Three municipalities of the Vinnytsia Oblast have already taken part in U-LEAD initiative to establish international contacts for Ukrainian municipalities, Bridges of Trust. As a result, last year Hnivan established cooperation with the municipality of Domžale (Slovenia), and this year Bar has entered into a memorandum of partnership with the city of Bar (Montenegro). In turn, the Ladyzhyn City Council is working on establishing cooperation with the Slovenian municipality of Slovenj-Gradec.
“Municipalities of the Vinnytsia Oblast are actively developing international cooperation. They are building inter-municipal partnerships, participating in international events, cooperating with various funds and organisations. U-LEAD with Europe supports these activities as part of the Bridges of Trust initiative. International partnerships give local self-government bodies access to resources, ideas and opportunities that help solve local problems, improve governance and make municipal life better,” says Vitalii Shvets, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Vinnytsia Oblast.
How and why are international partnerships built at the local self-government level in practice?
According to Volodymyr Savoliuk, Mayor of Bar, establishing cooperation with foreign municipalities requires cultural exchange and the so-called “grassroots diplomacy”, which helps Europeans learn more about Ukraine.
“It all started with cultural and sports exchange, delegations of our municipal enterprises making visits. Once the full-scale invasion started though, the cooperation shifted to a completely different level. Our peacetime partner municipalities provided us with extensive wartime assistance to equip our critical infrastructure with generator sets, helped us solve the solid waste issue and purchased a garbage truck,” says the Bar mayor.
Commenting on the Bar-Bar partnership facilitated by U-LEAD, Volodymyr Savoliuk described it as an opportunity for both municipalities.
“This is a very important cooperation for us, because the mayor of the city of Bar, Montenegro, heads the NALAS [Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe], which covers municipalities with a population of 7 million,” says the head of the Bar municipality. “We recently discussed writing joint applications to various European funds on sports and sports infrastructure development.”
Mr Savoliuk added that partnerships with European municipalities had given them a better understanding of how local self-government works in the European Union.
“This type of cooperation is vital today, as Ukraine has become a candidate for membership in the European Union. If each of our municipalities is in the conversation somewhere in Europe, Europeans will see Ukraine differently. We see how European politicians or even local self-government bodies respond to people’s opinions. It is important that not only mayors, but also local councils and other stakeholders are involved in this partnership process. When you go there and communicate, Europeans understand that we are the same as them, that we share common values,” said Volodymyr Savoliuk.
Maksym Chekryhin, Deputy Mayor of Ladyzhyn, also emphasises the opportunities that partnerships at the municipal level open up, such as joint participation in EU programmes. The municipality of Ladyzhyn has been partnering with the Polish city of Kolo for over 20 years. And recently, he says, they had a three-week trip to Slovenia and, thanks to U-LEAD, visited one of the municipalities and talked about a potential partnership with the municipality of Slovenj-Gradec.
“Today, we understand that the process of European integration will probably begin at the municipality level. Both politicians and experts are talking about this. That is why we are already looking for more partner municipalities. For instance, we will build a closer dialogue and establish cooperation with the city of Slovenj-Gradec, Slovenia. We are also looking for partners in Germany.
New financial opportunities will open at the municipality level shortly. So we are already looking for partners and advise other municipalities to make this a priority. Perhaps soon, European funds will provide funding at the municipality level in cooperation with partner municipalities,” says Maksym Chekryhin, Deputy Mayor of Ladyzhyn.
Summarising the recent experience of the oblast’s municipalities, Vitalii Shvets, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Vinnytsia Oblast, underlines that partnerships with foreign municipalities are becoming more purposeful, built on common interests and mutual exchange of experiences.
