Serhiy Honchar, decentralisation expert of the Cherkasy Local Government Development Centre, established with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe programme and MinRegion, talks about a powerful stimulus for the development of amalgamated hromadas.

“How to encourage young people to return to their native village and work for their hromada? The topical issue of encouraging young people to develop their own village gains particular significance as it is currently connected with the development of newly formed amalgamated hromadas,” says Serhiy Honchar. “What might interest young people to live and work in their small homeland? As you know, the greatest human potential is revealed in the age under 25 and after 45 – when a person is not concerned about the problem of active income earning for building personal welfare base. How to open the human potential and direct it to hromada development? It can be achieved by supporting local initiatives – projects of young hromada residents that will help them make their dream, aspiration and socially useful desire come true, and in the end, will make the hromada more capable and developed.”

Having received funds for the development of a village pottery workshop, native village museum, roadside cafe with local colouring etc., a young person will not want to escape to city from the opportunity to realise his/her dream, gain self-sufficiency and development prospects, which in this case will be closely linked with the development of hromada. The main difference between such local initiatives competition from the public budget project competition is that the latter does not provide direct opportunities to reveal the potential of a person. I am convinced that local initiatives competitions would collect dozens of projects on the 4^th or 5^th  year. Thus, our hromadas would become more individual and perspective, and their residents – more initiative and active.”