The joint meeting of journalists and employees of public and charitable foundations was held in Kherson

The Kherson Club of Active Citizens hosted a joint meeting of journalists and employees of public and charitable foundations that conduct their work directly in Kherson and the Kherson region.

Representatives of 6 regional media and 10 non-governmental organizations attended the meeting, where they presented their activities and areas of work in deoccupied settlements to each other.

The participants exchanged views on what information they lack in the local media space, what challenges they face in bringing information to the local population, and how and in what areas journalists and public organizations can cooperate in the frontline region.

The discussion also raised the issue of the need to create a single database of active public organizations, their specific work, and contacts. This will allow community residents and journalists to contact the relevant associations to receive assistance and prepare journalistic materials. Considering the security situation, the information in such a database should be balanced between what can be publicly published and what information should be with limited access.

In addition, the meeting discussed the need to form an advisory and consultative body under the Kherson City Military Administration, which could include specialists and public representatives.

Recently, Ukraine adopted the Law on Democracy at the Local Level, designed to involve as many residents as possible in community decision-making and promote the development of local democracy. The law determines the procedure for residents' participation in public consultations, advisory, and consultative bodies under local government bodies and officials. It allows residents to participate in planning and distributing local budget funds.

In the context of the adopted Law, the participants at the meeting expressed their views on creating a public council under the Kherson City Military Administration and how it could be effective under martial law conditions.

As a reminder, last November, we held a similar meeting of civil society organizations and police representatives. As a result, some participants developed joint mini-initiatives with the police, currently under UNDP consideration for future funding.

This event is organized within the framework of the project "Kherson: on the Way to Recovery" conducted by the "Union" Foundation as part of its project implemented under the USAID/ENGAGE activity, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact. The activities of this Club are the sole responsibility of Pact and its implementing partners and do not necessary reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.