Ukrinform reports that the Polish experience of the reform of local self-government and decentralisation became the main topic of the 2nd Polish-Ukrainian Forum “Hromada. Efficient development. Investments”, held in Kharkiv.

“The process of decentralisation and local self-government reform is being actively pursued in the Kharkiv Oblast, and now there are 13 capable amalgamated hromadas with population ranging from 6.5 to 26 thousand people. Today, our common task is to ensure the development of their territories, to find points of growth, provide power tools and effective management ... The Poles believe that the local self-government reform is their most successful reform, which made Poland the country we know now. Therefore, the very experience of the Polish reform is extremely useful now for the Ukraine’s self-government, and especially for its eastern regions,” said Diana Barynova, forum’s moderator and director of the Kharkiv Local Government Development Centre.

According to the forum’s programme, by the end of day two discussion panels will be held: the study of the Polish experience in the territory management, infrastructure development, creation of comfortable conditions for the residents and establishment of a business environment, encouragement of investors to develop the territories, approaches to the investors’ search and self-positioning of hromadas, cooperation between Poland and Ukraine in the field of local development.

The forum gathered more than 400 participants – the representatives of local self-government, Ukrainian and Polish business and expert circles, as well as public organisations. Yulia Svitlychna, head of the Kharkiv Oblast State Administration, Serhiy Chernov, chairman of the Kharkiv Oblast Council, president of the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils, Janusz Jablonski, Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Kharkiv, Jacek Piechota, president of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and president of Europe North East International Association, ex-Minister of Economy of Poland, and others were among the participants of the event. The initiators and organisers of the forum are the Kharkiv Local Government Development Centre, Kharkiv Oblast State Administration, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Kharkiv, U-LEAD with Europe programme, NGO “Polish-Ukrainian Agrarian Association”, International Solidarity Fund ...