Strengthening partnerships for stronger Ukrainian cities
German-Ukrainian Municipal Partnership Conference, Leipzig - November 2023
UNITAC Ukraine team contributed to the sixth German-Ukrainian Municipal Partnership Conference, hosted in Leipzig, Germany, from 13 to 15 November 2023. The conference, organized by Engagement Global, focused on recovery efforts that are already underway in Ukraine and those which will be needed in the future.
Questions such as ‘what is the role of communal partnerships in the future of the European Union?’, ‘how to enable and fortify a fruitful exchange of ideas, practices and collaborative processes in terms of just governance, digitalisation, resilient urban development and recovery between Ukraine and Germany?’ guided the discussions over the three days.
UNITAC Ukraine’s project coordinator, Maryna Semenchenko, participated together with the deputy mayor of Makariv, Anatolii Karbovsky, in the expert forum discussing digital tools for recovery and development. She presented UNITAC and the project “Just Transitions”, in which the municipality of Makariv is one of the partners.
Key speech by Ukraine's President, Mr Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Credit: Anja Berestetska.
Since the outbreak of the war, the number of twinning arrangements between Germany and Ukraine has more than doubled from 76 to almost 190. The leaders of Ukrainian municipalities, which have established partnerships with German states, cities and local authorities, accepted the invitation and travelled to Leipzig to meet their German partners and colleagues. Around 600 representatives of cities, municipalities, associations and NGOs from both countries attended the conference and discussed a range of topics in expert forums and round tables, including the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makeyev, and President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also addressed the audience via video message. Moreover, up to 500 other individuals followed the discussions via livestream.
Key speech by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Credit: Anja Berestetska.
Other participants in the forum included representatives of two Ukrainian municipalities, who discussed how they are using digital tools to facilitate recovery processes. The forum also included examples LGV Chief Digital Officer, Sascha Tegtmeyer, presented Hamburg’s Masterportal and how it can serve as a case study for other municipalities looking to implement digital practices successfully.
Other key contributions included an overview of the future of the newly launched digital platform Dream and what Ukraine can expect from it, as well as a German best practice case of a municipality using digital tools for public engagement. The discussion highlighted the potential of digitalisation for recovery and development, and it was an opportunity for UNITAC to meet with partners and strengthen the network with other Ukrainian municipalities.
During the three-day event, a central message was "Strong Municipalities - Strong Ukraine". The discussions revolved around the importance of supporting the process of decentralisation and strengthening local communities, in the ongoing conflict and to aid recovery efforts. Special attention was given to exploring ways in which Germany can lend support to Ukraine's ongoing decentralisation process, as well as how the experience in Ukraine with digital technologies can inspire and contribute to promote digitalisation in Germany, based on best practices.
These are critical issues that require cooperation and collaboration between governments on different levels. The conference demonstrated how well these partnerships are already working and how much impact they have had before, especially since the war broke out. For three days, this event provided a platform for collective reflection and encouraged the ideation of further joint projects between the two countries.