The Agency for Legislative Initiatives and the Ukrainian School of Political Studies with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation have launched a selection for the Environmental Mentoring program! You can fill in the application form from June 24 to July 14 inclusive.

With the beginning of the decentralization reform, Ukrainian amalgamated territorial communities have gained more power, but many of them lack experience in solving urgent problems. This is especially true of environmental problems, for which communities need knowledge, the help of qualified personnel and an integrated approach.

The Environmental Mentoring Program is the first and unique project of its kind in Ukraine. This is part of the School of Community Leaders project, which aims to deepen cooperation with amalgamated territorial communities and provide them with long-term support to address environmental issues.

At this stage of the project, we will hold a three-day workshop for mentors on environmental issues. The objectives of this session are to teach mentors the basics of amalgamated territorial communities environmental impact assessment, waste management strategies, sustainable natural resource management, and adaptation to climate change.

The next stage after the seminars is the work of mentors directly with the amalgamated territorial communities. After the training, environmental mentors will be able to advise communities on environmental issues and approaches to solving them. Each participant in the environmental mentoring program will work with a specific amalgamated territorial community in Ukraine.

We are looking for people who:

1. are ecology students, environmentalists, local activists or volunteers;
2. have research interest and work on solving environmental problems in Ukraine;
3. take an active position in life and are ready to use the acquired knowledge for the benefit of society and the community;
4. are ready to work with one of the communities selected at the first stage with the help of tools obtained during the training, during the third stage – September-December 2021.

Approximate dates of the program:

Therefore, do not miss the opportunity to join a large-scale project that will help start solving environmental problems at the local level! The selection will last until July 14!

We could not stay away from when we heard about Volodymyr Zelensky’s new initiative – to build a “Presidential University”, which “should become a modern innovative educational and research center.”

The university is planned to teach specialists in the following fields: information technology, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, aerospace, energy technology, biotechnology, and health sciences, globalization, and international communications.

According to the Minister of Education and Science, the construction of the new higher education institution will cost 7.2 billion UAH. The university itself should be located on the territory of the “Expocenter of Ukraine”.

The President’s initiative has yet to be approved separately by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Still, we draw attention to the need to address other issues that accompany higher education as a matter of priority.

The education system is a critical area for the country’s development, so changes should be carried out comprehensively, using research rather than the desire to raise the rating. The creation of a new university, no matter how good it will be, does not solve systemic problems, of which there are many in Ukraine. This includes low salaries of research and teaching staff, corruption on some levels of higher education, and an epidemic of plagiarism, and, most importantly, in this case, a large number of already established educational institutions that do not provide consistently high-quality education for all students.

In 2016, the experts of the Agency prepared a Shadow Report, analyzing the reform of the education system, and unfortunately, many of the problems mentioned in it are still relevant today. In this report, we noted the need to provide priority funding for “strong” Ukrainian education institutions that have the potential to join the leading universities in Eastern Europe by gradually reducing state support for lower-level higher education institutions.

We should also not forget that universities are created not only for students. First of all, they are research centers. The money planned to be allocated to the new university could be used to fund research programs in the areas mentioned above.

Universities that have existed in Ukraine for decades already have the necessary base and reputable capital, so they will need much less financial investment than creating a new institution. As a result, the probability of spending 7 billion UAH on the construction of the “Presidential University” seems to be an inefficient use of available funding and certainly not a priority step to improve the quality of education in Ukraine.

Another problem with Zelensky’s new project is that it is planned to be implemented in Kyiv. The capital already has a significant number of universities, including the most prestigious and best in the country. Implementing a project of this scale outside Kyiv could accelerate economic development and increase investment attractiveness for the regions.

The creation of a new university can be seen as a purely populist step, as it completely ignores the institutional problems of Ukrainian education, turning its attention to one striking point example that creates the visibility of changes.

The Selection Committee has completed the formation of a group for the XV-XVI Ukrainian School of Political Studies program, which will take place in 2021. The First Session of the USPS program will begin very soon, and our Community will become even bigger.

Every year we monitor our applicants and observe the dynamics of selection. So this year, we also prepared some interesting data on people who filled out the application form to participate in the USPS 2021.

In particular, this year, we have almost equal applicants among men (51%) and women (49%). The average age of applicants is 34 years. Among those wishing to join the USPS program, 58% are from Kyiv or the region, 42% – from other regions.

More than half of the applicants in 2021 (62%) filled out the application form for participation in the School for the first time. For us, this indicates, first of all, that the interest in the Ukrainian School of Political Studies is not waning. And this motivates us to improve the program every year and work more and more on developing civil society in Ukraine.

Interestingly, this year we have a huge number of applications from representatives of the political and civil service sector, compared to last year. In 2020, by contrast, most applicants were from the business and legal community. Unfortunately, the media and creative professions are traditionally the least represented, but we are constantly working to increase this industry’s interest in the USPS program.

This year, we also analyzed applicants’ responses to the virtual interview, which is a regular part of the application for USPS. Thus, we received data that almost a third of our applicants consider themselves suitable for the position of Minister/Deputy Minister. Another 28% have the ambition to be a Member of Parliament of Ukraine.

Almost all applicants (96%) approve of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language”. 84% of applicants want to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

We continue to unite people by common values and views. Thanks to everyone who submitted their applications this year. We value every applicant.

Selection for the fourth School of Community Leaders is now opened! You can fill in the application form and apply for participation in the program from April 15 to May 10.

The School ща Community Leaders is a project designed to bring together local leaders from all regions of Ukraine and help them develop their communities. Decentralization reform has initiated an irreversible process of change. That is why it is now essential to strengthen Ukraine on the local level, to help new leaders from the regions to take responsibility and implement further changes.

The School of Community Leaders Program was launched in 2015 under the auspices of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies and the Agency for Legislative Initiatives with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

During this time, we have results that prove the need for further work with communities:

• 3 programs of the School of Community Leaders have been conducted since 2015. 2 of them were dedicated to the preparation for the local elections.
• > 250 representatives of local self-government and civil society became Alumni.
• 48% of Alumni of the program of different years ran in the 2020 local elections. 40% of them won.

The School of Community Leaders 2021 will differ from the programs of previous years, responding to the challenges that communities from different regions of Ukraine face on a daily basis. Community issues cover a wide range – from safety and clean environment to problems with access to quality medicine and education. And we will work together to find solutions for all these problems.

This year’s training will focus not only on good governance skills, decentralization reform, and community participation tools. We plan to deepen our cooperation with communities and provide long-term mentoring to address the urgent needs of communities.

Special attention will be paid to environmental mentoring, during which program participants will learn more about environmental impact assessment for communities, adaptation to climate change, disposal of household and other waste. Issues related to environmental safety, access to medicine, and education will be explored in detail through public participation tools – Town Hall Meetings and social audit.

We encourage to apply people who:

1. are representatives of local self-government at all levels, heads of the amalgamated territorial communities, local activists, and volunteers;
2. have significant professional achievements and demonstrate leadership qualities;
3. take an active position in life and are ready to use the acquired knowledge for the benefit of society and community;
4. have trust and support of the community;
5. will be able to involve their community in an environmental mentoring program and work with an environmental consultant;
6. ready to work with the community using the tools learned during the training after completing the program.

The School of Community Leaders 2021 is planned to be held offline. However, due to quarantine restrictions, the program dates may change (participants will be notified in advance). Participation in the program is free, as the International Renaissance Foundation supports the project.

Approximate dates of the program:

More details of the program and answers to important questions about this year’s program are here. For any other questions, please contact the e-mail address info@usps.org.ua or the Facebook page of the USPS.

On March 1, the Ukrainian School of Political Studies opened the selection for the 2021 program. Applications will be accepted from March 1 to 21.

The Ukrainian School of Political Studies is one of the most successful educational and network projects in Ukraine. USPS belongs to a network of schools of political studies established under the auspices of the Council of Europe. The Ukrainian School was established in 2005 as a joint project of the Council of Europe and the Agency for Legislative Initiatives.

In 16 years, we have brought together more than 500 successful leaders from various fields – civil servants, lawyers, businessmen, scientists, politicians, journalists, representatives of creative professions, and public figures. The Ukrainian School of Political Studies is not just about studying, we are creating a Community of like-minded people united by common values and a mission to develop a democratic Ukraine.

If you share the School’s values and want to join the largest Community of value-oriented leaders in Ukraine – be sure to apply.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO:

1. have significant professional achievements in the field of political, social, scientific, creative, and entrepreneurial activity, journalism, politics, jurisprudence;
2. take an active civil position and can apply the acquired knowledge in their daily activities;
3. are citizens of Ukraine under the age of 40 who have higher education; if your age exceeds the requirements, we encourage you to apply in any case;
4. knowledge of foreign languages is an additional advantage.

YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT THE TERMS OF ADMISSION AND COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM HERE.

On December 8, as part of the World Forum for Democracy, the Ukrainian School of Political Studies held an online discussion “If the State Fails: Public Participation in Environmental Policy”.

The World Forum for Democracy is an integral part of the USPS program. Every year, in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe holds a large-scale discussion on a particular issue. However, this time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Forum for Democracy was moved online. But this does not mean that the discussions have stopped and the problems have ended. This time the Forum will last for the next 12 months, during which participants will try to answer one question – can democracy save the environment?

In the online discussion from the Ukrainian School of Political Studies participated civic activists who have created large-scale environmental projects for Ukraine and government officials. Together, they tried to decide how the state and the public should interact to solve environmental problems. The conversation was moderated by Denys Kazanskyi, Journalist and environmental activist.

Experts agreed that today, unfortunately, environmental initiatives in Ukraine replace the functions of the state.

According to the speaker, environmental initiatives in Ukraine are similar to startups. Their goal is to create a certain public good. And society must decide how to support these organizations to ensure their sustainability.

In turn, Maksym Borodin, Environmental activist and member of the Mariupol City Council, spoke about his environmental protest experience in the struggle for clean air with industrial enterprises in Mariupol. Due to the pressure, Mariupol residents managed to force large industrial facilities to start modernizing their equipment. However, the speaker is sure that protests are a temporary means of influence.

The next speaker, Artem Romanyukov, is USPS alumnus and co-founder of the environmental chatbot Saveecobot, which already has more than 1 million active users. After several years of working to make it easier to breathe in his hometown, Dnipro, the speaker is convinced that environmental activities should start with education.

Lyubov Kolosovska, co-founder and director of the organization “Batteries, surrender!” (a project that collects batteries and organizes the recycling process) and USPS alumna, noted the importance of the financial component of environmental activism.

According to the expert, if the polluter can simply buy off, it is the avoidance of responsibility because responsibility relies entirely on the state. Instead, the state should delegate responsibility and authority to other entities, such as garbage-producing businesses, so that they can contribute to solving the problem themselves. The state should only control this process.

Head of Ukraine’s state ecological inspection service (2019-2020) and Head of the “Environmental Alternative” political party Yegor Firsov, in contrast, is convinced that neither democracy nor activism can solve environmental issues.

Lesya Vasylenko, Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management and USPS Parliamentary Program alumna, noted that synergy, coordination, and cooperation are needed to solve environmental problems.

Oleksandr Marikovsky, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management and USPS alumnus, also participated in the discussion. According to him, the fight against environmental problems depends on values.

In turn, Oleksiy Ryabchyn, Adviser to the Minister of Environmental Protection, Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister on European Integration, and USPS alumnus, shared his experience of cooperation between civil society and the state in environmental issues.

The discussion participants concluded that it is necessary to look for new ways of interaction between environmental activists and the state to achieve results not only through pressure, protests, demands, and crowdfunding initiatives. The state must provide support to civic environmental organizations and take over the functions of monitoring and control over Ukraine’s environmental situation, as no one else in the country has the authority to do so.

A recording of the broadcast is available here. And we publish the full conversation:

The election campaign officially started in Ukraine on Saturday, September 5. And the program of the School of Community Leaders, which lasted a month and a half, has just ended. And this means that the program participants are ready to plunge into the election race to fight for their chance for honest leadership.

We devoted the third module to practical tools for involving citizens. After all, it is impossible to be a leader without the community’s support, without uniting people around a common big idea. Community residents are not just voters. And winning an election with a successful strategy is just the beginning. After the election, the most challenging part begins – you need to interact with citizens, find the problems, and solve them together. Only in this way, we have a chance for the emergence of civil responsibility, which will not allow those who are not worthy of it to come to power over the years.

During the third module, students of the School of Community Leaders learned how to work with the community.

In particular, as part of the program, we conducted a live motivational session together with the finalists of the national TV project “New Leaders” for students of the School of Community Leaders. Mariupol City Council Member Maksym Borodin, Kotsyubynske Town Council Chairwoman Olga Matyushyna, and Mayor of Chortkiv City Volodymyr Shmatko talked about how they turn difficulties into opportunities and develop communities. Each of the speakers has extensive experience in local government. Facing new obstacles daily is a reality for those who undertake community development. But our speakers prove that the main thing is to go to the goal sincerely and devotedly, without stopping and without doubting it.

Oleksandr Slavsky, Director of the Odesa Regional Development Bureau and a USPS alumnus, shared his experience in establishing cooperation between local governments, communities, and civil society. In Ukraine, citizens have legal means of influencing the government. The main thing is to know and use them correctly.

Ruslan Deinychenko, the co-founder of the Stopfake project, told all about countering fakes and manipulation, which can hinder communication between society and government.

Nicole Ruder, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine, met with participants online to discuss the basic principles and possibilities of decentralization, which is an effective tool for overcoming global challenges. Each community can contribute to developing not only autonomously, but also to benefit the world, for example, by caring for environmental issues.

Olexandr Yarema, State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and a USPS alumnus, spoke about the experience of holding a Town Hall Meeting – a useful tool for involving citizens. The Agency for Legislative Initiatives and the Ukrainian School of Political Studies have been holding Town Hall Meetings for several years, during which citizens have the opportunity to discuss community issues. In the meantime, government officials can better understand citizens to overcome challenges together.

We managed to hold one training Town Hall Meeting with participants online! During the meeting, students tried to find a solution to the problem of a large number of outdoor advertising in cities, which, on the one hand, can spoil the appearance of buildings, and on the other – can bring money to the city budget. So at Town Hall Meeting, they learned to understand different stakeholders and look for consensus for all community members.

The latest video lectures of the School of Community Leaders were dedicated to innovative methodology. Oleksandr Zaslavskyy, Director of the Analytical Department of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, and Uliana Poltavets, Program Director of the USPS and Deputy Chairwoman of the Board of ALI, introduced participants to a unique for Ukraine tool of public control – social audit. We developed the methodology of social audit in the Agency for Legislative Initiatives with the support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. We will soon implement it in Ukrainian communities, particularly with the School of Community Leaders’ alumni.

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.