LDA Kharkiv Region has launched Amicity Kharkiv, a School of International Project Management and Municipal Partnership. The training programme will begin on September 29.
Amicity Kharkiv is an educational and practical platform aimed at supporting the development of the Kharkiv region. The project is implemented by LDA Kharkiv Region with the support of the Kharkiv Regional Council, the Association of Local Self-Government Bodies of the Kharkiv Region, the Grand Est Region of France, the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA), the NGO Institute for Social Policy of the Region, and the Regional Development Agency of the Kharkiv Region.
During the launch event, participants met the School’s partners and team and were introduced to the training programme, working format and expected outcomes. The programme will run from late September to early November and consists of 11 modules covering international donor programmes, the language of international donors, partnership-building between Ukrainian and French municipalities, developing project ideas, project design and logic, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, risk management, communication, concept note development, and inclusive participation. The School will conclude with presentations of the concept notes developed by the participants.
“Amicity Kharkiv is important to us because it is more than just a training programme. The School provides an opportunity for direct interaction with French and other European partners, an exchange of experience and the exploration of opportunities for future cooperation. That is why participants will not be working with abstract case studies, but with their own project ideas, gradually turning them into fully developed concept notes,” says Valentyna Smachylo, School Coordinator and ALDA Delegate in the Kharkiv region.
The School’s team of trainers and mentors brings together experts in international project management, grant writing, community development, local government, monitoring and evaluation, communications and international partnerships.
The programme is designed for employees of territorial communities and regional institutions, as well as representatives of civil society organisations, educational institutions and municipal bodies. It aims to equip participants with practical skills in international project management — from preparing grant applications to building sustainable partnerships with European municipalities.
The launch event was attended by Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA); Valentyna Smachylo, School Coordinator and ALDA Delegate in the Kharkiv region; Anna Sage, representative responsible for cross-border, international and European cooperation within the European and International Partnerships Department of the Grand Est Region of France; Olena Moroz, Head of the Department for Territorial Community Development, Investment, Project Management and International Relations; Mykola Titov, First Vice-President and Executive Director of the Association of Local Self-Government Bodies of the Kharkiv Region; and other partners.
Amicity Kharkiv is intended to become a platform where knowledge is translated into concrete project solutions and professional contacts develop into sustainable international partnerships supporting the recovery and development of the Kharkiv region.