Addressing the first meeting of the Platform for National – Local Dialogue on Open Government in Ukraine, on 8 April 2021, Congress Director Rafael Benitez highlighted the importance of strong partnerships for building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions of governance at all levels.
While congratulating Ukrainian authorities on this initiative, he stressed that the “Platform can be seen as a comprehensive approach to joint achievements of national and local authorities within the new Action Plan for the Implementation of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Initiative in Ukraine”.
Oleksandr Yarema, State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, underlined that the new “OGP Action Plan is a joint initiative of all stakeholders to make a difference in the lives of citizens. This is why the Platform we created is of a paramount importance.”
The Platform for National – Local Dialogue on Open Government in Ukraine was established by the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC), with the support of the Congress. It aims to foster co-creation and exchange of good practices between the national and local levels on open government policies and new legislation, and to ensure the involvement of local authorities in the design, implementation and evaluation of the OGP Action Plan in Ukraine. The meeting was attended by representatives of around 50 local and regional authorities, the AUC, the three Ukrainian members of the OGP Local Programme, representatives of the Government and civil society organisations.
The event was organised as part of the project "Strengthening democracy and building trust at local level in Ukraine” implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018‑2021. The project aims to improve the quality of local democracy in Ukraine by strengthening institutional frameworks and by supporting local authorities and their national associations in their efforts to promote ethical decision-making and more citizen-oriented, inclusive and transparent local governance.
