Dialogue is a conversation between two people. How should the local authorities communicate with the residents of the municipality, build the capacity of the population to initiate the review and decision-making processes regarding issues that concern them rather than idly waiting for certain actions? Held on 22 September 2023 as part of the Creative Dialogue Laboratory project at the Ukrinform Agency, the press conference focused on building an effective dialogue as an effective democratic procedure that precedes decision-making at the local level. The project is implemented by the Association of Public Initiatives of Ukraine with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme.
According to Yurii Stepanets, Project Coordinator and Chairman of the Board of the Association of Public Initiatives of Ukraine, the municipalities of Ukraine have faced new challenges since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. This is not only about assistance to the army and internally displaced persons, but also about setting new priority tasks for the daily life of municipalities during the war:
“People in different regions, cities and towns of Ukraine are clearly aware that now is not the time for squabbles. We should all come together to counter the information attacks of the enemy. However, people are concerned about routine issues: How will their municipality live in the future? What are the priorities of the authorities in the development of a certain city, town or village? Local officials are preoccupied with meeting budget targets and attracting investments, and the public feels that dealing with corruption threats is more relevant than ever. Therefore, we, as the initiators of the project, set a goal to present the procedures and practices of decision-making at the local level generally accepted in EU countries to representatives of local self-government and public activists. This will help better prepare Ukrainians for participation in programmes for the recovery of the country, which is impossible without the participation of self-government and a high level of municipality cohesion,” the coordinator said.
Educational activities were held in 120 municipalities across the country. “Laboratories of Creative Dialogue in Municipalities” is a project that has become one of the largest dialogue approach initiatives in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. In 2023, 232 dialogues were held, bringing together about 4,000 residents of municipalities from 12 oblasts of Ukraine. As part of the project, municipalities discussed land improvement and waste disposal, youth involvement in community life, street renaming, ensuring safety in educational spaces, social protection of vulnerable populations, including IDPs, issues of rehabilitation of veterans and the process of their inclusion in community life. Facilitators from local self-government bodies, who had previously been trained in dialogue facilitation, helped moderate the events. They will be able to moderate dialogue meetings in the future when solving issues of post-war recovery in municipalities. Notably, 75% of the participants of dialogue events stated that they were “confident that the results of this event will be taken into account by local authorities in decision-making processes”. Thus, one more argument can be added in favour of promoting the use of the dialogue approach as an effective tool for public engagement and strengthening the cohesion of the population.
Ksenia Lytvyshko, Project Coordinator in the Poltava Oblast, believes:
“Dialogue as a way of building relations allows us to learn other perspectives and express our own. Relations between the government and the population often lack that. Where effective communication between stakeholders is not established, conflict inevitably brews. It can be overcome with an open platform for discussion. The more authorities communicate with the population, the better the authorised persons can understand and satisfy their needs. This will definitely increase the level of trust of the population in the authorities.”
Practices of Dialogue for Understanding and Participation, a guide issued as part of the project for employees of local self-government bodies, was presented during the press conference. The authors clearly explain the theoretical aspects of public engagement in decision-making in the municipality and practical tools for organising dialogues of various levels of complexity, as well as share tips on interaction and communication during the dialogue process. The guide will be available to communities in electronic form on the websites of the Association of Public Initiatives of Ukraine and U-LEAD with Europe. According to the Association of Public Initiatives of Ukraine, their experts are ready to provide consultations to other municipalities interested in building a dialogue even after the end of the project.