In the information field of Ukraine, one can increasingly hear the message about the need for decentralisation and administrative-territorial reform. And it is no wonder: the archaic management system and the flawed spatial planning in Ukraine hamper its economic and, consequently, social development. That is why, during a regular meeting of the Expert and Advisory Council of the DESPRO Project, which was held on 5 April 2011, the experts discussed the possibility of conducting the administrative-territorial reform in Ukraine and the concept of promoting the reform among the general public.

In order to successfully promote the reforms in the country, it is also necessary to raise awareness among the society for how these reforms might affect the lives of people, the economic development of the regions and so on. A large-scale educational campaign would ensure the awareness for this issue among both rural and urban residents. The DESPRO Project is ready to participate in developing and implementing the information campaign, in raising awareness among the representatives of mass media, local authorities, general public, as well as in continuing the nationwide dialogue on reforms.

The meeting was attended by Anatoliy Chemerys (DESPRO), Anatoliy Tkachuk (Civil Society Institute), Yuriy Hanushchak (expert on administration of territories), Igor Koliushko (Center for Political and Legal Reforms), Yuliya Molchanova (National Academy of Public Administration), Yevhen Fishko (National Association of Regional Development Agencies, NARDA-Ukraine), Valentyna Poltavets (Ukrayinka City Council), Viktor Parkhomenko (Association of Cities of Ukraine), Tetyana Andrusenko (DESPRO consultant), Oleksandr Lototskyy (DESPRO consultant), Ihor Katernyak (NGO Ukrainian Distance Learning System) , Oleksandr Goncharuk (Institute of Sociology of NASU), Olena Lokshyna (DESPRO consultant), Oksana Garnets (DESPRO) and others.
 

   Background Information:
In 2010, the Swiss-Ukrainian Decentralisation Support Project in Ukraine DESPRO created the Expert and Advisory Council of the Project and invited the leading experts in the field of local self-government, regional development, public administration, information technologies etc.
The goal of the Council is to ensure transparency in the project activities and to consider expert and public opinion in the process of the DESPRO Project implementation. The main objectives of the Council experts are to prepare analytical materials in the field of regional policy, local self-government and decentralisation, to represent the interests of civil society in the DESPRO Project, to prepare proposals and recommendations for improving the regulatory legal acts etc.