On 6-7 May, the sixth Educational Recollections ‘The value of education in the hromada: existence, development and significance’ took place in the Kirovohrad region, organised by the Polaris Programme ‘Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine’. The event brought together heads of education authorities from 15 regions of Ukraine, hromadas representatives, experts, officials and partners to discuss the key question of how to foster a genuine appreciation of education as a strategic resource for hromadas development within Ukrainian society.
The central topic of the event was education, not merely as a service sector, but as the foundation for hromadas development, its capacity, human capital and future. This was the focus of the philosophical discussions, practical case studies, debates on management decisions, exchanges of experience and the development of future approaches to the development of education in hromadas.
On the first day of the meeting, during the plenary discussions, participants discussed the challenges of transforming senior specialised schools, the role of hromadas in creating a high-quality educational environment, the strategic importance of education for regional development, and the need to rethink approaches to education management.
Nadiia Kuzmychova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, noted that the reform of senior specialised schools should provide pupils with a genuine choice of educational pathway and high-quality specialised education, regardless of where they live.
‘Senior specialised schools are about giving every child the opportunity to receive a high-quality education in line with their interests, abilities and future career choices. To achieve this, hromadas must become partners in change and foster a strong educational environment,’ said Nadiia Kuzmychova.
During the event, particular attention was paid to international experience. Susanna Dellans, head of the Polaris Programme team and representative of SALAR International in Ukraine, noted in her video address that in Sweden, education is traditionally regarded as one of the key investments in hromadas development and sustainability.
‘The Swedish experience shows that where a hromada invests in education, trust and resident engagement grow, as does the community’s ability to thrive even in difficult times. That is precisely why education must be a shared value of the hromada,‘ said Susanna Dellans.
The second day of the event was devoted to practical solutions and an introduction to the activities of the Kropyvnytskyi Inter-school Resource Centre – a modern educational hub for pupils in years 7-9. Participants saw how ordinary technology lessons can be transformed into a space for intensive practical training, career guidance and the development of modern skills.
The Polaris Programme also presented the results of its long-standing work on identifying and scaling up successful management solutions in the field of education. In particular, participants were shown the top 10 best educational practices from Ukrainian hromadas – examples of solutions that are already in place and can be replicated by other hromadas.
Among the practices recognised are the development of inclusive education in Drohobych, Sarny and Obukhiv; the establishment of specialised education at the Andriy Korczak Lyceum in Stryi; student self-governance at the Kobliv Lyceum; professional communities of teachers in the Stryi hromada, optimisation of the educational network in the Semeniv hromada, the development of school entrepreneurship in the Teofipol hromada, as well as the transformation of the teaching council and the creation of a media space at the ‘European’ Academic Lyceum of the Lubny City Council.
During the Educational Recollection, special recognition was given to the winning hromadas of the competition to support projects promoting the value of education, which the Polaris Programme implemented as part of its crisis support for hromadas. The aim was to strengthen existing educational initiatives and scale up successful practices in hromadas. The evaluation criteria included the relevance of the issue, the level of engagement of pupils and hromadas residents, the project’s impact on educational development, and the prospects for scaling up. The supported hromadas received computer equipment and expert mentoring support.
The winners in the ‘Value of Education’ category were the hromadas of Lyubotyn, Myropil, Kropyvnytskyi, Veselynivka, Koblivka and Opishnia. Their projects focus on the development of digital hubs, career guidance, inclusive education, the use of artificial intelligence in education, and the creation of modern educational spaces.
At the end of the event, the Polaris Program experts announced the start of preparations for the upcoming seventh Educational Recollection, which will take place in October 2026 in the Poltava region. The symbolic Polaris star was handed over to representatives of the Poltava region as a baton for the next event – a sign of the continuation of joint efforts to develop education in Ukrainian hromadas.
