Russia’s war against Ukraine has created unique conditions in which civil society is forced to rethink its functions and roles. The desire for victory, survival, and development requires new approaches to ensuring influence and responsibility in strengthening international support and solidarity with Ukraine. In preparation for the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Berlin in June 2024, experts from civil society organizations and the International Renaissance Foundation have formulated proposals for a vision of a civic agenda for Ukraine’s resilience and recovery.
This document, based on the results of expert discussions organized by the International Renaissance Foundation in April 2024, covers the topics of economic resilience, environment, human dimensions of resilience, and community recovery, including the inclusion of people from affected communities, soldiers, and veterans, and Ukraine’s preparation for accession to the European Union. The document does not claim to be comprehensive and does not contain financial calculations but provides strategic directions for future efforts to rebuild Ukraine.
“Some may say that now is not the time to discuss the future or other ambitious things. However, in my opinion, it is impossible to separate the agenda of sustainability, or even survival, and building the Ukraine of tomorrow that we all strive for,” said Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, during the presentation.” Our Foundation is trying to build a coherent, integrated narrative around our country’s survival, sustainability, and development. We want to help civil society to speak, if not with one voice, then at least with one value wave, a common platform for promoting our common basic approaches to recovery – inclusive, democratic, and open.”
The document was presented during the conference “Vision of Resilience: Civil Society Agenda for URC-Berlin” held on May 13 in Kyiv.