The two-day Plenary Gathering of Slovenian and Ukrainian partner municipalities has started today! The event is organized by the EU-funded U-LEAD with Europe within its Initiative “Bridges of Trust. Making Partnerships between municipalities from Ukraine and Slovenia sustainable!”.

The Gathering is aimed at finding areas of possible cooperation between municipalities and planning activities to share experiences, knowledge and skills. Among others, a publication “Historical ties as foundations for modern partnerships: Case of Ukrainian and Slovenian municipalities” will be presented and history as a strong element of local economic development will be discussed. 16 Ukrainian and 11 Slovenian municipalities, 14 Ukrainian and 9 Slovenian mayors, altogether 45 representatives of municipalities from Ukraine and Slovenia are meeting.

Viacheslav Nehoda, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine: “Implementation of the decentralisation is a difficult task. The path we have already taken is unique for Ukraine. For the first time in 30 years, we have thoroughly transformed the system of local self-government and territorial organization of power. I would like to thank U-LEAD with Europe Programme, which is one of the leading programmes in Ukraine that help in implementing of the local self-government reform.”

Tomaž Mencin, Ambassador of Slovenia to Ukraine: “Creating a network of partner municipalities with clear objectives will encourage good communications and act as a strong forum for generating ideas. The formula to remember is: “More people + More ideas + Openness & Creativity = Success”. The most successful municipalities are often those from remote places, burdened by the past and with serious development challenges, due to rapid shifts in areas where, based on strategic orientation, changes can happen relatively quickly”.

Xavier Camus, Head of Operations Section "Good Governance and Rule of Law” of the EU Delegation to Ukraine: “Successful and developed self-government is the key to further decentralisation success. That is why the European Union welcomes establishing today’s partnerships between Ukrainian and Slovenian municipalities. During a two-day exchange, you will have the opportunity to learn the local-self-government situation in both countries, get to know each other better and finetune the understanding how and where to move together further.”

Bastian Veigel, GIZ Programme Director of U-LEAD with Europe: “U-LEAD with Europe always provides a platform for cooperation between municipalities from Ukraine and the EU. You can count on us when it comes to making partnerships thriving by bridging trust and development for the benefit of citizens in your municipalities.”

The second day of the Gathering will be dedicated to bilateral meetings and planning activities for cooperation in the next two years.