News

It has become an annual tradition in PLEDDG to gather representatives of embassies, authorities, public, entrepreneurs and experts in order to draw attention to social entrepreneurship issues in Ukraine. During the III International Conference on Inclusive Business Development the participants focused their discussions on sustainability of social business and implementation of inclusive approach in private, municipal and public sectors.

The representatives of 14 Ukrainian cities visited Estonia within the frames of a study tour organized by PLEDDG. The participants had an opportunity to get familiar with specific features of the e-governance reform that was successfully implemented in Estonia and discover instruments for optimization of local governance processes and improvement of the administrative services provision quality.

Zhmerynka is now among PLEDDG partner cities that choose the path of sustainable and foreseeable progress. The members of Zhmerynka City Council approved 2030 City Development Strategy which was developed in cooperation with PLEDDG. The document meets the demands of the local community and business. The Strategy determines two key areas for development which are the strengthening of the town’s competitiveness and improvement of its citizens’ life quality.

The representatives of 6 business associations, which were created and supported by PLEDDG, visited Toronto (Ontario, Canada) within the frames of the Associations Capacity Building Study Tour. The participants had an opportunity to improve their management and leadership skills; get familiar with the models of efficient associations management, strategic planning instruments, methods of cooperation with authorities and fundraising.

The “Quadrate” Youth Center hosted a working meeting on joint policy making of Vinnytsia social entrepreneurship development, during which the results of the project “Creating inclusive conditions for young people with severe disability based on the Social Workshops’ greenhouse business” were summed up. The project is implemented by the NGO “Association for Protection of Rights and Assistance to People with Disabilities “Open Hearts” with the funds provided by PLEDDG SME Support Fund.

The PLEDDG jointly with the Center for re-training and advance training of public officials, local governance officials, officials of state enterprises, institutions and organizations of Vinnytsia oblast held LED training in Vinnytsia. Local trainers from National Academy for Public Administration under The President of Ukraine were invited to conduct the training.

In the village of Dorozhne, Vinnytsia region, the Association for Protection of Rights and Assistance to People with Disabilities “Open Hearts” NGO equipped a greenhouse on the grounds of the Social Workshops. This was made possible through the project “Creating inclusive conditions for employment of young people with severe disabilities based on the Social Workshops’ greenhouse business”, with the financial support of PLEDDG’s SME Support Fund.

In 2018, Zhmerynka City Council received a financial grant from the Democratic Governance and Development Initiatives Support Fund as part of PLEDDG Project and is currently implementing a project aimed at putting sorting and separate waste collection activity into practice as well as developing Zhmerynka citizens’ environment preservation skills. The youth and budget sector employees have become the project’s pathfinders.

Successful development of Ukrainian territorial communities and meaningful transformational process relies on people ready to work under new conditions both professionally and in terms of their worldview. It is vital that they have knowledge of new technologies in local economic development management and relevant skills to apply it in the context of a certain community. PLEDDG Project provides a comprehensive assistance for its partner cities to build an efficient cooperation across all levels of governance and enhances the capacity of Ukrainian municipal sector through extending cross-sectoral dialogue, integrated planning of local economic development, and strengthening of public service capacity based on customized training programs.

“Social Enterprise “Business Training Centre” Public Union, Poltava, employs people who found themselves in difficult situations. The organization won a financial grant to purchase new equipment in the framework of the Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurship Support Fund of PLEDDG Project. Besides, PLEDDG team provided advice to the organization and organized training sessions. The key objective of this support is to provide assistance in finding solutions to problems such as social inequality and social isolation, economic instability of the disadvantaged members of the local community.