Local governments play a key role in peacebuilding processes in terms of capacity, ownership, and democracy. The literature on peacebuilding emphasizes the need to turn to the local level recognising local governments and their citizens as resources and not mere recipients of support (Leonardsson & Rudd, 2015). The current situation in Ukraine calls for a better understanding on the role of local governments and local democracy for peacebuilding and a broader understanding on how they experience and cope with the war. 

ICLD supports local democracy in Ukraine through municipal partnerships, training programmes and research. In this talk we will have a conversation among scholars and local government officials in Ukraine to provide insights on: 

• How are local governments affected by the current situation? 
• How are local governments adapting to meet the needs of their citizens? 
• What are the barriers and opportunities that they experience for peacebuilding from below? 

Time:
09.00-10.00 GMT
10:00-11:00 CET
11:00-12:00 EET

Watch the seminar in Youtube:

Moderated by Tymofii Brik, from the Kyiv School of Economics and with the participation of local government officials and politicians from Ukraine.

This event is jointly organised by the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD), the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), and Malmö Association of Foreign Affairs.

Moderator: Tymofii Brik, PhD, assistant professor at Kyiv School of Economics and director of the Center for Sociological Research – Decentralization and Local development studies.

Panelists:

Valentina Poltavets, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities

Ulyana Pak, elected city councillor in Lviv

Kristina Levyska, Deputy Director of Department of Humanitarian Policy, city of Kamjanets-Podilskyj 

Mariia Tyshchenko, PhD, Associate professor Kyiv National Economic University, director of the NGO “PORUCH” and mentor of ICLD training programme.

Tomila Lankina, London School of Economics

Yana Brovdiy, Officer, Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)

Final remarks: Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive, Local Government Information Unit (LGIU)