On 6 October, the office of the NGO “Local Democracy Agency Ovruch” (LDA Ovruch) was officially opened at the premises of Ovruch City Council, in partnership with the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA). The office is a new space for dialogue, learning, cooperation and the development of local democracy.
ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida and ALDA Representative in Ukraine Yuriy Stepanets visited Ovruch for the occasion. The event began with a minute of silence, while the official ceremony featured the national anthems of Ukraine and France as a symbol of the international support on which the community relies. Ovruch Mayor Ivan Korud handed over a symbolic key to the new space — a sign of open doors to dialogue, new ideas and cooperation.
“For ALDA, it is a special honour to stand alongside Ovruch at this important moment. The project office is an example of how local democracy and international solidarity can work together,” said Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General.
“Today, we are opening not just an office, but a place where community ideas can be transformed into real projects. We are sincerely grateful to our French friends from Saint-Brieuc Armor Agglomération and personally to Thibaut Guignard, Vice-President of the Agglomération for European Affairs. Their long-standing support helps Ovruch strengthen its energy resilience and continue developing even in the most difficult times,” said Ivan Korud, Mayor of Ovruch.
“The opening of the LDA Ovruch Office is a step towards sustainable cooperation between the community and international partners. The experience of LDA Ovruch may be valuable for other Local Democracy Agencies in Ukraine: the approach developed here — combining cooperation with the City Council, attracting grant funding and building international partnerships — can be adapted by other communities. The ALDA network in Ukraine comprises six organisations, and we want Ukrainian agencies to share their experience both with one another and with their European counterparts,” said Yuriy Stepanets, ALDA Representative in Ukraine.
During the visit, the guests also visited the “Safe Space of Opportunities” at the Andrii Malyshko Ovruch Central Library. This is the first fully implemented project of LDA Ovruch, created within the programme “Community Sparks: ISAR Ednannia and GlobalGiving Partnership for Resilience”. The space already provides opportunities for safe communication, learning, creativity and the development of new ideas.
The Ovruch community has a long-standing partnership with Saint-Brieuc Armor Agglomération. A key part of this cooperation is the project “Supporting the Energy Transition in the Ovruch Community and Saint-Brieuc Agglomération, 2025–2027”, which includes webinars for the exchange of experience. A solid-fuel boiler for a kindergarten, provided by the Agglomération, has already left Saint-Brieuc and is expected to arrive in Ovruch shortly.
Thibaut Guignard, Vice-President of the Agglomération for European Affairs, personally supports Ovruch. Our French partner Julie Verre also plays an important role in developing this cooperation.