support initiatives in the field of cooperation between public organizations, the police, and the State Emergency Service.
In the Kherson region, UNDP already supports public safety projects in 6 territorial communities. In 2023, working groups on public safety and recovery were created at the initiative of the "Union" Foundation and military administrations. For example, a police station office was equipped in the Stanislav community, video surveillance systems were restored in the Chornobayivka and Novovorontsovka communities, etc. Some initiatives are in the approval process and will soon be implemented.
At the meeting, the participants also discussed the problems, needs, and ideas for joint projects in the direction of public safety, which are extremely important for the population of the Kherson region in conditions of proximity to the line of hostilities and constant shelling by Russian troops.
Some organizations, together with police representatives, agreed to develop joint initiatives that can be implemented in the next six months and enlist the support of international partners.
Similar meetings will be held in the future for further discussion and updating needs and ideas.
The meeting was held within the framework of the initiative "Kherson region: public safety and recovery in conditions of change," implemented by the Kherson Regional Charity Foundation "Union" with the assistance of the UNDP Ukraine with the financial support of the Government of Denmark.