Parliamentary and municipal forum in Volyn region

On March 31, the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program, together with members of the Ukrainian Parliament, organized a parliamentary and municipal forum "Dialogue for Community Development under Martial Law" in Lutsk.

The main goals of the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program are to improve communication and interaction between MPs and their constituents, as well as to promote greater citizen engagement in the legislative process. The parliamentary-municipal forums are tools that allow us to study the needs of voters and address existing challenges with government officials. It is especially important to keep in touch with the regions, support communities, and respond to their needs under martial law.

The Program held the first parliamentary-municipal forum in the Volyn region. More than 130 people, including the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, six MPs, representatives of ministries, local authorities, communities, international organizations, experts, and civil society, attended the forum.

According to Oleksandr Korniyenko, the VRU First Deputy Chairman, "Such experience is needed in all regions, including the frontline ones, to discuss the topic of self-government, the prospects that exist and will be there, and the experience of MPs activities during the war. It is the next step we will discuss and implement together."

You can read the material with a high assessment of the forum from the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine via this link.

During 7 hours of active discussions at the parliamentary-municipal forum in Lutsk:

the Parliament and MPs established effective communication and partnership with communities;
discussed the problems of communities in the economic and humanitarian spheres under martial law and ways to solve them;
presented the activities of the Parliament and the Government in countering the wartime challenges;
various organizations presented projects and assistance programs to support communities under martial law.

In a video commentary, Igor Kogut, Director of the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program, explained how this model of communication and interaction helps Ukrainian voters and the Ukrainian parliament.

The members of the Ukrainian Parliament also highlighted the importance of this event (you can watch their comments in our videos - part 1 and part 2):

Natalya Pipa: The forum is needed "to strengthen communities (especially in wartime), to have offline communication, to allow communities to ask about what is "hurting" them and to find solutions together."
Ihor Huz: "Such events in wartime are critical because we are talking about the region's future and how the government, local self-government, and MPs will continue to cooperate."
Halyna Vasylchenko: "Communication between different levels of government, parliamentarians, and community leaders is extremely important so that we, as MPs, can make the right, constructive decisions."
Vyacheslav Rublev: "The forum has vital topics: border areas, economic activity, how communities will continue to live, how we should develop and fill community budgets under martial law."
Iryna Konstankevych: "The opportunity to discuss the real state of affairs and model the challenges that await us in the post-war period is the greatest value of this platform."

The value and effectiveness of such a model of communication and interaction was also emphasized by representatives of local authorities and local self-government (watch their video commentary via this link):

Borys Karpus, Mayor of Novovolynsk: "This event helps to restore the dialogue between central, local, and regional authorities in order to synchronize positions in wartime."
Maryana Kononchuk from the Volyn Regional Branch of the Association of Ukrainian Cities: "MPs and community leaders discussed the most important problems they faced during martial law. The forum provides a well-organized dialog that will lead to productive decision-making."

You can also see the speakers, participants and guests of the forum in the photo report on our Facebook page and read more about the speakers' opinions in our material.

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