Supporting VRU to involve a wide range of stakeholders in policy making!

On October 11-12, the Veterans' Forum was held in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, organized by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights and the Inter-Factional Deputy Association “Rehabilitation Forces of Ukraine” together with partners under the support of the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program. The forum was attended by nearly 300 people, including MPs, representatives of central and local authorities, military personnel, veterans, experts and the public.

As noted by Andriy Shevchenko, RADA: Next Generation Program Advisor, it is important for the Program to create a broadly representative discussion platform that will help improve the current legislation and develop high-quality and effective policies to overcome existing social challenges.

"The program helps the Parliament become more professional, and in a broader sense, we help the Ukrainian authorities make effective decisions. We believe that when smart people come together, who know how to talk and listen, it will definitely bring results. Today, our task is not so much to return the veteran to society as to help society become equal to the veteran. And behind these big words are very practical issues that need to be addressed today," said Andriy Shevchenko.

Natalia Kalmykova, Minister of Veterans Affairs, said in her opening remarks: “We must rethink, modernize and provide benefits and guarantees in accordance with the needs and realities of today. In the near future, we will present a modern approach that will fully meet the needs of veterans."

Taras Tarasenko, MP, the organizer of the forum, believes that state policy should be formed on the basis of successful practices in the various regions: "We see that veterans' spaces are developing in communities. However, they are developing a bit chaotically, and there is no unified system at the state level that could ensure the full adaptation of veterans. We need to collect the best practices in the regions and form a single network of spaces that could interact with each other, have common standards and really ensure the welfare of our defenders locally."

In addition to panel discussions, the Forum organized practical workshops during which participants assessed the effectiveness of government agencies' achievements and veterans' support programs, best practices of communities and challenges from the perspective of veterans. The workshops were held on 5 important topics: sports for veterans; war trauma - psychology of recovery; economic independence; veteran spaces; and veteran education.

This is the fourth veterans' forum supported by the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program. The previous ones were held in Lutsk, Ternopil, and Zvyagel.

For more information about the forum, see the following video - link