The meeting of the Donor Board on implementation of the reform of local self-government and territorial organisation of power in Ukraine took place on 11 June. It was attended by the representatives of central executive authorities, international donor projects and organisations.

During the event, key areas for the implementation of the decentralisation reform and the vision of local self-government development in various spheres – healthcare, education, provision of social services, as well as cultural sphere, were discussed.

According to Yevhen Nyshchuk, Minister of Culture of Ukraine, actual decentralisation in the field of culture, in contrast to the general decentralsation reform that began in 2014, has been going on for more than 20 years. During this time, many functions have long been transferred to the ground, reserving to the Ministry the function to monitor the observance of the citizens’ rights to high-quality cultural services and leverage to promote cultural diversity in each region of the country.

“Thus, the decentralisation reform provides great opportunities for the development of hromadas, which, however, can only be used if there is a rapid response to the challenges of time. It implies the formation of a new regulatory framework and recommendations for AHs in terms of providing cultural services, staffing for the development of territories – introduction of new forms of training, strengthening of leadership, design and managerial skills of individuals representing culture in AHs, and above all, the formation of efficient cultural service markets, which should be provided on a competitive basis in the form of projects aimed at solving specific socio-cultural problems of a particular hromada,” said Yevhen Nyshchuk.

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