On March 24-25, 2017 Lviv hosted V Local Self-Governance Forum organized by the City Institute of Lviv, with the support from the donor community and PLEDDG Project in particular.
The Forum, which takes place every year in Lviv, has become a platform for knowledge sharing and experience exchange in the local self-governance sphere, as well as an effective tool for developing practical solutions to pressing issues related to local self-governance and the role of local authorities in national development . The event welcomed around 500 participants including representatives of central executive bodies, members of Parliament, city mayors, representatives of local governments, amalgamated territorial communities, international donor organizations, the Association of Ukrainian Cities, non-governmental organizations, leading analytical centers, Ukrainian and foreign experts.
The Forum was officially opened by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyy. Among forum speakers were Daniel Popescu, Special Advisor to the Government of Ukraine on Decentralization; Anna Fischer, the Head of the Component 1 of U-LEAD Program; Oksana Syroyid, Deputy Head of the Parliament of Ukraine; Vyacheslav Nehoda, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities; Serhiy Vlasenko, a member of Parliament and the Head of the Parliamentary Committee on state building, regional policy and local government; Yevhen Bystrytskyy, Executive Director of International Renaissance Foundation etc.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities was represented by its president Clark Somerville, who shared Canadian best practices of involving community in the decision-making process and building effective communication between the government and the public.
During the two-day forum participants engaged in several panel discussions covering a variety of issues, such as strategic approach to city and region development, decentralization in health care, electronic governance and smart city, financial models of amalgamated territorial community development, cooperation between the Parliament of Ukraine and Ukrainian municipalities, reforms in the housing and utilities sphere as part of decentralization reform, involving citizens in the community development process, participatory budgeting, urban agglomerations, legislative reform related to urban planning, the rule of law in public service etc. Kadie Ward, PLEDDG Senior Governance Advisor, moderated the session on strategic approach to community development, with keynote speakers being Pavlo Sheremeta, former Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Ihor Slyuzar, City Mayor of Kolomyia, Iryna Patronyk, the coordinator of the Group of Municipal and Regional Development of «Deloitte» company, Ihor Lepyoshkin, PLEDDG Senior Expert in Local Governance and Economic Development.
The forum concluded with writing a resolution, which will be forwarded to central legislative and executive bodies of Ukraine after a follow-on revision.