The Kherson Region Regional Development Agency “Office for European Integration” signed a memorandum with the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) and officially became a member of the organisation.

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The signing ceremony took place in Brussels on 12 October during European Week of Regions and Cities. Information about this was published by the Swiss-Ukrainian “Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development” (UCORD) Project.

UCORD Project supported the participation of the Ukrainian delegation. The delegation includes representatives from the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine, regional military administrations, and regional development agencies from non-pilot and frontline regions, as well as representatives and experts from UCORD and partner organisations.

 

 

During the meetings, representatives from Kherson region spoke about the challenges in frontline and de-occupied communities, particularly with regard to water supply, energy resilience, infrastructure restoration, and the local economy.

 

 

Dmytro Butrii, First Deputy Head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, emphasised that the region has to respond to security challenges and plan for recovery at the same time:

‘Today, Kherson region faces extremely challenging conditions. Our communities face security challenges every day, but at the same time, we have to think about their recovery and future development. Therefore, it is important for us that the Regional Development Agency becomes part of the European professional community. Membership of EURADA brings new opportunities for international cooperation, drawing on European experience, and finding practical solutions for our communities.’

 

 

Oleh Kulakevych, Director of the Kherson Region Regional Development Agency “Office for European Integration”, noted that membership would provide the agency with more opportunities for direct contact with European partners, the exchange of experience, and the development of joint projects:

‘For our agency, membership in EURADA is not just a new status, but an opportunity to take our cooperation with European regions to a completely new level. We are working on the recovery of de-occupied communities, water and energy resilience, the development of the local economy, and engaging international partners. We now have even more opportunities for direct contact, the exchange of experience, and the development of joint projects. At the same time, we are ready to share our own experience of working in wartime conditions. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to EURADA for their trust, and to UCORD Project for their support and assistance in our integration into the European community. For us, the most important thing is that this membership delivers tangible results for the communities of Kherson region.’

 

 

President of EURADA Theo Föllings suggested that sustainability should be viewed as the ability of regions to adapt to unpredictable challenges. In his view, it is underpinned by strong institutions, innovative enterprises, research organisations, high-quality public services, and access to funding.

‘We cannot prepare for every crisis, but we can prepare our regions to adapt to almost any crisis,’ emphasised Theo Föllings.

He also stressed that European regions can learn from Ukraine’s experience, particularly in supporting the vital functions of communities in wartime. He identified cooperation and trust between people as the key conditions for successful adaptation.

Maryna Bryl, UCORD Project Leader, invited other Ukrainian regional development agencies, especially pilot and frontline agencies, to join EURADA. Supporting such partnerships forms part of the Project’s systematic efforts to strengthen the institutional capacity of Ukrainian regional development agencies and their integration into European regional development networks.