As part of the official programme of the European Week of Regions and Cities, representatives of municipalities and local government associations from Ukraine and EU countries gathered to develop practical solutions for partnership building. On 15 October in Brussels, the event “Start Municipal Partnerships with Ukraine” took place.

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The event was organised by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR International) in cooperation with the Cities4Cities initiative under the Polaris Programme “Support to Multilevel Governance in Ukraine”, as well as the NGO Stand with Ukraine.

At the European Committee of the Regions, around 100 participants worked in groups on various topics — from identifying what prevents municipalities from starting partnerships to finding ways to make existing cooperation long-lasting and dynamic.

 

 

“A partnership is not only a cooperation between municipalities, administrations, or politicians.  It is also a chance for local society — civil organizations and businesses — to have their own place in Ukraine to connect with. At the same time, it is a reminder that Ukraine today is a candidate country for accession to the European Union. This fact should run as a common thread through all our partnership initiatives.” — Magnus Lilleström, Senior Advisor, Polaris Programme, SALAR International.

Partnerships that inspire

The interactive session began with speeches from those already implementing joint projects between their communities. Among them were Bart Somers, Mayor of Mechelen (Belgium); Claire Hart, Vice President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole (France); and Ostap Protsiuk, Advisor to the Mayor of Lviv (Ukraine).

 

 

“Being a mayor is not only about bridges, roads, or cultural centers — it’s above all about values. From that perspective, the best thing we have done is our sisterhood with Lviv. Our firefighters sent equipment to Lviv — and were inspired by the work of their Ukrainian colleagues. Our police handed over patrol cars — but gained new approaches to their own work. This partnership is not one-way. In truth, we receive more from Lviv than we can give.”
 — Bart Somers, Mayor of Mechelen

 

 

Ostap Protsyk, Advisor to the Mayor of Lviv, added:

“We are deeply grateful for all the help and support, but we also always think — what can we give in return? The experience of living and working under immense pressure, in extremely difficult circumstances, is also knowledge that we can share. Because war, unfortunately, is not the only ‘black swan’ that can come into the life of our communities — there are natural disasters, industrial accidents, terrorist and hybrid threats, pandemics”

 

 

Claire Hart, Vice President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, shared about cooperation projects with their twin city — Mykolayiv:

“We’re working on a wonderful project with Mykolayiv — a skate park in the city.
 We’re an urban sports city, so we’ll realize it together: building a skate park and holding an urban sports festival. It’s deeply motivating for young people in Mykolayiv, helping them look to the future, feel joy, and live the life that children should be living.”

This project between Montpellier and Mykolaiv is a great example of how jointly implemented ideas can continue to remind us of the partnership and bring lasting benefits to the partner municipality.

A common plan of action

Each group during the interactive session worked on different topics – from what prevents municipalities from starting partnerships to how to make existing collaborations long-term and dynamic.

 

 

The interactive session resulted in concrete ideas for developing international cooperation between municipalities. The event itself became a platform for new connections between communities from Ukraine and the EU.

New partnerships were born during the event – and existing ones also reunited: Caen (France) and Khmelnytskyi, Merelbeke-Melle (Belgium) and Kalush.

The Cities4Cities initiative implements the “International Municipal Cooperation” sphere of the Polaris Programme “Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine,” funded by Sida and implemented by SALAR International.

 

 

 

Author: Snizhana Palazhchenko