News

The training became an important step in strengthening the network of regional branches of the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities (AUC) and enhancing their capacity to effectively serve communities and increase membership in the association.

 On 15 August, an educational discussion titled “How to Avoid Mimicking Senior School Reform?” took place in Chernivtsi.

On August 15, participants of the regional meeting in Ternopil sought answers to how hromadas can become places of strength and support for those returning from the war, within the framework of implementing modern veteran policy, organized by the Swedish-Ukrainian Polaris programme in cooperation wi ...

On 14 August 2025, the inaugural meeting of the “Women in Local Self-Governance” network initiative was held in Lviv.

Join the second info session on applying for the competition with your partner municipality, scheduled for 27 August at 11:00 Ukr time (10:00 Swedish time)

From 5 to 8 August, experts from the “Support for Accessibility of Administrative Services” direction visited six hromadas in Mykolaiv Oblast – Chornomorsk, Voskresensk, Kazankiv, Doroshivka, Prybuzhany and Syniukhyn Brid, and also began cooperation with the Korop hromada in Chernihiv Oblast.

From 6 to 8 August, the expert team of the “Education at Local and Regional Levels” direction of the Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine (Polaris) programme carried out a series of working visits to Chernivtsi Oblast. The purpose was to expand regional cooperation, strengthen partnerships, a ...

On 6–7 August, the Polaris Programme team began a series of working visits to ten partner hromadas within the “Citizedn Engagement on the Local Level” component. The aim is to assess the state of public participation and cooperation between local self-government and civil society, and to support hro ...

On 5 August, representatives of 13 partner hromadas of the Polaris Programme under the “Locally-led Recovery” component took part in an online training session on “Informing Residents about the Recovery Process”.

Last week, the first wave of working visits by Polaris Programme experts began in hromadas selected as partners under the “Supporting Administrative Service Accessibility” component.

On 29–30 July, the “Local and Regional Education” team of the Polaris programme conducted a two-day working visit to the Ovidiopol hromada in Odesa oblast. This visit marked the beginning of a new level of cooperation with education stakeholders – at the district level – complementing the exist ...

On July 11 in Rome, five new partnership agreements were signed between Ukrainian communities and municipalities from four EU countries. These partnerships are now part of the Cities4Cities community within the “International Municipal Cooperation” sphere of the Polaris Programme

At the URC 2025 in Rome, a high-level panel discussion was held on the role of municipalities in fostering resilience, cohesion, and European integration.

The Locally-led Recovery  team, in cooperation with 13 partner hromadas, has successfully completed the first phase of work, which included initial data collection, needs assessment, and agreement on further areas of cooperation.

On 11 July, Kropyvnytskyi hosted a joint regional meeting of the Polaris Programme, Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration, and representatives of territorial hromadas of Kirovohrad oblast, focused on veteran policy.

This is the first large-scale initiative to prioritise early childhood education, mobilising partners for the comprehensive transformation of the sector and to boost investment

The Swedish-Ukrainian Programme Polaris “Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine” invites hromadas to join a new partnership within the focus area “Integrating Veteran Perspectives into Local Governance in Ukraine.”

The expert’s work will involve close cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Digital Transformation. Applications are accepted until July 31, 2025.

The role and development of the starosta institution were the focus of discussion during the First Forum of Starostas in the Ternopil oblast, held on 2 July in the village of Velykyi Khodachkiv. This was the sixth forum in a series of regional events taking place across Ukraine since December las ...

On 26 June, an online presentation of the model Charter for territorial hromadas was held for partner hromadas of the Swedish-Ukrainian programme Polaris. The Charter is being developed by a working group under the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine. The event brought ...

On 27 June, an educational delegation from the Malovyska hromada visited the Lubny urban territorial hromada in Poltava oblast. The visit was organised within the framework of the “Education on Local and Regional Level” component of the Swedish-Ukrainian Polaris Programme, which supports the develop ...

 The role ensures the completeness, accuracy and timely processing of Programme-related procurement contracts and secures efficient documentation workflows. Applications are accepted until July 13, 2025

The core responsibility will be to provide expert support to partner hromadas in establishing sustainable educational networks. Applications are accepted until July 16, 2025

On 10 June 2025, the cooperation between the Ukrainian city of Uman and the Swedish Kristianstad officially established — the partnership agreement was signed by the heads of the municipalities during a visit by the Ukrainian delegation to Sweden. The partnership was made possible thanks to Cities4 ...

This brief article aims to answer several key questions: What is the Law “On Administrative Fee” about, and why does Ukraine need it, and what key issues will likely be debated before its second reading

The Swedish-Ukrainian Programme Polaris – Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine invites hromadas to partner within its direction Education at Local and Regional Levels. Currently, 10 partner hromadas are receiving support in improving the quality of education services, building effective sc ...

On 17–19 June, the Cities Forum is taking place in Krakiv. The event is one of the most important events dedicated to developing European municipalities. Held biennially, the Forum is the European Commission’s flagship event on urban and cohesion policy. It brings together representatives of cities ...

Second round of selection for partnership with the Swedish–Ukrainian Polaris Programme under the direction “Institutional Capacity Development of the Starosta Institute” has been completed The application period lasted from 8 to 22 May 2025. A total of 87 applications were received from hromadas i ...

The Memorandum outlines joint efforts across several key areas, including the development of analytics and project prioritisation for recovery, the assessment of investment potential for hromada recovery, and systematic support for reconstruction and rebuilding processes

On 17 June, the Polaris Programme conducted an online training session titled “Effective Communication and Conflict Prevention in Interaction with Community Residents”. The event was organised for representatives of local self-government from Polaris partner hromadas who are working to introduce eff ...