For the third year in a row, the Local Association of Local Governments ‘EU Strategy for the Danube Region’ has been co-organising the National Day of Ukraine’s Participation in the Danube Strategy, a platform for dialogue between civil society and government.
The Day of Ukraine’s Participation in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region is an important national forum to bring together key Ukrainian stakeholders interested in the implementation of the EU Danube Strategy, including representatives of central and regional authorities, civil society, academic and expert community, politicians and local actors, and to improve interaction and coordination between them. The idea of the Ukraine’s Day of Participation in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region is closely linked to the concept of the Danube Participation Day, a regular event held on the eve of the annual EU Danube Strategy Forums, which serves as an interactive platform for communication and exchange of experiences between civil society and local actors, including local and regional authorities, academia, international organisations and other stakeholders in the EUSDR.
Ukraine was the first country in the Danube Region to host a national event on the EU’s Danube Strategy. On 22 April 2015, the 1st National Day of Ukraine’s Participation in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region was held in Kyiv in the form of public hearings to bring together key Ukrainian actors interested in the EU Danube Strategy and consolidate the efforts of the government and civil society to ensure Ukraine’s effective participation in the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. The 1st Day of Ukraine’s Participation in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region was organised by the Centre for Regional Studies (Odesa), the Danube Civil Society Forum and the 10th Priority Area of the EU Danube Strategy ‘Institutional Capacity Building and Cooperation’ within the framework of the EU-funded project ‘Strengthening Civil Society Participation in Assisting the Government in Implementing the EU Strategy for the Danube Region’.
On 3 October 2018, the 3rd National Day of Ukraine’s Participation in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region was held in Odesa. This year, it was combined with the 2nd Donor Conference ‘Danube Dialogue on Financing and Capacity Building’ – a platform for communication between project initiators and various donors, which allows for a deeper look into the needs and challenges faced by project initiators, presentation of financial opportunities (public and private) for various initiatives in the Danube Region, and strengthening of cooperation between stakeholders. The 3rd Ukraine’s Participation Day in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and the 2nd Donor Conference ‘Danube Dialogue on Financing and Capacity Building’ were aimed at discussing the available instruments to facilitate Ukraine’s participation in the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, in particular, institutional capacities and financial opportunities for relevant activities.
Chairman of the Association ‘EU Strategy for the Danube Region’ Yuriy Maslov stressed the importance of such events and focused the attention of the participants on solving certain issues related to the implementation of the Strategy in Odesa region.
The event was organised jointly with the Odesa Regional Council, the Local Association of Local Governments ‘EU Strategy for the Danube Region’, the Danube Civil Society Forum, the 10th Priority Area of the EU Danube Strategy ‘Institutional Capacity Building and Cooperation’, the Centre for Sustainable Development and Environmental Studies of the Danube Region and the Centre for Regional Studies with the support of the Foundation for Strong European Regions ‘Foster Europe’ and the State Foundation of Baden-Württemberg.