The seminar program was aimed to deepen the knowledge of Ukraine's cooperation with NATO. It discussed geopolitics and the choice of the model of economic development, public speaking and political mediation skills were expanded and the work on the participants' projects continued.
The seminar began with a discussion joined by Pavlo Sheremeta, President of the Kyiv School of Economics and Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine (2014), on the common responsibility of citizens for the development of the country, the strategy of economic development that could ensure the breakthrough, as well as existing sources of friction.
The second item on the agenda was a meeting at the regional council of Lviv with Deputy Managing Director Ivan Sobko (fraction of the party "Samopomish"), who leads the Department of Urban Development, International Technical Assistance and External Relations. Lviv is a leading region in attracting international technical assistance, and in the last four years clear rules of work with municipalities have been introduced according to the principles of publicity, transparency and accessibility. Regional development projects are implemented by the regional Council solely on the basis of co-financing of the municipalities, which contributes to greater accountability and efficient implementation. In his remarks on decentralization, Sobko among other things entered upon problematic aspects of the implementation of this reform in Lviv Oblast. He reported on the application of Polish experiences and emphasized that Lviv Oblast is open to exchange, with both positive and negative experiences of implementing the decentralization reform.
The highlight of the day became the visit to the International Center for Peacemaking and Security in Starychi, Jaworiw County. There, participants could experience for themselves the results of the several years of experience regarding the cooperation with NATO. They learned how the transition to NATO standards is taking place within the framework of the training of the Ukrainian military.
The second day of the seminar started with a discussion on the current geopolitical situation of Ukraine within Europe and worldwide lead by Taras Wosnjak, a renowned Ukrainian political and cultural scholar, head of the National Wosnyzky Art Gallery Lviv. Subsequently, a substantive module on value-related and practical aspects of Ukraine's cooperation with NATO was held, with Petro Kanana (Ministry of Defense of Ukraine) and Serhij Parchomenko (Nikanorov Center for Foreign Policy Studies) as interlocutors. Here the discussion was about NATO norms and standards, trust funds, the implementation of the National Annual Program and the reform in security and defense sector.
After the theoretical part on public speech given by the communication trainer Andriy Yatsenko, the participants were able to identify their own fears and make public speeches in order to completely cope with the fears. The day ended with the screening of the film "Konrad Adenauer - Architect of the New Germany" and a discussion about similarities in Germany's historical experiences and reasons for the emergence of European and Euro-Atlantic unity with modern security and economic challenges that Ukraine now faces.
The third day of the School of Euroatlantic Solidarity was devoted to practical work in groups (political mediation with Mykhajlo Kolibabtschuk) and public presentations of projects led by Halyna Lytwyn, Managing Director of the Euroregion "Carpathians Ukraine". After teaching the methods of project development, which happened already in the first phase of the school, taking place in Kyiv on February 15th to 17th, participants could now present their project ideas, which they want to realize in their regions or at the national level. It is mainly about education and information campaigns for the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, still some projects affect other socially relevant issues, such as political education of youth and elderly people, rehabilitation of ATO fighters, involvement of entrepreneurs in the management of the city, preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the region, etc. Halyna Lytvyn made numerous practical recommendations for their improvement and in the end provided information on current competitions of Ukrainian and international institutions, where they could apply to receive funding for the realization of their presented projects.
Participants will rework their project proposals to present them in the final phase of the Euro-Atlantic Solidarity School, which will take place from 28th till 30th of June 2019 in Odessa.
