The Congress held co-organised a webinar, on 17 July 2020, on "National – Local Collaboration on Open Government in Ukraine", with the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC) and the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Secretariat. The aim was to enhance the inclusion of Ukrainian local and regional authorities in the design and implementation of the National OGP Action Plan, in line with the OGP Local Strategy. In the webinar, formats of consultation and co-creation between national and local authorities were examined, and the discussion on the establishment of a platform for national - local dialogue on open government in Ukraine was initiated.

“Open government has become an essential condition for participatory, inclusive and open decision-making at all levels in a multi-level governance system”, stressed Congress Secretary General Andreas Kiefer opening the webinar. “Therefore, local and regional elected representatives should lead change in their communities with the introduction of open government innovations and the promotion of a more transparent and inclusive local governance”, he continued. “In addition, the ongoing decentralisation and local self-government reform in Ukraine represent a good opportunity to localise open government and meaningfully include local authorities in the design and implementation of the Open Government Partnership commitments of the Ukrainian national action plan”, added the Secretary General.

"Today we are starting a process that may bring Ukraine into the spotlight by gathering together all levels of government for a comprehensive realisation of open government," he concluded.

The webinar was attended by 50 representatives of local and regional authorities (candidates to the OGP Local Programme), the AUC, representatives of the Government – including Oleksandr Yarema, State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as well as CSOs members of the OGP Co-ordinating Council, the OGP Steering Committee and Secretariat, and international experts from Argentina, Canada and Georgia.

The webinar 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.