On 25-26 August the Council of Europe project “Strengthening democratic resilience through civic participation during the war and in the post-war context in Ukraine” in collaboration with the "E-Governance for Accountability and Participation Program" (EGAP) of the East Europe Foundation organised two-day Expert Camp "Adaptation of School participatory budgeting and transformation of Participatory budgeting mechanisms " in Lviv.

The aim of the event was to introduce new and adapt existing regulations “On School PB implementation”  and "On Participatory Budgeting implementation" in project partner communities. This adaptation aims to utilise the mechanisms within the constraints of wartime, limited funding, particularities of educational process and needs of IDPs to ensure the stability of democratic processes, as well as the recovery and development of Ukrainian communities.

Representatives from 17 local self-government bodies participated in the event: they worked in groups facilitated by experts. During the Expert Camp, participants drafted 17 regulations on School PB and formulated a set of recommendations for the School PB and PB implementation based on their communities’ needs.

"European standards of civic participation highlight the importance of citizens' engagement, especially the youth, in decision-making processes. Participatory budgeting and School  participatory budgeting are among the most effective tools for fostering active citizenship and developing crucial skills among school students, empowering them to become change-makers in their schools and communities. Our ambitious goal is to assist Ukrainian communities in adapting the School PB to today's context and take a significant step towards implementing the PB using the new Council of Europe model. It is noteworthy that the Ukrainian experience is already inspiring other Council of Europe member states. Thus, our aim is to further expand the number of communities effectively implementing School PB and PB, where residents and young people participate in the allocation of local budget funds to implement their ideas and projects," stated Daryna Sokolova, project officer of the Council of Europe project on civic participation.

"Civic participation is always relevant, and even a full-scale war is not a reason to discontinue Participatory budgeting and School participatory budgeting as instruments of civic participation. In Ukraine, there are communities that have launched participatory budgeting this year, rather than simply releasing projects from previous years. Participants of our Expert Camp have the opportunity not only to adopt a general template of regulations on civic participation but to adjust it to the specific needs of their communities. I believe that we will have compelling success stories of School PB and PB implementation in Ukraine," added Oleksandra Radchenko, the coordinator of the electronic democracy component of the EGAP Program.

As a result of the two-day workshop, representatives from 17 local self-government bodies from various regions of Ukraine developed:

• 17 draft regulations “On School Participatory budgeting implementation";
• 992 proposals for the implementation of the new model of the Participatory budgeting mechanism in Ukraine;
• 84 proposals for the implementation/adaptation of the School participatory budgeting mechanism.

Therefore, each of the 17 local self-government bodies now possess drafts of School PB regulations, tailored to their communities’ needs. This is the first step towards adapting/implementing the School PB within the constraints of wartime, limited funding, and considering the unique aspects of the educational process and the needs of IDPs.

The draft regulations can be submitted for voting at city council sessions by October 2023.

The Council of Europe project “Strengthening democratic resilience through civic participation during the war and in the post-war context in Ukraine” is designed to support the implementation of the objectives set out in the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026) to strengthen the democratic processes and address the challenges public authorities are facing in the time of war and in post-war context through active and effective civic participation at the local, regional and national level.

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