On 24–25 September, a practical training session entitled “Territorial Community Statute: From Initiating the Process to Adoption” was held in Lviv. Representatives of 16 communities from different regions of Ukraine worked alongside experts on how to develop statutes that not only comply with legal requirements but also serve as effective tools for engaging residents in community life and local decision-making.
The event was held as part of the project “Empowering Local Authorities and Citizens to Foster Open Interaction and Women’s Leadership,” implemented by ALDA with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme.
Over the two days, participants explored the entire process of developing a community statute — from establishing a working group to public consultations and the final adoption of the document. Particular attention was paid to legislative requirements, public hearings, tools for citizen participation, common mistakes, and the specific challenges of organising the process under martial law.
According to project expert Oleh Kulinich, a statute is a key document that shapes many processes within a community.
“For ALDA, it is particularly important that the statute regulates interaction between local authorities and the public. The community’s future development largely depends on the quality and openness of the statute, as well as on how actively residents are involved in its development and discussion,” Oleh Kulinich said.
For some of the training participants, work on their community statutes is only beginning. Dmytro Medushevskyi, Deputy Head of the Kurnenska Rural Territorial Community in Zhytomyr Oblast, said that the community currently does not have a statute. Its representatives aim to develop not merely a formal document to comply with the law, but a practical tool that will enable residents to participate in local decision-making.
The Konoplianska community in Odesa Oblast is in a similar situation. Iryna Kukharchyk, Head of the Social Protection Department, stressed that the community wants its future statute to reflect its historical and cultural characteristics while establishing clear mechanisms for interaction between local authorities and residents.
The Rokytnivska community in Rivne Oblast, by contrast, has had a statute since 2021 but is now updating it in line with legislative changes. According to Olena Hvozdetska, Head of the Legal Department, the community plans, among other things, to incorporate into the statute a mechanism for public evaluation of the performance of local self-government bodies.
For the Rohanska community in Kharkiv Oblast, residents’ participation in drafting the document is also closely linked to the community’s future recovery.
“Strategic decisions, as well as issues related to recovery and the community’s further development, must take into account the views of residents from different settlements and representatives of different social groups,” said Vadym Poliakh, Deputy Head of the Rohanska Settlement Community.
The community plans to involve representatives of civil society, the local council, the executive committee and street committees in the working group.
Project trainer Anton Meliakov describes the statute as a kind of “constitution of a territorial community” that should define how local self-government bodies and residents interact. At the same time, he stressed that simply adopting a statute is not enough — ensuring the quality of the document is equally important.
“The most important thing for a community is to establish a working group, bring together competent, motivated professionals, give them sufficient time, and provide them with the necessary resources — informational, human and time resources,” Anton Meliakov concluded.
The two-day training marked the starting point for the selected communities’ further work on developing their statutes. Going forward, project experts will work individually with each community team.
The U-LEAD with Europe Programme for Ukraine on Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development is jointly financed by the European Union and its Member States Germany, Denmark, France, Austria, Poland and Slovenia to support Ukraine on its path towards strengthening local self-government.