LEADERS OF RECOVERY: HOW THE TRAINING AT THE COMMUNITY RECOVERY ACADEMY ENDED
On April 6, the Kyiv-Mohyla School of Professional and Continuing Education hosted the defense of the final works of the Community Recovery Academy project. This project provided an opportunity for Ukrainian community leaders to gain the necessary knowledge and prepare for the period of restoration of their own territories.
37 participating communities began a six-month journey of learning and transformation at the Recovery Academy, but only 25 - the most motivated, dedicated, and courageous - reached the final stage and were allowed to defend their projects.
Over the course of four intensive modules, participants worked on development strategies, economic recovery, return of people, and resource mobilization. They studied international experience, analyzed local cases, discussed, made mistakes, searched for new solutions, and eventually formed their own vision of the future of their communities.
The main outcome of the training was the “Recovery Community Profile,” a strategic document that accumulates all the knowledge, experience, and best practices gained. This document not only outlines the vision and mission of the community, but also contains a specific step-by-step action plan and real projects ready for implementation.
A final session was organized to fairly assess the quality of the knowledge gained and the work done. Each community presented its achievements to an independent commission consisting of the heads of other communities, teachers of the Kyiv Mohyla School of Professional and Continuing Education, partners and co-founders of the Academy.
Vadym Boichenko, the mayor of Mariupol and co-founder of the Community Recovery Academy, delivered a welcoming speech before the defense:
Today, we are well aware that we need to prepare for the country's recovery right now - to teach, unite, and build. That is why we created the Community Recovery Academy. This project is not only for the future revival of the temporarily occupied territories. First and foremost, it is a response to the request of the affected communities, which are already looking for practical solutions and tools for post-war recovery. That is why I am grateful to all the partners who helped to fill the Academy with content, and to each of the participants who took responsibility for the future of their community. After all, it is through strong communities that we build a strong country
Mariupol Reborn is the founder of the Community Recovery Academy, and of course, what was done as preparation for the revival of Mariupol after the de-occupation is the basis for training programs and the structure for presentations. But each community imposes its own optics and specifics on this roadmap. Communities are still very cautiously learning to see their potential, learning to live not in the present, but in the future. I strongly believe that the experience we are gaining will be most useful for Ukraine, and we will eventually become a center of expertise in the restoration of
The first graduates of the Recovery Academy have a great responsibility not only to their communities, but also to the next participants who will follow the example of their colleagues. All the knowledge gained by the participants is an invaluable experience that they will implement as successful projects in their cities.
The communities that developed the best Profiles are 7 communities from 5 regions of Ukraine: Kyin community (Chernihiv region), Rubizhne community (Luhansk region), Sievierodonetsk community (Luhansk region), Slavutych community (Kyiv region), Starobilsk community (Luhansk region), Snihurivka community (Mykolaiv region) and Apostolivka community (Dnipropetrovsk region).
The commission also recognized communities that have developed a veteran policy in their strategies in a very thoughtful and detailed manner: Hornostayivska community (Kherson region), Rubizhne community (Luhansk region), Bakhmut community (Donetsk region), Velykolepetsk community (Kherson region) and Ustylug community (Volyn region).
The Community Recovery Academy project is not coming to an end, but is only gaining momentum. The graduation event for the first intake of participants will soon take place, and the enrollment for the second stream of training will begin. The program will continue its mission to train community leaders to effectively restore and develop their territories in the post-war period.
Community Recovery Academy, founded by the Association of Ukrainian Cities and the NGO Mariupol.Reborn, aims to train municipal managers for the recovery period. The project is being implemented with the support of the UK Government under the UK International Development program and the International Republican Institute (IRI Ukraine) in partnership with Metinvest and SCM. The educational partners of the project are Metinvest Polytechnic and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
