Verkhovna Rada makes several decisions during April 10 plenary session
During its April 10 plenary session, Parliament ratified three international agreements:
Verkhovna Rada adopts law “On conscription” Verkhovna Rada adopted the law “On conscription” in the second reading during its session on April 11, as reported by Oleksiy Honcharenko, MP from the European Solidarity faction. The provision regarding demobilizing military personnel after 36 months of service was removed from the law. Context:
USAID RADA: Next Generation enhances the communication capacity of the Ukrainian Parliament
On April 9, Program experts conducted an online pilot training session for VRU employees concerning effective communications in public institutions, their challenges, and tools. Representatives of Parliamentary media, VRU Secretariat, and VRU Committees improved their capacity building on basic principles of using clear language for public communications, effective instruments for transforming information into quality content, and checklists for improving team coordination in communications. As a result of the training, the participants can improve their communication with target audiences while making VRU operations more transparent and increasing levels of public trust in Parliamentary activities. Transparency and trust are crucial to preventing misunderstandings, which is especially important in conditions of martial law. After the training, the participants received useful materials to take away on public communications.
USAID RADA: Next Generation study visit introduces Verkhovna Rada staff to best French practices in post-legislative scrutiny From April 8 to 10, USAID RADA: Next Generation, in collaboration with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, organized a study visit to the French Assembly, focusing on oversight and post-legislative scrutiny. The delegation, comprised of staffers from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine responsible for oversight, engaged with French counterparts to glean insights from their experiences and explore innovative approaches to parliamentary work that could bolster Ukraine's legislative and oversight reforms while advancing democratic consolidation. This visit was particularly relevant given Ukraine's recent legislative milestones, including the passage of the Law "On Lawmaking Activity." This law aims to regulate various aspects of lawmaking in Ukraine, including establishing a unified system for developing and adopting normative legal acts. It represents a significant stride towards enhancing transparency, efficiency, and alignment with European standards of integrity and accountability in the legislative process.
USAID RADA: Next Generation helps Verkhovna Rada adapt Ukraine's labor legislation to EU standards
On April 9, USAID RADA: Next Generation helped the VRU Committee on Social Policy to organize a roundtable titled "Adaptation of Ukraine's labor legislation to EU law: current status and prospects." The meeting, chaired by Vadym Strunevych, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Social Policy and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Adaptation of Ukrainian Legislation to EU Law, brought together MPs, representatives from various government bodies (including the President's Office and the Ministry of Economy), as well as stakeholders from international organizations, trade unions, employers' organizations, scientific institutions, and civil society groups. During the event, participants engaged in substantive discussions on adapting labor legislation to EU standards and offered suggestions for addressing pressing issues. USAID RADA: Next Generation experts presented an analytical report prepared at the request of the VRU Committee.
USAID RADA: Next Generation improves Parliamentary Education Center capacities on monitoring and evaluation
On April 12, Parliamentary Education Center staffers attended a training session on monitoring and evaluation organized by USAID RADA: Next Generation and American Councils colleagues Nasiba Nurmatova and Jeffrey Lilley. They received basic knowledge on monitoring and evaluation, data collection principles, valuable resources, and USAID requirements. The topics discussed included user profiles, target audiences, and the data required to collect data from different stakeholders of the USAID RADA: Next Generation project. Additionally, all the participants decided on the necessary features to create a useful data collection tool to prevent excessive paperwork. It was also decided that another advanced session would be conducted later.
Children playing Program's "M18: We Are Lawmakers" consider anti-corruption issues to be the most urgent for Ukraine
From April 5 to 10, participants in the All-Ukrainian simulation game "M18: We Are Lawmakers" continued signing petitions. Young people aged 14-17 developed 46 petitions, including 16 on anti-corruption policy, budget, and economic development, 16 on health, medical care, and health insurance, and 14 on education, science, and innovation. The voting for the petitions of young lawmakers was completed, with the following results: 2,280 votes were for petitions on anti-corruption policy, budget, and economic development; 1,663 votes were for petitions on health, medical care, and health insurance; and 2,099 votes were for petitions on education, science, and innovation. Now, the next stage begins - drafting the bills.
USAID RADA: Next Generation works to improve blind persons’ access to parliamentary websites
On April 8, the Program team held a meeting with Access Lab (Digital Accessibility Laboratory), a social enterprise that delivers testing services for websites and mobile apps' accessibility for users with limited mobility, provides consultations on digital accessibility, and helps develop inclusive products. On April 25, RANG arranged for Access Lab to conduct a presentation for the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine titled "How to make the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine's web resources barrier-free and inclusive." This will help to improve the accessibility of parliamentary websites for the blind, clarify how web accessibility audits work, and ultimately lead to a request for such an audit from Parliament. Access Lab will be considered a potential partner for auditing the accessibility of Parliament's web resources.
USAID RADA: Next Generation strengthens information technology capacities at Verkhovna Rada
USAID RADA: Next Generation successfully completed the 4.5-month training for two employees of the IT Department of the VRU Secretariat in a digitalization program called PHP PRO. This training aimed to enhance the staffers’ skills in information programming and maintenance, and in the development of new electronic tools, services, and websites for the VRU. Participants were awarded certificates to validate their newly acquired knowledge. USAID RADA: Next Generation remains committed to supporting the Verkhovna Rada in its digitalization and cybersecurity efforts, especially in the current context of martial law. The program continues to support innovative digital solutions to enhance Parliament's effectiveness in performing its functions.
USAID RADA: Next Generation supports discussion on improving Ukraine’s migration policy
On 9 April, Program subgrantee, the All-Ukrainian Association of International Employment Companies, organized a roundtable discussion titled "Project "Vision 2033": The Impact of Education on Migration Processes." Experts, NGO representatives, and MPs (including Natalia Pipa (Voice), and Oleh Dunda and Roman Hryshuk (both - Servant of the People), participated in the event. During the roundtable, participants discussed the impact of education on migration processes in Ukraine, opportunities for changes to the education system to reduce the outflow of young people from the country, and education initiatives that could retain more talented professionals in Ukraine.
USAID RADA: Next Generation promotes legal awareness to foster new avenues of cooperation between VRU and voters
On April 8, Program subgrantee NGO "Union for Promotion of Rural Green Tourism in Ukraine" hosted its inaugural online webinar titled "Enhancing Voter Legal Awareness: Collaborative Strategies with MPs" for students of Sumy State Pedagogical University. In total, 85 participants, including students, educators, professors, and entrepreneurs from various regions of Ukraine, attended the webinar. The discussion focused on developing collaborative approaches with MPs and parliamentary structures to enhance voter legal awareness. Topics included community-building, reform communication, and citizen engagement in decision-making processes.