After the local elections Ukraine has completed a comprehensive territorial reform at the local level and it is high time to promote this success. In addition, local government officials are longing for innovative approaches to show how decentralisation brings a real benefit to the people.

This is why on 10-11 December 2020, U-LEAD with Europe is organising its International Expert Exchange on the topic "Development of Municipalities: Trust, Institutions, Finance and People”. The objective is to discuss with renowned national and international experts and high-level officials on the latest insights in the field of decentralisation reform and local development.

High-level representatives of the Government of Ukraine, the EU-Ambassador and Ambassadors of Denmark, Germany and Slovenia will join the discussions. 30 experts – officials, experts, academics, diplomats and civil society activists from 12 countries, including from Ukraine – will contribute with their expertise.

The online exchange will serve as a platform for discussion, exchange of experience and development of innovative ideas on regional and local development. The event will consist of three thematic blocks – "Institutions and Governance", "People and Trust", "Finance and Responsibilities". Every block will consist of panel discussions, thematic seminars as well as opportunities for interaction between the sessions.

"The reform of local self-government in Ukraine has radically changed the basis for the elaboration and implementation of regional and local development policies. After the local elections in October 2020, the country is already functioning on a new territorial basis. From now on, all hromadas have the powers and responsibilities to exercise their right to self-governance, as well as to plan, invest and implement development projects. Therefore, we focus on development as the key topic of this years IEE.” said Bastian Veigel, GIZ Programme Director of U-LEAD with Europe.

To see the full event agenda and the list of speakers, please, go to https://uleadiee.kyiv.ua/

Register for the event by December 9, 2020 at this link to be the first to receive the updates about the event, as well as a full set of conference materials afterwards.

You can also receive updates on the event’s Facebook page. The event will be broadcasted live on the Facebook-pages and YouTube channels of the U-LEAD with Europe profile.