The Forum “Veterans – The Path Home. Community Capacities in Protecting Rights and Meeting the Needs of Veterans” held in Zviahel, brought together more than 250 participants. It has been already the third Veterans’ Forum organized by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Veterans' Rights and Inter-Factional Deputy Association "Rehabilitation Forces of Ukraine together with its partners. The Forum was held under the support of the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program.
The USAID RADA: Next Generation Program assists Verkhovna Rada committees and MPs to conduct public discussions on socially important topics and involve as many stakeholders as possible to jointly solve existing problems and develop policies.
Старший стратегічний радник Програми Ігор Когут у вступному слові зазначив: «Цей форум – майданчик, де парламент, уряд, місцеве самоврядування та ветеранська спільнота разом формують концепцію політики, частиною якої мають стати закони, урядові постанови, рішення на місцях. Наша Програма допомагає залучати стейкголдерів, оскільки мають бути почуті всі, кого стосується політика. USAID прагне, щоб життя кожного українця було гідним, а країна – наслідувала практики кращих демократій світу. Тож бажаю, аби ми в результаті отримали ефективні документи політики».
In his welcoming statements, Igor Kogut, Senior Strategic Advisor of the Program, underlined: "This forum is a platform where the parliament, government, local authorities and the veterans' community form together a policy concept that should be incorporated into laws, government regulations and local decisions. Our Program helps to engage stakeholders in order to assure that everyone affected by the state policy is heard. The USAID endeavours to ensure that the life of every Ukrainian is decent and that the country follows the practices of the world's best democracies. So I wish that as a result we would receive effective policy documents."
The First Vice Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniyenko took part in the opening of the Forum. He assured that the veterans’ policy is a priority for the state and should be developed at the local level: “The policy of heroes, the policy of respect and honor, support and creation of opportunities for veterans is the policy that will spread across the country and go down to communities and towns. This is not something that was invented in the government quarter. It is a long-term effort to take care of veterans across the country.”
Mr. Korniyenko said that the veterans’ policy should cover the following areas: employment of veterans, opportunities for psychological recovery, physical rehabilitation, mobility, accessibility and barrier-free access, and support for military families.
The forum was attended by MPs, representatives of the government and local authorities, NGOs, and the veteran community. They discussed how the state can effectively support veterans and how the communities may contribute to their successful adaptation. The discussion was followed by practical workshops, during which participants provided their suggestions on how to ensure barrier-free communities, economic independence of veterans and recovery of military personnel and their families.
