A two-day training course on decentralisation reform has taken place in Kyiv. The participants were mostly representatives of regional offices of reform and municipalities.

The objective of the training was not only to provide the participants with more information about the reforms themselves, but also to give them the tools to promote reform in their respective communities:

Anatoliy Tkachuk, Civil Society Institute Director: "The more people know about the reforms, the more successful and correct they'll be. And to maximize the number of people, who know about them, there should be specialists, who know everything about the reforms and can communicate this knowledge to others in simple, plain terms."

Anatoliy's institute has been working on decentralization reform for many years. But he agrees with many that during the last year, the process of reform in Ukraine has been expedited significantly. First results have already been achieved:

Anatoliy Tkachuk, Civil Society Institute Director: "Budgeting decentralisation has already taken place. It has actually changed the Ukrainian budget system so its now similar to the one which exists in Denmark, Sweden or Norway".

Mikhail came here from Kharkiv to learn more about decentralisation reform. He says that a lot of people still don't understand its benefits.

Mykhailo Tretyak, Chairman of Kharkiv District Council: 'The best argument, which will convince people, is to show how much they spend now in taxes and what services they get, and how much they'll spend in the future and what services they'll get. And what are the opportunities for the community, for their children.'

With more and more people learning the true nature and benefits of decentralization reform, Ukraine has all the chances to have another success story, provided the current pace of reform does not change.