“The Platform for National – Local Dialogue on Open Government in Ukraine embodies what the Council of Europe and its Congress promote: the importance of multilevel governance and consultations between central and local authorities. Such dialogue helps to build resilient democratic systems based on transparency, accountability and public participation”, emphasised Congress Director Claudia Luciani addressing the 110 participants of the 6th annual meeting of the Platform, held online on 19 February 2025.
For his part, State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleksandr Yarema stressed that “implementing open government principles is a precondition for Ukraine’s reconstruction. It is a step to establish a transparent and accountable governance system based on people’s needs, and to create an atmosphere of trust where citizens see that their votes and their ideas are taken into account”.
The Platform, established in 2021 by the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC) with the Congress support, serves as a space where Ukraine’s central and local authorities co‑ordinate their action in implementing the national Action Plan on Open Government for 2023–2025. The Platform’s 2025 meeting focused on the importance of involving civil society, as well as underrepresented groups, especially when co-designing commitments of the next national Action Plan.
During the meeting, the municipalities of Kyiv, Orzhytsia and Zviahel presented their new local action plans to promote transparency, participation and accountability, while Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil and Vinnytsia described the initiatives already put in place – including on e-governance, youth participation and community engagement – and shared their lessons learnt and good practices.
The event took place within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Open Government Partnership (OGP), the AUC, and the Congress. It was jointly organised with the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as part of the project “Strengthening multilevel governance, democracy and human rights at local level in Ukraine” implemented by the Congress within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026.
