Financial resources are not the only way to bring about qualitative changes in the municipality. A key role is played by the motivation and cohesion of its residents, their willingness to work together to improve living conditions in the municipality.

The municipality of Kozelshchyna presented their vision of making effective management decisions that help the municipality develop even in times of war. More than 15 heads of municipalities of the Poltava Oblast took part in the experience exchange event “Synergistic Approach in Addressing Issues of Social and Economic Development of the Municipality in Wartime” organised by the local Regional Office of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme.

Village head Oleksandr Trotskyi spoke about successful projects and best practices, as well as the approach to decision-making. Anyone can see the changes in education, culture, utilities and housing sector, youth policy and tourism.

A participant of the event, MP Kostiantyn Kasai, shared:

“In the Kozelshchyna municipality, we have an example of successful solutions to complex issues of local self-government in wartime that could be credited to the fact that the head of the municipality managed, in such a short time, to bring together not only a team of good managers, but also socially responsible businesses, public activists, NGOs and young people who have become the drivers of positive changes.”

The participants of the event visited the Smart Space, took a stroll through the village, visited the Kozelshchyna Lyceum, witnessed the work of the Kozelshchyna Utility Company that implemented the practice of waste sorting, saw the go-karting section and the tourist club.

Smart Space — the cultural space in the Kozelshchyna municipality — is an example of the joint efforts of the authorities, socially responsible businesses and the local public. This is also the case with the local tourist destination, a water body where tourists can have a quiet moment of rest, and the coach of the local youth sports school teaches rowing to children who have brought home many prizes and even championship titles from competitions. The water body maintenance and tourist attractions are the result of the partnership between the municipality and entrepreneurs.

Another example is the introduction of waste segregation. Here, glass and plastic are collected separately. The entire municipality is involved in the implementation and support of this eco-friendly practice. The money collected from the collected plastic went to the construction of a skate park. With baby steps, the municipality is revitalising the public space here, and they are doing it following the feedback from the public and the youth. There are progress reports and all those participating are always credited. People are happy to hear about their contribution, no matter how small, and this changes how they see the results.

The Kozelshchyna municipality is successful in bringing together the public and the private, and social cohesion drives public engagement. It should be noted that the local budget is very modest. It is about 100 million per year, which is average for the Poltava Oblast. However, a synergistic approach to addressing issues of social and economic development delivers tangible results.

“The Kozelshchyna municipality in the Poltava Oblast is a great example of how you can grow with synergy of efforts, how a settlement municipality can effectively implement youth policy with the help of this synergy. We are studying the best practices and spreading them,” said Iryna Balybina, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD.