On 29 August the Board meeting of the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils (UAROC) took place in Kharkiv. In addition to the leadership and representatives of district and rayon councils - members of the UAROC, the event was attended by Members of the Parliament of Ukraine, heads of state authorities, civil society representatives and experts.
One of the main topics of the UAROC Board meeting was co-operation with the Council of Europe Programme "Strengthening Good Democratic Governance and Resilience in Ukraine". The Programme's Manager Olga SHEVCHUK presented key areas of collaboration with the Association in 2024, covering various aspects of multilevel governance, where analysis of training needs of local officials and councillors at rayon and oblast levels remains a priority. By the end of this year, the Association the Council of Europe Programme plan to have developed a draft National Training Strategy for local authorities at the regional and subregional levels.
The National Consultant of the Council of Europe Programme Vira KOZINA presented the report "Training Needs of Local Officials and Councillors of Rayon and Oblast Councils." This document was prepared by the Programme at the request of Association based on the results of two studies conducted using the Council of Europe's toolkit "Training Needs Analysis and National Training Strategy".
Notably, over 94% and 96% of local officials and councillors of rayon and oblast councils expressed the need to acquire knowledge about the new Law "On Service in Local Self-Government Bodies." You can find the report here (in Ukrainian).
As a result of the participation of the Council of Europe Programme in the UAROC Board meeting, a number of short- and long-term actions were agreed upon. Active co-operation between the Council of Europe and the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils continues.
For information: The Council of Europe Programme "Strengthening Good Democratic Governance and Resilience in Ukraine" is implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine "Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction" (2023-2026) by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance, which operates within the Secretariat of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
