During the meeting with experts from Expertise France, discussions centred on the European integration of Ukrainian local authorities, the development of inter-municipal cooperation and international partnerships, and practical tools for engaging local authorities with EU opportunities.
Representatives from the RISE Ukraine coalition, including the Centre for Innovation Development, the Institute of Analytics and Advocacy, Ecosense and ReThink, took part in the meeting. The meeting was held with experts from Expertise France – Vincent Degert and François Lafond, who have recently taken up their posts at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Taras Kachka.
Olesya Malyavina, an analyst at the Centre for Innovation Development, presented our team’s work on supporting communities on their path to European integration. In particular, she discussed the findings of a study into the capacity of Ukrainian communities to participate in European programmes, implement joint initiatives and establish sustainable forms of cooperation with European partners.
They also discussed the challenges faced by local communities: the need to strengthen institutional, analytical and project-management capacities, the development of inter-municipal cooperation, and the creation of practical solutions for engaging with EU opportunities.
In this area, our team is already developing educational initiatives for communities. One such tool is a short-term online training course designed to build communities’ capacity to establish international partnerships and implement projects. Over 200 community representatives have joined the training programme, all keen to prepare high-quality project proposals, find international partners and confidently navigate the journey from idea to implementation.
We believe that such dialogues help to develop practical approaches to supporting Ukrainian communities in the process of European integration and strengthen their readiness to participate in European programmes.