At the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026), the Agency for Legislative Initiatives (ALI) — represented by Kateryna Riabiko, Chair of ALI’s Board — signed the Gdańsk Common Message together with representatives of Ukrainian and international organisations as part of the Civil Society Forum. The document sets out a shared vision for Ukraine’s recovery and priority actions for the Ukrainian Government and international partners, adopted during the Civil Society Forum in Gdańsk on 25–26 June 2026.
The document states that recovery processes should be based on local leadership, transparency, accountability and democratic values. Participants in the discussions stressed that rebuilding institutions and strengthening civic participation are inseparable components of the country’s reconstruction.
The Forum also included meetings with alumni of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies (USPS), which the Agency established and has developed under the auspices of the Council of Europe since 2005. Their leadership in civil society, public administration, business, defence, local self-government, international cooperation and entrepreneurship is a vivid demonstration of the long-term impact of investing in the development of a values-based leadership model in Ukraine.
Kateryna Riabiko noted that today USPS is much more than an educational programme. It is a community of people who shape Ukraine’s future every day across a wide range of fields, support one another’s efforts and unite around shared values. She added that last week she represented Ukraine as part of a delegation at VivaTech in Paris and this week at URC in Gdańsk. In the view of ALI’s Chair of the Board, the value of such events lies in being able to connect them into a coherent picture and a shared outcome in addressing the challenges Ukraine faces today.
In addition, Kateryna Riabiko and USPS alumni took part in discussions on democratic governance, legislative reforms and the role of civil society in Ukraine’s recovery and continued European integration.
Background
URC 2026, co-hosted by the Republic of Poland and Ukraine, brought together representatives of governments, international organisations, business, local self-government bodies and civil society.
The aim of URC 2026 is to strengthen international support for the country’s reconstruction and stimulate investment in Ukrainian business. The event focuses on the sectors most affected by Russian aggression: energy, critical infrastructure and logistics. As a high-level platform for facilitating investment, URC brings together international, sovereign and private investors to accelerate deal-making and lay the foundations for long-term economic transformation.
A separate focus of this year’s Conference is on strengthening Ukraine’s security capabilities, as strengthening the country’s defence capacity is regarded as a necessary precondition for broader reconstruction and long-term development.
