The Local Democracy Action Network was launched in Ukraine — an open platform for cooperation and coordination among communities, civil society organizations, local authorities, international partners and donor organizations working to develop local democracy.
The initiative was proposed by ALDA – the European Association for Local Democracy on August 28 at a meeting that brought together more than 70 representatives of Ukrainian communities, civil society organizations and international partners. The meeting was held as part of the project “Empowering Local Authorities and Citizens to Foster Open Dialogue and Women’s Leadership.”
The participants were welcomed by Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of ALDA – the European Association for Local Democracy. She emphasized that ALDA has 30 years of experience in the field of local democracy and works not only in Ukraine. The organization cooperates with local authorities, civil society organizations, donors and other partners. One of its key areas of activity is the development of Local Democracy Agencies. ALDA has been active in Ukraine since 2012, while Local Democracy Agencies operate in six cities and regions and have more than 40 partners in Europe. Their work covers various aspects of local development — from social and youth policy to economic and environmental issues.
Antonella Valmorbida emphasized that the new network should become an open space where both ALDA’s existing members and partners and new participants can interact. “We need a space — virtual or physical — where everyone committed to the development of local democracy can meet and exchange experiences,” she said.
According to her, the network should bring together organizations and people working to develop local democracy, but often operating separately from one another. “This Local Democracy Action Network will be a place to bring together and provide overall coordination for everyone involved in supporting local democracy,” said Antonella Valmorbida. The network’s main tasks will include regular communication among its participants, the exchange of information on legislation, programmes and opportunities, as well as sharing successful practices and experience. It will also seek to bring together different groups of participants — local authorities, civil society, international organizations, donors and representatives of support programmes.
An example of cooperation and partnership is the major project “Empowering Local Authorities and Citizens to Foster Open Engagement and Women’s Leadership,” launched this year by ALDA – the European Association for Local Democracy with the support of U-LEAD with Europe. Sixteen communities from eight regions of Ukraine have been selected. The initiative focuses on developing citizen participation, women’s leadership, updating community statutes and preparing for recovery.
Olena Tomniuk, Director of U-LEAD with Europe, welcomed the participants at the gathering and congratulated them on the launch of the joint initiative. “We want to congratulate the 16 communities that were selected to participate in this joint initiative. You will have the opportunity to work together to make local democracy in your communities a model of good practice. So that the experience you gain can be actively shared both in Ukraine and beyond our country. Keep this broad horizon. Be as open as possible to the new contacts, opportunities, knowledge, practices and experience that will become available to you,” Olena Tomniuk noted.
She also called on the communities to build partnerships with communities that already have substantial experience. “But, of course, follow this path and do everything possible to ensure, first and foremost, that Ukrainians who live in your communities have a better life,” added Olena Tomniuk.
She also recalled that U-LEAD is a programme launched in Ukraine back in 2016, at the beginning of decentralization. “All this time, we have stood alongside communities, territorial community leaders and local government officials to help our colleagues effectively carry out the tasks before them,” Olena Tomniuk noted.
Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boichenko emphasized that strengthening local democracy and bringing communities together are particularly important in the context of the full-scale war. According to him, decisions are often made most quickly at the local level, as municipalities interact directly with residents and are the first to respond to their needs. Vadym Boichenko also shared Mariupol’s experience, where interaction with the community became the basis for developing strategic documents and, after the beginning of the full-scale invasion, for creating a support network for Mariupol residents. In his view, this experience can also be useful for other Ukrainian communities, particularly temporarily occupied and de-occupied communities, which should already be preparing their own recovery and development strategies. “A strong Ukraine will rely exclusively on strong communities,” Vadym Boichenko concluded.
Anastasia Buslaieva, LDA Coordinator, spoke about Local Democracy Agencies as a practical tool for engaging citizens in decision-making, coordinating initiatives and establishing partnerships between communities, authorities and civil society. The ALDA network in Ukraine currently includes six agencies in Dnipropetrovsk region, Mariupol, Odesa region, Kharkiv region, Vinnytsia region and Ovruch, which work taking into account the needs of their respective regions and have partners in Europe. “At the local level, this is a really great coordination tool because these are people who know their communities, universities and authorities and can quickly understand how to act in certain circumstances,” noted Anastasiia Buslaieva. She added that the agencies can become local hubs of the new network and help communities find partners, expertise and opportunities for developing local democracy.
Denys Tkachov, Ukraine Team & Digital Hub Coordinator ALDA, spoke in greater detail about the idea behind the Local Democracy Action Network. He emphasized that the new network should not become an additional organization or replace existing partnerships, but rather serve as a practical platform for coordination and the exchange of experience among different stakeholders in the field of local democracy. “We are simply creating a platform for coordination, for quick communication, for exchanging experience, so that you can receive information firsthand,” he said. According to Denys Tkachov, particular attention will be paid not only to successful practices but also to experience that can help avoid mistakes: “It is very important to also share stories of our failures, of how things should not be done.” He added that the network should primarily be oriented toward the needs of its participants — they will determine the topics on which experts, information or support are needed, while the organizers will involve the relevant specialists and partners.
Liudmyla Kovalchuk, UN Women Programme Coordinator in Ukraine, proposed cooperation aimed at strengthening women’s participation in decision-making. According to her, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, women have been playing an increasingly important role in the life of communities and the country, but this has not always translated into formal opportunities to influence decision-making. Among the possible areas of cooperation with the Network, Liudmyla Kovalchuk mentioned training, involving female experts and trainers in thematic events, advocating for changes to electoral legislation, and participating in coordination work on women’s political participation. The UN Women representative also emphasized her readiness to support communities in implementing gender-responsive approaches in their work and developing partnerships at the regional level.
The importance of developing municipal partnerships between Ukraine and European communities was emphasized by Jessica Baier, a representative of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions. She noted that the Council of European Municipalities and Regions coordinates the European Partnership Hub and is part of the Bridges of Trust community, which brings together participants in international municipal cooperation with Ukraine. “In the context of this new initiative for sharing information, such interaction is very much needed and timely,” said Jessica Bay, adding that her organization is ready to share information about new initiatives, facilitate the search for partnerships and promote the new network among European associations and partners.
According to Yuriy Stepanets, a representative of ALDA Ukraine, the meeting was conceived both as an opportunity to bring together and introduce people working in the field of local democracy development and as a platform for developing joint actions. He emphasized that ALDA is not the only organization working to develop local democracy in Ukraine, and that bringing together the efforts of different stakeholders can make this work more effective. Such coordination is particularly important for Ukrainian communities, which are currently working under difficult conditions.
“Then the results we achieve can be truly more significant, more effective for those we work for, for Ukrainian communities that are currently in such difficult conditions,” added Yurii Stepanets.
Antonella Valmorbida emphasized that the Local Democracy Action Network is the result of collective work and an initiative developed directly by the ALDA Ukraine team in response to the need for greater coordination. “This is an initiative for Ukraine, created together with Ukrainians. Of course, with the support of Europeans, but it is a need that comes from Ukraine itself,” Valmorbida stressed. She also noted that the network is intended to involve not only participants in the current meeting but also communities and organizations that were not selected for the U-LEAD programme but expressed an interest in developing local democracy. “We want to bring everyone together to create a large coalition, have a common voice and be more coordinated,” Antonella Valmorbida concluded.
The project “Empowering Local Authorities and Citizens to Foster Open Dialogue and Women’s Leadership” is implemented by the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA) within the framework of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, which is supported by the European Union and its Member States Germany, Denmark, France, Austria, Poland, and Slovenia.