On 20 May 2026 in Kyiv, representatives of eight Ukrainian municipalities met during the Interim Workshop for Grantees: Local Initiatives 2025–2026 to review progress, exchange experiences and strengthen co-operation on open government and human rights at local level.
The workshop brought together representatives of Bila Krynytsia, Hlyboka, Ivanivka, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Orzhytsia, Ternopil, Smila and Zviahel. Since the launch of the initiatives in late 2025, participating communities have introduced local solutions aimed at increasing transparency, accountability, participation and inclusion, while strengthening democratic resilience in the context of wartime and recovery.
During the workshop, communities presented the progress achieved so far, shared practical experiences from implementation and discussed common challenges faced by local authorities. Participants highlighted the importance of peer exchange and practical co-operation between communities, which helped them share approaches, lessons learned and solutions for strengthening participation and inclusive local governance.
As part of the mid-term review process, municipalities also received practical feedback on narrative and financial reporting. The afternoon sessions focused on engagement community resources: participants worked through practical exercises to map available local stakeholders and financial partners and explored tools relevant to the local context, selecting the most suitable approaches to ensure the long-term sustainability of their initiatives. The workshop helped participants identify areas for improvement and strengthen the further implementation and sustainability of their initiatives ahead of the final stage of the projects. It also created a space for collective learning, exchange of practices and further networking among participating communities.
The event was organised within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023–2026 and the project “Strengthening multilevel governance and local democracy to support Ukraine’s recovery”, implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
