Young leaders from Eastern Ukraine engaged for change at local level

7 April 2017 – Dnipro (Ukraine) - 28 young representatives from local authorities, civil society organisations and media gathered together in Dnipro for three days, to share their views on local democracy and on the reforms in Ukraine. Organised by the Congress, this seminar was an opportunity for participants, from Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, to discuss citizen engagement and ethical local governance together with Congress members and experts from Czech Republic, Lithuania and Ukraine. As a result, proposals were developed by the  young local leaders for local actions, which are to bring change in their communities by reinforcing transparency of local authorities, specifically through strengthened citizen participation.

The seminar was organised in the framework of the project “Promoting local democracy in Ukraine”, which is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2015-2017.

Ukraine joined the Council of Europe on 9 November 1995, ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government on 11 September 1997 and its Additional Protocol on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority on 2 September 2014. Countries which have ratified the Charter are bound by its provisions. The Charter imposes compliance with a minimum number of rights and principles, which are the European bedrock of local self-government. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe ensures respect for these principles.

Contact:

·         Marité Moras, Head of Unit, Co-operation and External Relations Department, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Tel: +33 3 88 41 22 33

·         Svitlana Gryshchenko, Project Manager, Council of Europe Office in Kyiv, Tel: +380 50 45 23 118