News

#ChangingCities Campaign demonstrates successful examples and innovative approaches to democratic governance and local economic development in Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Poltava and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts in Ukraine, that have resulted from the efforts of PLEDDG

PLEDDG Steering Committee meeting was focused on the discussion of sustainability mechanisms for initiatives developed together with PLEDDG. This is one of the priority tasks that will allow to continue the development of municipal sector strengthening practices in Ukraine, implement effective democratic governance and create favorable conditions for the development of small and medium-sized businesses at the local, regional and national levels.

On December 12, with the support of PLEDDG and the Association of Ukrainian Cities, the Second All-Ukrainian Forum of Signatory Cities to European Charter for Equality of Women and Men ‘Methods and Instruments for Charter’s Principles Implementation’ was held in Kyiv.

Kyiv hosted the main event in the field of gender equality policy in Ukraine - the Third Ukrainian Women's Congress. PLEDDG is one of the permanent partners of the event. Every year, the event brings together representatives of business, public, government as well as foreign experts to discuss topical issues of economic and political empowerment of women in Ukraine.

On December 11, the working group meeting on the preparation of the Social Entrepreneurship Development Program was held in Vinnytsia. The group includes PLEDDG experts, representatives of public organizations, social enterprises, business associations and educational sector. Vinnytsia became the first Ukrainian city to initiate the development of a systemic document to support inclusive business.

Lviv hosted the ‘Climate Ambitions of Cities’ National Forum organized by the Ukrainian Climate Network with the support of 350.org, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Bureau Kyiv-Ukraine and PLEDDG. Today, the state of the environment directly affects economic indicators. Unwillingness to pay attention to threatening climate change is a wrong path, which can lead to disastrous consequences not only for the environment, but also for the development of the country.

A festival of business ideas StartUp Fest was held in Zaporizhia with the support of PLEDDG. The event was initiated by the regional and municipal authorities, Zaporizhia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

On November 29, the final event of the Accelerator of Creative Women's Startups Project Startup Demo Day was held in Ivano-Frankivsk. Ten women who were selected to participate in the program by the independent Accelerator Council had a unique opportunity to present their startups to experienced entrepreneurs and receive their professional comments and advice on further development.

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.

Global trends are forcing enterprises to keep up with the times, or reformat the process of production. At the same time, there are industries, which in the nearest future will become a thing of the past. At the local level, the shutdown of even one of such enterprises might result in under-fulfillment of local budget indicators and loss of workplaces. This can be prevented by encouraging investors to develop prospective sectors of the economy in the regions. Such enterprises already exist in Ukraine.