The Forum participants included mayors and other decision-makers from 28 partner municipalities and settlements cooperating with the UNDP-led project “Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Programme”, as well as the Project's national stakeholders like the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction of Ukraine, Ministry of Housing and Municipal Economy of Ukraine, Committee of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on State Building and Local Self-Governance of Ukraine, the Project's international partners - Canadian International Development Agency, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and other donor-supported projects.
 

Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecka, United Nations Development Programme Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine, reminded that being UN's international development network, UNDP strongly promotes the involvement of citizens, civil society organisations and private sector in the development process as their participation in the decision-making has been recognized as crucial to the achievement of good governance for sustainable social, economic and environmental development.
 

Speaking during the meeting, Volodymyr Garazd, Dolyna City Mayor and Chairperson in the National Forum of partner municipalities said UNDP approach really worked and helped local authorities and communities find mutual understanding and unite efforts to resolve social and economic problems through community initiatives implementation. 
 

"More and more municipalities recognise the effectiveness of this approach and successfully adopt it at the municipal level. Owing to community projects support and training for activists employed within Associations of Co-Owners of Multi-Apartment Buildings we receive 'efficient owners' of property. Therefore, people receive services of better quality and perceive better quality of life," he added.

The Project “Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Programme” can share truly unique experience, generated in 28 partner municipalities and settlements during the past 5 years.
 

The Project mobilises local communities to unite, practice leadership and self-empowerment. During the 5-year period, local communities created 450 community organisations, which included 50,000 dwellers from municipalities.

 

It is of great importance that the Project educates “effective owners” of residential property though unique trainings on how to establishing and operate a community organisation (Association of Co-Owners of Multi-Apartment Buildings, Service Cooperatives, Public Organisations). In total, 8,000 men and women benefited from 300 Project’s human resourse development activities.
 

In 2009 alone, 73 community organisations and 2 NGO networks were created in partner municipalities. Overall, 60 community projects were approved worth UAH 4,6 mn, out of which UAH 2,7 mn have already been utilised. The total cost of the projects is distributed among the donors in the following proportion: 44,4% were contributed by partner-municipalities from their local budgets, 40,3% - by UNDP/MGSDP and 15,3% – by local communities.

During 5-year period, the Project supported 225 local community projects. Specifically, 55% of the projects dealt with energy-saving and environment, including reconstruction of water supply, heating and sewage systems, window insulation, as well as reconstruction of toilets in kindergartens.
 

Overall, 45% of all projects were related to social area, for example façade repair, sports ground construction of drinking water fountains. The cost of supported projects reached UAH 25.2 mn and their implementation benefited 38 thousand of dwellers.
 

The participants of the Forum thanked the outgoing Chairperson of the National Forum of Partner Municipalities (NFPM) Volodymyr Garazd, Dolyna City Mayor for representing the municipalities in 2009. During the Forum they elected the new Chairperson of the NFPM -
Bodgan Bilyk, Department Head on Economic and Integration Development of Executive Committee in Ivano-Frankivsk City Council.
 

The mayors of partner municipalities repeated their commitments to supporting local community projects, with special focus on energy-efficiency initiatives. Also, they called on UNDP and its international partners to jointly facilitate the reform of local self-governance at the national level and contribute to drafting legislation regarding reform of communal and housing economy.
 

The project actively cooperates with Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Stste Building and Local Self-Government and new agreements were reached on facilitating local self-government reform. Due to united efforts, the Draft Law on amendments to Law of Ukraine On Bodies of Self-Organisation of Population (BSPs) №2108 dated  21.02.2008 was elaborated and registered. On October 14, 2009 the draft Law was adopted in the first reading. The Draft provides clear definition of “non-profit” status of the BSPs and simplifies the procedure of registering BSPs.
 

For strengthening communities’ voices in urban Ukraine, the Project cooperates with the Ministry of regional development and Construction of Ukraine.  This year the municipalities implemented European Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at the Local Level and CLEAR instrument, a diagnostic tool for community participation at the local level.
 

In addition, community-based approach coincides with the National Concept for reforming Communal and Housing Economy in Ukraine. The concept envisages active participation of the dwellers in solving shared problems through creation of Associations of Co-Owners of Multi-Apartment Buildings or other form of participatory decision-making and problem solving related to the house.
 

Owing to the Project, the quality of municipal services improves in the partner municipalities.  Municipal services quality management system was introduced in Voznesensk municipality in 2007-2008 with support from UNDP.  This year the support for introducing system 9001:200 is provided to Kirovske, Dolyna, Novograd-Volynskiу and Dzhankoy.
 

In order to be more effective in sharing their experience, news and views, the participants created a web-page “Open Space for Local Self-Governance” in social network Facebook. From now on, anyone can become a member of this virtual network to facilitate local development in Ukraine.
 

The Project`s experience shows that community-based approach is a real instrument for reducing global problems impact at the local level. Global problems of humanity affect people where they live and work. Therefore, together with Ukrainian universities, the Project prepared the academic course “sustainable Development of Society”, which is taught to future local self-government servants  at the Academy of Municipal Management (Kyiv). The course will be taught in plenty other universities soon.
 

In course of discussions and presentations, the participants have worked out recommendations to be taken into consideration by UNDP/MGSDP management and donor agencies for improving the Programme implementation to bring maximum benefit for the Ukrainian citizens.
 

The partner municipalities of UNDP/MGSDP are: Bakhchysaray (AR Crimea), Voznesensk (Mykolayiv Region). Galych  (Ivano-Frankivsk Region), Hola Prystan' (Kherson  Region), Dzhankoy (AR Crimea), Dolyna (Ivano-Frankivsk Region), Zhytomyr, Іvano-Frankivsk, Kagarlyk (Kyiv Region), Kalynivka (Vinnytsia Region), Kirovske (Donetsk Region), Krasnogvardiyske (AR Crimea),  Lviv, Mykolayiv (Mykolayiv Region), Mohyliv-Podilskiy (Vinnytsia Region), Novovolynsk (Volyn Region), Novoozerne (AR Crimea), Novograd-Volynskiy  (Zhytomyr Region), Nyzhnegorskyi (AR Crimea), Pervomayske (AR Crimea), Rivne, Rubizhne (Lugansk Region), Saky  (AR Crimea), Scholkine (AR Crimea), Tulchyn  (Vinnytsia Region),  Ukrayinka (Kyiv Region), Yevpatoria (AR Crimea), and Zuya (AR Crimea).