Time is relentless. Local elections in Ukraine will take place very soon – in less than two months. But we manage to prepare worthy candidates for the School of Community Leaders.

At the end of the first module, we held a live event for the participants with the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Dzerkalo Tyzhnia” Yulia Mostova. As always, a deep, honest, and therefore challenging conversation is needed to ensure that community leaders from all over the country are aware of the real state of affairs and understand the need to change it.

The second module was devoted to the nuances of this year’s elections and the tools of a successful election campaign.

Andriy Mahera, an expert in electoral law and deputy chairman of the Central Election Commission in 2007-2018, discussed in detail with the participants the new election legislation, all its positives, and shortcomings.

Together with political scientist and co-founder of the Civic Movement “SVIDOMI” Mykhailo Nakhod, the students had the opportunity to develop a victorious strategy for the election campaign.

Oleksandr Bondarenko, the RMA communication agency’s project manager, gave the participants valuable advice on how to communicate with voters. Today’s world is becoming digital, and therefore a successful election campaign is impossible without communicating with voters using modern technology. Where to establish contact with the people, what to tell them, and in which way? Our students learned at lectures and practiced themselves.

Olga Aivazovska, Chairwoman of the Board and Coordinator of Political Programs of the Civil Network OPORA, told the audience all about the crimes during the elections and the punishment for them after the voting. The result is clear – breaking the law is very dangerous.

At the participants’ request, we held a feedback-session with Pavlo Sheremeta, the founder of the proryv.in.ua analytical center, so that our students could discuss all local development issues in more detail with an expert.

The third and last module is currently underway. With the help of practical tools, participants learn to identify problems and solve them through government and citizens’ joint efforts.

The School of Community Leaders will end on September 6, just after the election campaign’s official start.

Studying at the School of Community Leaders-2020 continues! More than 200 people were selected and allowed to learn from the best. We have created a unique web platform for them so that our participants could listen to lectures, do homework, and communicate with speakers from anywhere in the world.

We are currently completing the first module devoted to local development, its problems, and opportunities in Ukraine. The participants have already passed 4 classes and met six incredible lecturers:

Oleksandr Khoruzhenko, a USPS alumnus and an expert on local self-government. In 2016-2019, Oleksandr headed the Sumy Center for Local Government Development. He helped participants understand decentralization reform and the legal framework for local self-government.

Pavlo Sheremeta, founder of the analytical center proryv.in.ua, member of the Supervisory Board of the Lviv Institute of the city and Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine in 2014. Pavlo knows a lot about urban development. Using the example of Lviv and Vinnytsia, the lecturer explained how to make a development strategy that will help make a breakthrough and create a city that will be comfortable for residents and earn money.

Ulyana Pak, a member of the Lviv City Council and a USPS alumna. During the lectures, Ulyana told from her own experience who a local councilor is, what his powers and responsibilities are, and what you should be ready for if you want to join local self-government.

The Transparency International Ukraine team, which conducted classes for participants on combating corruption at the local level. In particular, Andriy Borovyk, Executive Director of TI Ukraine, explained what corruption is and what its manifestations can be. Oleksandr Kalitenko, TI Ukraine’s legal adviser, spoke about the conflict of interest and how not to fall into this trap for local government representatives. Anastasiia Mazurok, TI Ukraine’s Chief Operating Officer, spoke about how local government transparency can effectively prevent corruption.

Svitlana Matviienko, Director of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies and Chairwoman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, and Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, inspired the participants to take responsibility and work for our country and each community.

The School of Community Leaders is back!

The Ukrainian School of Political Studies, with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation and within the framework of the LOCUS: Leaders of Communities in Ukrainian South project, announces the selection for participation in the School of Community Leaders program.

The local elections in Ukraine, which will occur this fall, are the first elections under the new Electoral Code, which significantly changes the rules for forming teams and campaigning. Right now, it is important to prepare community leaders to participate in elections and local self-government.

The program of the School of Community Leaders is aimed at developing and strengthening the effectiveness of local communities through the involvement of heads of united communities, representatives of local government, civil society, volunteer initiatives, active youth to participate in quality management decisions at the local level. This year’s School of Community Leaders project is a continuation of an initiative launched in 2015 before the local elections. The School of Community Leaders has brought together almost 200 activists, public figures, and local government representatives from all Ukraine regions.

We invite to submit the application people who:

• are representatives of local self-government at all levels, heads of united territorial communities, local activists and volunteers;
• have significant professional achievements;
• occupy an active life position;
• demonstrate leadership qualities;
• have the potential to use the knowledge gained through the project for the benefit of society and the community;
• have a credit of trust and community support;
• have sufficient motivation and discipline for independent learning;
• ready to work with the community with the tools obtained during the training, after completing the program;
• are citizens of Ukraine who have higher education.

This time we are selecting 200 participants who will take part in three training modules. Given the epidemiological situation in the country related to the spread of COVID-19, the educational program of the School of Community Leaders-2020 will be held fully online on a unique educational web platform that will allow training remotely at a convenient time, but at the same time provide opportunities for communication. The training will last from July 20 to September 4, 2020.

The program also provides training about innovative tools to involve citizens, in particular, the methodology of social audit. Participants are expected to be ready to use these tools in their communities after completion of the training in collaboration with the project team.

To participate, please fill out the application.

The application form can be submitted until July 10 (inclusive, until 23:59). Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

The information you provide in the application form is confidential and not subject to disclosure. Consideration of application forms is carried out consistently and impartially by members of the Selection Committee. The decision of the Committee is collegial. The organizers reserve the right not to provide explanations regarding the decisions made by the members of the Committee.

Calendar of the School of Community Leaders-2020:

If you have additional questions, please contact info@usps.org.ua (topic “School of Community Leaders”).

On February 29, the XIV Annual Meeting of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies took place. We gathered Alumni on this day not by chance. During this period – in late February and early March – the annexation of Crimea happened six years ago.

The peninsula was and remains an important part of the history of the School. We have been visiting Crimea every year since the beginning of the USPS. Our groups were hospitably hosted in Bakhchisaray Zindjirli Madrasa. But after 2013 it is impossible. We believe that future USPS groups will be able to visit the Ukrainian Crimea freely.

In the meantime, we wanted to remember together with the community the noise of the Crimean waves and plunge into the sea atmosphere. Thus arose the installation “Crimea”, which we presented at the Annual Meeting of the USPS. These are memories for each of us and an opportunity to feel a part of the home for the Crimean Tatar people.

We believe that the next groups of the School will be able to visit Crimea freely. In the meantime, let’s look for a “way home”, as Jamala sings.

In 2020, the Ukrainian School of Political Studies will be 15 years old. That is why we wanted to show the whole journey of becoming a Community, starting from 2005, when the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to establish the Ukrainian School of Political Studies.

“We are going through times of turbulence, but we have always sought to overcome them with you, pursuing only one goal – the idea of ​​Ukraine. Everything we have done for 15 years, we are doing now and will continue in the future – just for our state’s subjectivity, development, and progress. School is not a party or a network of useful contacts. I always say that the School is a sieve. This is a clear crystallization. And we say goodbye very easily to those who forget about these values,” – said Svitlana Matviienko, Director of the USPS, during her speech.

For 15 years, together, the whole community, we have overcome challenges and developed. Circumstances changed, political players changed, and we defended our principles. Ukraine needs justice, breakthrough, and unity. To this end, our community has always chosen one journey – the path of values, dialogue, enlightenment, and taste.

Our Alumnus, project director at the Centre of United Actions Andriy Andrushkiv, spoke about the importance of dialogue at the USPS Annual Meeting.

“The builders of the Tower of Babel not only failed the project. They scattered around the world and disappeared as a people. First of all, because they stopped talking to each other. We need a conversation. This should be a real dialogue, not a small talk over a glass”, – the speaker stressed.

At the same time, it is important to adhere to certain principles of dialogue. In particular, dialogue requires homework, effort to hear the other, silence, and attention.

According to the speaker, a dialogue is not a thing in itself, but a way to know the truth. We have a lot of topics for dialogue. How do we build a civil service system so that we have to serve there, not kowtow? How do we build a judicial system that will not pass politically motivated sentences? Only in the format of agreement, dialogue, co-creation can we invent the rules for the future. And, thus, to ensure that the country in the process of creation does not fall apart like the Tower of Babel.

Anna Kyrii, the founder of the architectural bureau and an Alumna of the USPS, opened the topic of architecture in politics for the guests.

“First we shape our buildings; then they shape us”, – speaker quoted Winston Churchill.

She told and showed how architecture reflects countries’ political regimes, how symbolic is the difference between democracy and authoritarianism on the example of buildings. In the first bridges are erected. In the second – fences rise.

“The philosophy of fences must be replaced by the philosophy of bridges. After all, the first ones separate, and the bridges unite“, – the speaker explained.

Ukraine inherited many authoritarian “political” buildings from the Soviet Union. Rebuilding the past for a new quality of the future is a new symbolic task for modern Ukrainian architects.

Yevhenia Zakrevska, Chair of the Bar Advisory Group and an Alumna of the USPS 2019, spoke with the School community about values. Yevhenia is a lawyer for the families of the Heavenly Hundred for Maidan affairs. She used to stand up for her principles, no matter what. In particular, in November 2019, Eugenia went on a hunger strike, when due to parliament’s actions, the investigation of cases was suspended. Because values ​​motivate struggle.

“Everyone has values. Attempts to instill something from the outside provoke resistance. And this is understandable. After all, this is an interference with the integrity of the individual. But even those values ​​that are your own actually limit your choice, reduce competitiveness, or even efficiency. There are no advantages from them. However, values ​​are about a compass, about the direction of movement towards civilization. It’s not just about fear. If you unite a large circle of people who have a single value scale, they will form a field of trust. Then there will be a leap in the development of the environment in which we live”, – the Alumna summed up her speech.

Andriy Stelmashchuk, the managing partner of Vasyl Kisil & Partners and an Alumnus of the School, spoke about justice as one of the community’s fundamental values ​​this evening.

“Law is the art of goodness and justice. The law is based on justice – everyone must have equal conditions. But justice comes when punishment is inevitable“, – said the speaker.

However, today in Ukraine, there are certain obstacles to achieving justice.

“Legal institutions – the judiciary and law enforcement – have a high level of distrust. This means that people want justice, but they cannot get it in these institutions”, – Andriy Stelmashchuk said.

Legal activity, the main purpose of achieving justice, is now mixed with business all over the world. Here, says Andriy, it is important to remember that a lawyer is not a businessman because his main goal is not to make a profit. A lawyer is, first and foremost, one who cares about justice.

The director of the Swiss Cooperation Office, Nicole Ruder, described how the Ukrainian School of Political Studies overcomes challenges with the help of its basic values. She also said that Switzerland supports USPS on its path.

“Climbing a mountain is a challenge. It’s like your personal path here. Your values are spikes on the soles of your shoes that do not allow you to “slip”. Your community is like a rope. It does not exist to lift you up a mountain. Its purpose is not to let you fall. Each group of the School is your constantly climbing team. Behind and in front of you – “mountain range”. Switzerland is happy to support you on this path. And, in the end, everyone goes their own path. Keep going up and enjoy the scenery”, – Ms. Ruder explained metaphorically.

Rustem Umerov, a representative of the Crimean Tatar people and co-founder of the Astem Foundation, stressed the importance of unity for Ukraine now in order to preserve its sovereignty and statehood.

People come together because they have something in common. However, according to Mr. Umerov, only unification for the sake of positive development, for the sake of justice and peace, protection of common values ​​can be really long-term.

There are many examples in Ukrainian history of how unity helped to achieve the highest goal.

“Last year we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Act of Unification of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic. Then Ukrainians proved to the whole world that unity could take a concrete political and legal form – a single Ukrainian state. We had to pay a terrible price for this because the Soviet regime saw the unity of Ukrainians as a threat to their own existence. We survived the Holodomor, repression, but we won. We restored our statehood, created a political nation. The Ukrainian state flag is now proudly flying all over the world,” –the speaker said.

And now we need the unity of all citizens of Ukraine again to defeat the enemy. The truth has nothing to divide. The truth is what unites.

“When we talk about the strategies of de-occupation of Crimea, it is necessary to consider many factors. First of all, we must restore not only the territorial integrity of the state. We must provide conditions for the political and cultural unity of our citizens. Do not unify them using tools of influence. However, unite them, preserving the identity of each ethnic and religious group. To unite on the basis of common values, vision, purpose. We can use the “unity of identities” approach”. I think this is our strength“, – added Rustem Umerov.

The last action of the XIV Annual Meeting of the USPS was the awarding of diplomas to the group-2019.

The USPS community welcomed 33 participants which are representatives of civil service, business, civil society, academia, arts and media.

As every year, the First Session of the National Program aims to give participants not only a deep understanding of European values, historical, social, political, economic processes, but also become a source of inspiration and understanding of new opportunities for their own development.

Svitlana Matviienko, Chairwoman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, welcomed the participants of the XIV Program, said: “USPS is a value-based platform that is designed to gather and develop leaders of change.”

Olena Lytvynenko, Deputy Head of the Office of the Council of Europe in Ukraine, spoke about the network of the Schools of Political Studies of the Council of Europe and the place they occupy on the agenda of the Council of Europe. In particular, Ms. Lytvynenko explained that the Ukrainian School of Political Studies has prominent real results and a powerful network throughout the country.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze, Vice-Prime-Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, discussing the topic, stressed that European integration is already a reality, as the level of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU is unprecedented. Ivanna also added that in the EU there is a growing awareness that without a strong Ukraine there will be no safe Europe. At the same time, our task is to inform our European partners that Ukraine is not a “problem”, but a contributor to European security and economic growth.

What does it mean to make responsible judgments? How to distinguish true opinion from random and unconditional judgments? This was spoken during the First Session with Yevhen Bystrytsky, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Philosophy of Culture, Ethics and Aesthetics at the Institute of Philosophy of NAS of Ukraine, a member of the Supervisory Board of the USPS. 

Ella Libanova, PhD, Director of the M.V. Ptukha Institute of Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, told about the features of the future demographic situation on the second day of the first session of the USPS.  

Oleg Ustenko, Ph.D., Executive director of The Bleyzer Foundation, told participants how the global and Ukrainian economy functions in a new normality. The term was introduced immediately after Trump won the US elections. Everything that was absolutely abnormal in the past has now become absolutely normal. All economic theory is based on rationality in behavior. And in conditions of new normality rationality is not always observed.  

Today Ukraine needs to give the world a powerful signal that our economy can be invested into. But first we need to learn how to manage public finances. Participants talked about this with Viktor Pynzenyk, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, a member of the Committee on Budget, the Supreme Council of Ukraine, professor.  

Ulana Suprun, acting Minister of Health of Ukraine, and Oleg Petrenko, Head of the National Health Service of Ukraine and USPS alumnus, talked about radical transformations in the health care system. Ulana spoke about the success of the reform and stressed the importance of a strong team of professionals who are making daily changes. Oleg shared the history of the personal path to the civil service, and outlined the main areas of responsibility of the Health Service.

Always a sincere conversation. Always a challenging talk. Yulia Mostova, editor-in-chief of Mirror Weekly and member of the Supervisory Board of the USPS, gave her assessment of the current political situation. Charity, professionalism, ability to listen and hear each other is something that is not enough for today’s society and elites in particular.

Historical consciousness is an integral part of national identity, and therefore, a significant socio-political factor. But in a post-truth era, we cannot count on a holistic identity. Natalya Yakovenko, a professor at the Department of History of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, shared his thoughts on the value orientations of Ukrainians in a historical retrospective.

Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, talked about an agenda for counteracting Russian aggression for the new government. Oleksander analyzed the main threats, assessed the negotiation process and described possible scenarios for the development of the situation.

In the classical children’s book, “Never-Ending Story”, a fictitious country is absorbed by Nothing. For five years, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been in the “gray area” both from the point of view of law and security, and the Crimean Tatars are being persecuted. And for five years there are no definite holistic strategies for returning the Crimea. Has the point of non-return already passed and can Nothing be diverted? In a frank conversation with Refat Chubarov, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, and Tamila Tasheva, Coordinator of Crimea SOS, the group talked about the future of Crimea. 

In recent decades in Ukraine there is a discussion of the main problem of the nation’s existence – its identity. The issue of Ukrainian national memory, the controversial attitude to Soviet history, the clash of ideological orientations, the European path and isolationism are actively used in the political struggle. With Ola Hnatyuk, a professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the University of Warsaw, participants discussed postcolonial legacies and the transition from ethnic identity to civic identity.

This year the USPS Conference took place in the Theatre on Podil and was dedicated to the topic “Uniting. For what?”. The conference also took place in solidarity with USPS alumna Kateryna Handziuk and other activists who suffered attacks all over Ukraine.

The Conference traditionally gathered alumni of different years, from the first USPS program in 2005 to 2018. In the end of the Conference, participants of the program of 2018 received their diplomas. The Conference was also attended by friends and partners of the School.

Svitlana Matviienko, Chairowman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, and Marten Ehnberg, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, addressed the audience with opening remarks. Svitlana called USPS “a network of changemakers” that remains untouched and unshaken throughout time. Marten recalled how joint history of the School and the Council of Europe started.

The speakers also spoke about latest important political and social events, particularly the USPS project “New Leaders”. After the opening remarks, USPS alumnus and President of the ICTV channel Oleksandr Bohutskyi talked about conclusions drawn from the TV project “New Leaders” that provided support for civic activists, volunteers and important social projects. Talking about the winner of the project, an activist and local politician from the East of Ukraine, he said: “I believe this is an absolute success. Just think about it: the winning project was the environmental one by an activist from Mariupol”.

The first panel discussion was with Sviatoslav Vakarchuk. He talked in his capacity of civic activist and not as a singer. “I was expecting to just read my speech but I can see that you invited me for a discussion”, Sviatoslav was pleasantly surprised. And the discussion was indeed interesting, with all kinds of difficult questions. Sviatoslav talked about possible changes in Ukraine comparing us to more developed countries like Britain: “Ukraine is a less established state, which is why it is much easier to transform it”.

Sviatoslav answered many difficult questions from moderator Svitlana Matviienko and from alumni about fear for own safety, about populism, about more active citizen participation, about reintegration of Donbas and Crimea. “It is not important who you are – a businessman, an artist or an engineer – when it comes to the question whether to participate in politics or not. It is the desire to change the country that is important”, said Sviatoslav talking about businessmen, journalists and artists who became politicians after the Revolution.

After the discussion with Vakarchuk, Andrii Baumeister, professor of philosophy at Taras Shevchenko National University, took the stage. He spoke about unity. His main thesis wat that in order to become united, society must overcome the natural contradictions between the interests of the majority and the individual interests, find common values for all fragmented social groups in the country, and crystallize a unique public discourse. Apart from the question of what the state should be, the philosopher drew attention to the problem of public discourse of the EU. It manifests itself in constant “smoothing of the corners” and avoiding of complex topics for discussion. Market and political rules have long been holding back the degree of debate in the EU. However, if Ukraine finds its own way, its discourse may become both European and more frank.

The next speaker, Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze, Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, also spoke about Ukraine’s own way.

“Russia is still not ready to let Ukraine out of its arms. It gives us another test for stability and ability to protect ourselves,” she shared her political forecasts and beliefs. She also discussed the risk of radicalization of society as a result of the fatigue of the war, economic and social problems, the change in the tactics of the Russian Federation, and so on.

Ivanna criticized not only the Russian Federation, but also the conflict surrounding the process of the introduction of a martial law in Ukraine: “That day we forgot how well we are able to unite in the face of an external threat.”

However, she also stressed that over the past 5 years Ukraine had accomplished “incredible things” and thanked everyone who came to the public service and adequately withstands the complexity of this work.

Akhtem Seitablayev, actor and film director, also thanked new civil servants. His speech was dedicated to the topic of culture as a factor of unification of people. Through different narratives Akhtem proved and arts and culture can unite people in spite of political and historic conflicts, particularly, when it comes to Crimea and the rest of Ukraine. Akhtem also talked about Crimea, namely the cultural ways of uniting the Crimeans and, in particular, the Crimean Tatars. The director is convinced that new forms of unification of Crimean Tatars are possible even in the present time of occupation and “Crimean” skepticism.

The Crimean topic closed a block of discussions with experts. After a break, Kateryna Zagorii, USPS alumna and the founder of the Zagorii Foundation talked about joint projects of USPS alumni and the School and how alumni can support the community.

A new partnership of the School was also announced, with a magazine LDaily, an analytical business magazine.

The Conference concluded with a play “Six Characters in Search of an Author”, the complex story of the search for real values from the Nobel Prize winner Luigi Pirandello performed by the troupe of the Kyiv Academic Drama Theatre on Podil under the direction of the People’s Artist of Ukraine, winner of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize Vitaliy Malakhov.

This year’s USPS delegation participated in the World Forum for Democracy that took place on 19-21 November in Strasbourg.

World Forum for Democracy that is annually held in the Council of Europe in Strasbourg is always a part of the program of the School. This year’s Forum’s topic was “Gender equality: Whose Battle?”. What role does unequal division of powers between men and women play? How to avoid gender-based violence? Why now, in 2018, gender stereotypes still hinder women’s ability to achieve their goals in civil, political and economic areas even in democratic states? How exactly all of us, women and men, can win from gender equality? These and other topics were raised during three days of the Forum.

First panel discussions were dedicated to the following topics:
–      Women and power: towards 50/50;
–      Problem of sexism, discrimination and violence against women;
–      Security, democratization and women.

USPS delegation addressed the audience at the Council of Europe several times this days with questions regarding the attacks on civic activists, securing rights of women on the territories occupied by Russia – Crimea and Donbas, and gender equality in different professional spheres.

On this day, USPS participated in round tables and labs on the following topics: artificial intelligence and gender equality, women and migration, feminist investigative journalism, religion and feminism, women in cinema etc. USPS participants also met with Permanent Representative of Ukraine in the Council of Europe Mr Dmytro Kuleba and Ukrainian Judge of the European Court of Human Rights Ms Hanna Judkivska. The delegation discussed topical issues for Ukraine at the Council of Europe, possibilities for development of institutions and reform of Ukrainian diplomacy. With Ms Hanna Judkivska at ECHR, the delegation discussed difficulties of implementation of decisions of the Court in Ukraine and reasons for popularity of the Court among Ukrainians.

Party Innovations Hub is an initiative of International IDEA and Ukrainian school of political studies, Agency for Legislative Initiatives’ project.

Oleksandr Iakymenko, Program Coordinator for Ukraine, International IDEA, told about the importance of Party Innovation Hub, which is the answer to the challenges of global processes, in particular, the crisis of representation – the gap between voters’ needs and their elected representatives’ activity. Oleksandr stressed that, on the one hand, voters should better communicate their needs and aspirations; however, on the other hand, political parties should better listen to their voters and respond to their expectations. Party Innovation Hub is focused on the innovative communication and work technologies, both with voters and within the political parties.

Svitlana Matviienko, Chairwoman of the Board, Agency for Legislative Initiatives, told about the necessity and importance of political education, stimulation of women’s participation in political process, and the development of an effective communication model. Svitlana drew attention to the fact that party digitalization helps to build intraparty democracy, transparency and accountability of parties. It also helps in democratic consolidation.

Yevhen Barshchevskyi, Coordinator of Public Consulation Program at National Democratic Institute, told the participants of the Party Innovation Hub about the system of conducting public consultations “Your Opinion” (“Vasha dumka”), which gives political parties, and NGO networks the opportunity to deliver information and receive responses via online SMS-voting or voting on the site; as well as the resource “CiviCRM”  – a system for monitoring relationships and interaction both within the party and in communication with voters.

Yulia Reshitko, Communications Manager of CHESNO Movement, and Igor Feshchenko, Analyst on political finances of CHESNO Movement, presented Party Innovation Hub participants the tools that help political parties gain competitive advantage in the political debates. For example, PolitHUB is the base of politicians and parties that have at least once participated in national or local elections since 1998. The resources gathered data from the Central Election Commission, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, local councils, party websites, National Agency for Prevention of Corruption, party archives and media archives.

Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Chief Executive Officer at Transparency International Ukraine, discussed the openness of political parties with the participants of the Party Innovation Hub.

Why openness and accountability are essential for political parties? Which are the key audiences for political parties? Who are the main stakeholders of political parties?

Oleg Medvedev, political consultant, discussed with the participants of the training the ratings, organizational capacities of political parties, and probable political strategies before the elections.

Michael Babyak, Dome Inc., Former Director of Marketing Technology of the Republican National Committee and Trump campaign, told Party Innovation Hub participants about the factors that made Trump’s campaign successful.

How did the Republican Party use digital? What is the basis of a successful fundraising campaign? How to involve volunteers in your campaign? How can video help in this process? What is the positive impact of digital technology on the work of political parties?

Yegor Aushev, Co-Founder, Hacken, and Oleksiy Denysyuk, Cyber security consultant, Hacken told the Party Innovation Hub participants, what is cyber security; who are such “white hat” hackers and whether they can protect your system from the “black hat” hackers violations; what are the cyber threats of the modern world; how the Internet users’ information is collected, and how can we protect ourselves from this.

Yaroslav Vedmid, CEO and Co-Founder Postmen, told Party Innovation Hub participants how many Ukrainians are online today; how much time they spend there, and what they do online; what content is most appreciated, and how to adapt your content to the audience’s interests; why in social media fakes are much more popular than facts; how to analyze the impact of your content on the audience; what is artificial intelligence today.

State mechanisms are outdated all over the world. The world has technologically exceeded all the traditional political systems of representative democracy. Now, any person on the planet has no need in parliaments, or in various kinds of deputies and other authorities – the bulky state structures, or the multimillion army of officials. Now it is possible to own a remote control of the State Service of the People in your smartphone. What services should be provided instead the variety of state functions? What will Ukraine look in future? – Sergiy Gaiday, Director of Strategical Planning of Social Engineering Agency “Gaiday.com”, discussed these issues with Party Innovation Hub participants.

Oleksandr Bondarenko, Head of Special Projects at Digital Communications Agency “Reputation Management Agency” told Party Innovation Hub participants about the general trends in social media; about what kind of content is most popular; how Ukrainians read news in social networks; which sites are the most visited; which social media and messengers are most popular among Ukrainians; what are the secrets of creating successful content; how to use big data.

What are the interrelationships between the peculiarities of the organization of human psyche and the political process? How did politics affect cognitive evolution? How do processes in our brain affect our perceptions of politics and politics itself? What are the latest achievements of neurosciences in their projection on the specific characteristics of the political life of humans? – Denys Poltavets, an expert on civil society development, told the participants of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies.

Discussion of the participants of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies on local development as a driver of transformations in the country with Andriy Sadovyi, Lviv Mayor.

People tend to believe that politics and morality are incompatible each other. This tradition dates back to Machiavelli. The polar opposite position is that of Kant: people in their behavior must be guided by moral motives rather than practical needs (moral imperative). Not every successful policy is highly moral, but any immoral policy is devastating. Ukrainian realities provide a lot of illustrations of the devastating effects of immoral power. Is moral politics possible in Ukraine? Can politics be moral? Should we talk about a moral movement? – these are the topics raised by Myroslav Marynovych, Vice-Rector for University Mission, Ukrainian Catholic University, in his conversation with the School participants.

How does the church issue affect the electoral choice in the history of Ukraine? Why do politicians occasionally try to play a religious card on the eve of the election? Why does country with Hyperloop proving ground need a charter of the church presiding officer? How not to build own Russian Orthodox Church in a hybrid war with Russia? – Andriy Andrushkiv, Head of the Department of Public Policy and Advocacy, NGO Centre UA, USPS Alumnus, discussed these issues with USPS participants.

The Soviet secret services are covered with a halo of mysteries and myths. Opening up their archives is invaluable for qualitative historical research, because it is through them that we can establish real events and facts, and get rid of mythology. The open archives of the Soviet secret services are a fence that makes it impossible to return to the Soviet past, showing the crime of Soviet government and the communist regime. What secrets contain the archives of the Soviet secret services? Why open archives are important for modern Ukraine? – Ruslan Zabily, Director of the National Memorial Museum of Victims of the Occupation Regimes “Tyurma na Lontskoho” in Lviv, told participants of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies.

There are more than 300 political parties in Ukraine. However, how many of them can actually be called a political party? The growing importance of “all-embracing” parties is characterized by appealing directly to social groups, the increasing role of leadership groups and the personalization of politics, an increase of the influence of the groups of interest on party politics, the blurring boundaries of the parties’ social base, diminishing role of the ideological factor in developing party strategies and programs. How can Ukrainian parties be characterized? How do they position themselves before the elections? How do they build a voter relationship? – Anatoliy Romanyuk, Ph.D., Head of the Political Science Department of Ivan Franko Lviv National University, told USPS participants.

We live in the 21st century, when women and men in a Ukrainian democratic society enjoy equal rights and opportunities, equal access to political life, equal pay and professions of their choice. Is this myth or reality in modern Ukraine? Empirical tendencies show a deepening of differences between women and men who enjoy the same rights de jure and de facto. What are the ongoing challenges for achieving gender equality in Ukraine? – Marcin Walecki, D.phil, Head of the ODIHR Democratization Department, discussed these issues with participants of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies.

Usually it is believed that the quality of government decisions depends primarily on the quality of the people who take them. As a result, the unsuccessful policy of the Government is explained mainly by subjective factors: “wrong people in government” and the proposed solutions are reduced to replacing their predecessors with successors. However, is it enough to change people in order to change the quality of decision-making? What else should we change fundamentally? How is this related to the ongoing reform of public governance? – Oleksiy Honcharuk, Ph.D., Head of the Office of Effective Regulation (BRDO), USPS Alumnus, explained these issues to USPS participants.

In oligarchic state only a small group of wealthy people, who also rule the state, has a limited access to the benefits created by whole society. Douglass North called such state a state with limited access. Such access to goods is realized in Ukraine. In democracies, access to wealth has a much wider group of people – the middle class. Maidan of Dignity carried out an anti-oligarchic revolution – a leap from the oligarchic state with limited access to a democratic state with wide access. What was the purpose of Maidan of Dignity? What is happening in Ukraine: a social revolution, a civil war of a middle class with an oligarch, or a Putin aggression? – Taras Vozniak, Editor-in-Chief of the Ї journal, discussed these issues with the participants of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies.

So far, Ukraine’s development strategy was the snail’s strategy: “slow, but confident.” We need to make a jump. In addition to the political, the jump should have a humanitarian dimension. Economic changes cannot occur without the change of the core society values. Those who come to power for the sake of reform can accelerate this process in order to prepare society for a jump. In Ukraine, with the appearance of new values’ bearers, the conditions for such a jump have matured. What are the values ​​of modern Ukrainian society? What is needed for the “jump”? How can we overcome history and move forward? – Yaroslav Hrytsak, Ph.D., Professor of the Ukrainian Catholic University, member of the Nestor group, told USPS participants.

The Seminar covered the issues of justice and politics, influence of modern technologies on political processes in Ukraine, political corruption and transparency, causes, dynamics, and transformation of conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, comprehension of the concept of “new normality”, political forecasting and the art of improvisation in politics.

USPS participants met in Odessa in order to rethink the ideas and principles on which the socio-political, economic, and cultural processes of the present are based; as well as to develop their own understanding of the defining trends of the present days.

Violent conflicts have their own dynamics and logic. They unfold in time and space accumulating vast human and material resources. They ruin social institutions and destroy social capital. At the same time, conflicts create new opportunities, give a push for transformations, and make people change. In the last 20 years, just a small number of violent conflicts were resolved. Majority of these conflicts are still in active phase or under the threat of escalation. Can humanity find ways to transform violent conflicts? Are we destined to repeat our history over and over again? – Igor Semyvolos, Executive Director, Centre of Middle East Studies, talked about these issues.

What is a state? Why do we need it? What are the main goals of the policy? What should be the state in the near future? Can we outline the main features of the future policy? The answers to these questions are closely related to how we understand justice and whether we believe that public institutions should implement the basic principles of justice. However, what is justice? At the very first attempt to answer the question of the nature of justice, we notice that it is very difficult to reach a common point in our responses. Is the lack of agreement on ideas about justice a disadvantage or advantage? Majority of modern political debates focus on the discussion about the nature of justice. The fact that we are compelled to conduct these discussions, as well as the fact that we have different ways of evaluating key political and social practices, contributes to raising the level of political life. The policy of the close future will involve the society in the discussion of “difficult topics”. This is a policy of common good, – Andrii Baumeister, PhD, Associate Professor at Theoretical and Practical Philosophy Department at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, summed up.

How do human body and politics relate? Does the body influence politics? Where is the line between “seeming to be” and “being”? What is the body of a politician like? Are flirt, erotica and sex levers of political influence and power? Does this help or vice versa? Photo as a presentation and “consolidation” in history. Art and literature in the political process, – all this was discussed during the seminar with Svitlana Matviienko, Chairwoman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives.

State mechanisms are outdated all over the world. The world has technologically overwhelmed all the traditional political systems of representative democracy. Now, any person on the planet has no need in parliaments, or in various kinds of deputies and other authorities – the bulky state structures, or the multimillion army of officials. Now it is possible to own a remote control of the State Service of the People in your smartphone. Everyone can personally represent and defend their interests without intermediaries. Of course, we still need management and managers in the public sector. However, the meaning of their work must radically change. Blokchain, cryptocurrency, electronic cadaster of land and property, big data are no longer a science fiction, but a reality. But if the civilized world can’t immediately abandon traditional state institutions because they still work efficiently and new services are introduced gradually, Ukrainians can do it today and radically, because our state service is absent, the ruling class is corrupt. After doing this, Ukraine can jump ahead of the entire planet – Sergiy Gaiday, Director of Strategical Planning of Social Engineering Agency “Gaiday.com”, discussed these issues.

Money in politics is a necessary component of any democratic process that allows political support, political participation, and active support for electoral competition. At the same time, political funding also presents a particular risk to any democratic and economic system, threatening to capture political decision-making processes with personal interests and episodes of endemic political corruption. What is at the crossroads of funding rules for political parties, public procurement procedures, and the declaration of assets and income of political and civil servants? What do the relevant authorities do to combat corruption in these areas and which mechanisms can be used to improve these efforts? – Marcin Walecki, D.phil, Head of the ODIHR Democratization Department, told USPS participants.

During policy planning and implementation, one of the most interesting resources is an image of the future, which it proposes. However, often political forecasts in Ukraine can be manipulative and overly subjective which negates their importance in good policy making. What are the methods of political forecasting and the spheres of its use? What are the main principles of short-term and long-term forecasting and opportunities for its implementation? – Mykhaylo Koltsov, PhD, Senior Lecturer of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, talked about the methods of political forecasting.

What are the interrelations between the nature of the political regime, the provision of public goods and the political activity of citizens? What characterizes the state-making process? How a “natural state” transforms into a “state of the common good”? What is the role of the citizens in this process? What is the trajectory of the evolution of political regimes after 1991, including in Ukraine? What can we learn from the experience of Paleolithic bombing? Why is the level of violence falling in the modern world? What is the tyrannical world? – Ivan Gomza, PhD, Docent of Politology Department at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Lecturer at the Kyiv School of Economics, discussed these issues.

Every day every one of us is an actor of the improvisation genre. Politics, business, love, childcare etc are all acting where we only have one choice to make: either we are being “played”, or we “play”. Improvisation is creation of an act during its performance. How to use improvisation in politics? How to talk to the audience? These questions were answered by Anatoliy Neyolov, Head of the “Black Square” Theatre.