Strengthening local democracy and inclusive participation of residents in the process of making power decisions at the level of communities and regions of the South and East of Ukraine

Three communities of Kharkiv region start work on Statutes

AMI, as the only regional partner of the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Studies in Kharkiv Oblast, received the first partners among communities. Merefyansk community, Pisochynska village council and Vilkhiv village council joined the first wave of selection for the development of Statutes and mechanisms of public participation.

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1. As everything was

UNSPD has been operating since 1991 and is one of the leading centers of political research in Ukraine. As part of the project to strengthen local democracy, the organization selected partner communities in three areas: Kharkiv, Poltava and Zaporizhia. The selection completed the first stage, and three communities from each region confirmed their readiness to cooperate.

AMI is responsible for Kharkiv region. It is the organization that will accompany the three local councils from the analysis of needs to the adoption of the document. Lawyer Yana Brusentsova, a member of the AMI team with more than 20 years of practice in the field of local self-government, leads expert support.

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2. Why do communities need a Charter

Without the Charter, residents formally have the rights to petitions, public hearings and local referendums, but no mechanism for their implementation. The charter of the territorial community establishes the order, form and procedure, turning declarations into a working tool. The adopted document gives a specific answer to the question: how exactly residents can influence the decisions of local authorities.

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3. Where is the project now

The first stage of selection is completed. Partner communities confirmed, work begins. For the communities of Odessa and Dnipropetrovsk regions, the selection is still ongoing.

If your community needs support in the development of the Charter or participation tools, please contact AMI: initiativeslocal@gmail.com, +38 (050) 14 55 244.

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The cooperation takes place within the framework of the project “Strengthening local democracy and inclusive participation of residents in the process of making power decisions at the level of communities and regions of Southern and Eastern Ukraine”, implemented by the UNCPD with the support of the MATRA Program of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.