The All-Ukrainian Association of Communities (AAC) held its first face-to-face dialogue event in Ivano-Frankivsk region as part of the project “Communities – Veterans: Enhancing the Capacity of the OMS System in the Veterans Sector” with the participation of over 70 participants (community leaders, regional branches of the VAG, regional coordinators of the VAG, and secretaries of regional branches of the VAG).
The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the NGO ‘Space of Opportunities’, the Public Organisation ‘Coalition of Veterans’ Spaces’, and the Union of Dialogue Practitioners of Ukraine.
The purpose of the dialogue event was to facilitate direct face-to-face dialogue between authorities and experts with local self-government leaders. The event will provide an opportunity to discuss key issues of veteran policy, its regional and local dimensions, the practice of implementing policy instruments at the local level, as well as the experience of communities in shaping and implementing local veteran policy.
Participants discussed a number of key issues in the field of veteran policy:
- Strategic objectives of state veteran policy: implementation in communities
- Regional dimension of veteran policy
- Key issues and challenges in the field of veteran policy – expert opinion
- Successful practices of local self-government in the veteran sphere: case studies for the strong-minded.
During the event, VAG Chairman Volodymyr Kuchma and Executive Director Ivan Slobodyanik emphasised that veterans’ policy is an unwavering priority in the Association’s activities. Today, the VAG is actively implementing the project ‘Communities for Veterans: Enhancing the Capacity of the OMS System in the Veterans’ Sphere-2025,’ which is a de facto continuation of the VAGOMS project ‘All-Ukrainian Association of Communities’ (hereinafter referred to as the VAG, Association) ‘Reintegration of Veterans: From Effective Solutions for Communities to Effective National Policy,’ which was implemented in 2024.
As noted by Ruslan Prykhodko, Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, unfortunately, there is currently a problem with community involvement in the implementation of veteran policy.
There is a problem with communication between the central government and local authorities in different languages. As a result, we get stuck somewhere between forming visions and achieving them. The Ministry’s mission is to communicate state policies to the veteran community, to help service providers and those who implement policies understand how to do it correctly. The All-Ukrainian Association of Communities should become a systemic partner for dialogue between the state and local self-government, as well as a partner in the implementation of Ukrainian policy in communities, for testing decisions even at the design stage, and not just at the implementation stage,” he explained.
According to Oksana Kolyada, chair of the board of the NGO Space of Opportunities, ‘the state will never be able to develop an effective veteran policy without the information available in communities, without understanding the needs of veterans on the ground, and therefore we must build a system of interaction at various levels.’
“The country’s ability to support veterans and their families lies in the capacity of communities. In addition to strategic-level documents, communities need support in implementing veteran policy at the local level. How to organise medical and social services. How to introduce a specialist to support veterans. Is it necessary to open a veterans’ space, and if so, how?” she believes.
As Olga Galchenko, programme coordinator at the International Renaissance Foundation, noted, ‘We do not know when demobilisation will take place and veterans will return en masse from the front, but our task today is to ensure that all state institutions, medical professionals and communities are ready to receive veterans and provide them with professional services.’
‘We are making a significant contribution to ensure that the return of our defenders is as peaceful and comfortable as possible for them,’ she concluded.
During the event, participants were able to not only discuss current issues in veteran policy at the local level, but also hear about best practices in implementing veteran policy in the Lysets community in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and the Avangard community in Odesa Oblast.
In addition, invited representatives of the veteran community ‘DIM VOINA’ from Ivano-Frankivsk shared the successful experiences of veterans and their families. War veteran and entrepreneur Dmytro Kulibaba spoke about successful cases of socially responsible veteran businesses.
It should be noted that the dialogue event is part of the project ‘Communities for Veterans: Improving the Capacity of the OMS System in the Veteran Sphere,’ which the association is implementing with the financial support of the International Renaissance Foundation in partnership with the NGO ‘Space of Opportunities.’
The project aims to unite the efforts of local authorities and the veteran community to develop opportunities in communities for the reintegration of veterans and support for their family members.
The material represents the authors’ position and does not necessarily reflect the position of the International Renaissance Foundation.
