AlinaOverview of
The First All-Ukrainian Summit of Mayors
"REBIRTH OF UKRAINE"
Kyiv, November 8, 2024 – The successful holding of the First All-Ukrainian Mayors Summit brought together over 400 offline and 700 online participants, including representatives of local governments, government officials, business communities, business leaders, public organizations, international partners and diplomats. The Summit became part of the international trade mission “REBIRTH OF UKRAINE” and symbolized the determination of Ukraine and the international community on the path to sustainable economic recovery.
Our summit was supported by the speeches and participation of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Agency for Infrastructure Recovery and Development of Ukraine, the Public-Private Partnership Agency, USAID and others.
“We can have a common goal and implement it together, but if we do it not together, we will not achieve the appropriate results. Let’s join our efforts! We are ready to cooperate, we are ready to work together and we will do what is necessary for our country, exclusively in the interests of our State,” said the Deputy Head of the Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Vyacheslav Didkivskyi, at the opening of the Summit.
His opinion continued the main thesis of the President of the Club of Mayors, 6-time mayor of the city of Slavutych, Volodymyr Udovichenko: “Our front today is the restoration of the country through the restoration of communities.” The entire Summit was held in this mood.
The summit program included several main sections on international cooperation, public-private partnership, cluster and industrial development of communities, which included: panel discussions, pitch sessions of community and business projects, architectural and design laboratory and awards for participants of the Hackathon “100 Ideas for Cities”, “OPPORTUNITY UKRAINE” and charitable initiatives.
Lyudmila Yenina, Director of the Department of Economic Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, who opened the section on international cooperation, noted: “We are very grateful for the support and international assistance, but we also understand that it should not stop. It must continue to be provided to Ukraine in a timely manner. Ensuring our security with weapons is extremely important, another important component is, of course, the economy. Continuing the work of the economy, supporting small and medium-sized businesses, which are actually the lifeblood of any economy and state. …. It is important to combine Ukrainian business with foreign business, to build these bridges. … If we talk about local self-government, it is important that cities connect with each other, to look for opportunities for cooperation and here, of course, the initiative from below, presenting yourself, presenting the opportunities that exist on the ground, that is, presentation, not being afraid to go beyond comfort and not being afraid to talk about yourself.”
Continuing the words of Ms. Lyudmila, Member of the Presidium of the Mayors’ Club and Director of the Development Agency UMEDA Yulia Chufistova noted: “It is very important to initiate new projects, new ideas from the local level, from the local, from the level of each community, and present them, which is why the summit program is structured in such a way as to alternate panels with pitch sessions.” “We are extremely grateful to our partners and guests for their active participation and support,” added Ms. Yulia.
The moderator of the international cooperation section, who was Henry Shterenberg, president of WTC Kyiv and Economy Of Trust Ukraine Inc. – a strategic partner of the Club of Mayors, noted: “The key point is that money still coming to Ukraine, with the exception of humanitarian macro-financing and military needs, will not come directly to Ukraine, they will come through governments around the world, providing money and insurance to their own companies, and then come to Ukraine. And this requires that Ukraine be ready to work with those international partners, according to the standards that they have, not us.”
Among the honored guests and speakers of the event were Ibrahim Osta and Keti Chumburidze, who spoke about USAID projects aimed at supporting economic growth and regional recovery through the development of small and medium-sized businesses, the role of municipal cooperation in creating favorable conditions for entrepreneurship, promoting participatory governance, expanding community participation in governance and reform processes, and supporting the economic recovery of displaced and frontline communities.
Chris Exline, CEO of Home Essentials, as the founder of an international business, called on his colleagues from around the world not to talk about investing in Ukraine sometime in the future, but to act and work in Ukraine now, as he did during the war. Kyiv Independent, having interviewed Chris as part of our event, separately highlighted his unique case in its article.
The international relations section was concluded by the speeches of members of the delegation of the first international trade mission to Ukraine “REBIRTH OF UKRAINE” Keith Zendler and David Sprinzen, who presented their companies and technologies that they intend to introduce in Ukraine. The Kyiv Independent had a chance to talk to David and learn more about the project on smart cities development in Ukraine by the American AI company Vantiq.
Our summit also united Ukrainian and international experts on public-private partnership (PPP), which as a world-famous tool will allow to implement large-scale infrastructure projects and attract investments. “We are now almost at the final stage of changes in legislation. There were certain legislative barriers on how to implement public-private partnership projects. We are waiting for the conclusion of the European Commission on the draft Law 7508 and will be ready to submit it for the second reading, we hope this will happen by the end of this year and we will vote on it. It will open up additional opportunities for the implementation of PPP projects” – emphasized the Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Nadiya Bihun.
The panel discussion was attended by leading Ukrainian and international experts on public-private partnership (PPP), who shared their experience and prospects for the development of this model in Ukraine. The panel moderator was Taras Boychuk, Managing Partner of SPILNO LLC, Head of the Project Office for the Development of PPP “SPILNO” at Ministry of Infrastructure, started a panel with important information, which immediately
covered an important question for mayors – are PPP projects complex and how to finance their preparation? Taraz noted that many interesting things are happening now, in particular, many donors will help provide finance for project preparation. The reform of public investment management is currently underway and as part of this reform, it is planned to create several project preparation funds. We all know that preparing PPP projects is quite difficult, but there are tools that will allow us to cover the costs of their preparation in the future.
The President of the Japanese PFI/PPP Association, which is a partner of the Mayors’ Club, Kazuo Ueda, noted in his video address that they have been working on educating the PPP instrument in Japan and other countries for 25 years. He noted that they really want to support local self-government in Ukraine in Ukraine and are ready to come and explain the Japanese PFI/PPP methodology to Ukrainian communities. They are ready to invite Japanese investors, such as general contractors, developers and operating companies for the reconstruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure. Mr. Kazuo Ueda also demonstrated specific projects implemented in Japan thanks to the PFI/PPP methodology. Niko Gachechiladze, as Director of the PPP Support Agency, emphasized the importance of institutional support for PPPs, noting: “The PPP Support Agency is a key tool for attracting private investment in strategically important projects.”
Iryna Novikova, emphasized: “Public-private partnership opens up opportunities for large-scale economic development, but requires clear rules of the game and trust between the parties.” Yuriy Bova, as the mayor of Trostianets, shared his practical experience of implementing PPPs in his city, noting that grant funds sooner or later end and they do not provide an opportunity to build large facilities in communities, so communities need to get used to such a tool as PPP, despite the fact that it is not widespread in Ukraine and there are many fears, a long way to go. He called for the creation of clear and accessible methods for communities based on specific examples of PPP projects.
Zoran Yelich in his video address focused on international practices, noting: “Ukraine has significant potential for implementing PPP projects, and our experience within the ImPPPact Alliance can be useful for local communities.”
The next section was devoted to discussing the role of clusters in regional development and cooperation with business. During the panel discussion, moderated by Oleksandr Yurchak, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance, the participants discussed successful examples of cluster functioning in Ukraine and the prospects for their development.
The panel discussion was opened by Olga Zmiivs’ka-Vasylivkovska, founder and director of the “Expertise ZO” Scientific and Expert Center for Construction Technologies. As a seasoned construction expert, she began by highlighting the deep-rooted systemic corruption that hinders the industry’s transparent development. However, Ms. Olga emphasized that this also presents an opportunity, as we can choose a new, more constructive path.
Oksana Donska, Member of the Board of the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers, emphasized the importance of the cluster approach for the development of the furniture industry: “Thanks to the joint efforts of manufacturers and suppliers, we can increase the competitiveness of Ukrainian furniture products in international markets.”
The participants of the section also discussed the role of industrial parks in attracting investments and creating new jobs.
Natalia Zakharova spoke about the Kalusky Prykarpattia Industrial Cluster and, in particular, about how the cooperation of community leadership effectively cooperates with business, why it is important.
Expanding the geography of our summit, we invited Inna Svystun, Director of the Department of Economic Development of the Lviv City Council, to talk about cluster policy. Today, there are 14 clusters in Lviv, which include 700 businesses, the largest of which is IT, whose history has been going on since 2008, when IT was defined as one of the directions of the city’s strategy. Among the secrets of success, Ms. Inna spoke about financial support programs, about support in creating a business, developing strategies and visions, about vocational education programs ordered by clusters (in particular, furniture), about supporting businesses in participating in international events and stimulating exports.
As Markus Czupek, German entrepreneur and investor, co-owner of Time&Space Ukraine, member of UAMC (Ukrainian Automotive and Mobility Cluster), German-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted: “Industrial parks are a platform for attracting innovations and advanced technologies. Cooperation between German and Ukrainian companies can become an example of successful integration.”
Bernardo Weaver, CEO of Weaver Advisory, who arrived in Ukraine as part of the international delegation of our first international Trade Mission to Ukraine, summarized the topics of PPP and industrial development, and noted in his speech:
“Public-private partnership is the key to the success of industrial parks. It ensures long-term stability and creates an attractive environment for investors.”
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our members who showed their enthusiasm, prepared thoroughly, attended in person, and presented their projects at the pitch sessions. We hope that both this summit and future events organized by the Mayors’ Club will become regular platforms for presenting community projects.
We would also like to highlight the contributions of our economic unions, which joined us to showcase their projects. In particular, the “Slavuta” economic union, the first fully operational union with established working bodies, was represented by Petro Brazhuk, Director of the Commercial Department. The head of the community, Vasyl Bohdanovich Sydor, presented community projects and received positive feedback during the summit. This was made possible thanks to the dedicated efforts of the entire team under the mentorship of Henry Shterenberg, the initiator of the creation of economic unions and commercial departments. Serhiy Shynkarenko, Head of the National Commercial Department of Economic Unions, presented the department’s activities and encouraged everyone interested in developing their communities and projects to create economic unions and commercial departments and seek his support and guidance.
A large delegation from the “Southern Podillia Alliance” economic union also attended the summit. Serhiy Mazur, the mayor of Balta, presented projects for Balta, while Sofia Khodyuk presented projects for the Kuyalnyk community.
Mayors from other cities, including Yuriy Bova (Trostianets), Iryna Pletniova (Uman), Yuriy Fomichev (Slavutych), and Olga Velichko (Deputy Mayor of Poltava), also presented their community projects.
As our summit took place in the context of business cooperation, it was particularly gratifying to see mayors discussing the businesses operating in their communities. Additionally, we allocated time for business presentations. For instance, Petro Bagriy, co-founder of RSE, presented a comprehensive strategy for developing renewable energy in Ukraine, which is based on specific solutions that the company already produces and installs across the country – containerized cogeneration modules powered by MWM gas piston engines and waste heat recovery boilers, which together ensure uninterrupted electricity and heat generation.
Vasyl Andrieishin, the mayor of Burshtyn, after introducing his community, presented Oleg Levchenko, CEO of Aria Commodities, who spoke about the “Green Lactic” industrial park project in Burshtyn. Thanks to such support from the community and the opportunity to present the project to our partners, we hope that Mr. Oleg will be able to attract investors for his project.
It is worth noting the results of the Hackathon “100 Ideas for Cities”, the discussion and announcement of which took place within the framework of the Summit. The media were not left out this is without attention, watch in a short report by ITV.
Hackathon participants presented their innovative ideas and projects for urban development. Hackathon winners received awards and the opportunity to implement their ideas in practice. Iryna Yarmolenko, co-founder and CEO of IRS, the author of the project, noted: “The Hackathon “100 Ideas for Cities” is a unique opportunity for young and creative people to offer their ideas for urban development. We believe that such initiatives will help find new solutions for the recovery and development of Ukraine”. We are already planning the next Hackathon and if you want to join, contact us by e-mail yuliya.ch@mayorsclub.org
The event is organized with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine with the financial support of the European Union provided within the framework of the project “EU4Recovery — Empowering Communities in Ukraine”, and with the financial support of the Government of Sweden. The opinions, recommendations and conclusions expressed by the participants at the event belong exclusively to the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official position of UNDP, the UN, the EU, the Government of Sweden and/or other partners.
We thank the sponsors of the Summit: RSE, Aria Commodities Ukraine, International Project Expertise, Molodist Investment Group and Brave LLC.
The Summit confirmed its goal – to promote the implementation of effective projects for economic growth, provide communities with access to resources and help attract investments. It is planned that the Summit of Mayors will become an annual platform for discussing strategic directions for the recovery and development of Ukrainian communities in cooperation with business and international partners.
Also, you can already watch all the speeches of the speakers at the link.
Photo report at the link.
Speakers’ presentations at the link.
