Council of Europe Office in Ukraine launches the project “Promoting civil participation in democratic decision-making in Ukraine”. The project will build on the results of the past pilot project which promoted the creation of the Kyiv NGO Platform and online hub “Spilno” for facilitating consultations and input by civil society to decision-making by the Kyiv public authorities, by further strengthening civil participation in Kyiv, extending support to other municipalities and focusing on strengthening civic engagement public consultations at national level.

On 20 December 2018, at the strategic session organised by the Council of Europe project, Kyiv NGO platform took stock of the platform achievements and initiatives aimed at promoting a culture of civil participation and active engagement of citizens in local public life in Kyiv. With the Council of Europe expert support, the platform members formulated priorities and a strategy for the sustainability of the platform and further effective engagement with public authorities in the decision-making process.

The project activities, inter alia, highly interactive and practical training programs and seminars within the Academy of Participatory Policymaking, will be aimed to increase civil society expertise and capacity to engage in policymaking, creation and reinforcement of NGO platforms, participatory democracy tools and public consultation mechanisms, fostering a new, inclusive approach to political decision-making through more open government and a professionalisation of participatory decision-making formats and communications.