MARIUPOL AND ZURICH DISCUSSED THE POSSIBILITY OF JOINT PROJECTS TO SUPPORT IDPS FROM DONETSK REGION
The mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko, discussed key projects to support IDPs with the mayor of Zurich, Corine Mauch. The meeting, which focused on the main challenges of the community in the evacuation, was attended by Ambassador of Ukraine to Switzerland Iryna Venediktova.
During the meeting, the mayors discussed possible areas of joint work to support Mariupol residents and residents of Donetsk Oblast who are currently abroad but plan to return to Ukraine. Possible joint projects include the creation of social housing and employment for IDPs, as these are the most important requests of Mariupol residents in Ukraine and abroad, as they allow IDPs to successfully integrate into new communities.
The mayor also shared his experience in keeping people in Ukraine and spoke about the creation of a unique project, the Community Recovery Academy, which trains future managers to rebuild Ukraine.
It is important for us to adopt the European experience of reviving cities after the Second World War. But we clearly understand that it will be us, Ukrainians, who will rebuild the territories destroyed by the enemy. That is why we have launched the Recovery Academy to help rebuild communities effectively. Recently, the fourth module has started, which will focus on mutually beneficial cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the framework of reconstruction
The head of Zurich, for her part, supported the ideas of joint projects and expressed her admiration for the people of Ukraine.
The meeting also discussed the importance of working towards international recognition of the tragedy of Mariupol and restoring justice for its community.
Community Recovery Acsdemy, founded by the Association of Ukrainian Cities and 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.
