Mariupol Reborn is discussed in Brussels: the city revival plan presents to the European Committee of the Regions
On April 17, at the 160th Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels, Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boichenko spoke about the unified plan of the revival of the city, Mariupol Reborn. The experience in developing and implementing this large-scale project will become a practical case study for more than 200 communities that have been and are still under temporary occupation.
The Mayor of Mariupol heads the Section for the Development of De-occupied and Temporarily Occupied Communities at the Association of Ukrainian Cities. During the plenary session, he told his European colleagues about preparations for the reconstruction of Mariupol, which can become a successful example for other territories, focusing on the dialogue of Ukrainian communities within the framework of the section of the AUC and the importance of European experience in creating a personnel reserve of specialists in recovery and reconstruction.
Addressing the members of the Committee of the Regions, the Head of Mariupol emphasized that he was speaking on behalf of 144 temporarily occupied and 87 already de-occupied Ukrainian communities. These are thousands of people who have lost almost everything because of the war. 4 million Ukrainians have lost their housing, and an even greater number of our citizens have received the terrible status of internally displaced persons. Therefore, every community that has suffered the terrible consequences of the war needs assistance - timely and comprehensive. Having thanked the European community for the support that Ukraine has been experiencing since the first days of russia's full-scale invasion, Vadym Boichenko asked the audience to continue to act and increase assistance.
Today, Ukrainian communities need support on various fronts. In particular, we have already started preparing for the de-occupation of our territories. We do not know when exactly this will happen, but we know for sure that we must be ready. As part of our Section at the Association of Ukrainian Cities, we have started a dialogue between communities on reconstruction. There is an example of my city - the Mariupol Reborn project, which we are forming together with international partners. There are other examples of Bakhmut, Irpin, and Bucha. Currently, Ukraine needs European experience in creating a personnel reserve for the recovery and reconstruction of the country. We are looking for opportunities to adopt best practices from our partners. We will be glad if we create a joint training tool for managers for reconstruction, a kind of School of Recovery of Ukraine
High-quality preparation for the implementation of the plan is not only valuable for the temporarily occupied and already liberated communities, but also a guarantee of a result that can be scaled up to other war-affected areas of Ukraine.
Mariupol Reborn has already developed a comprehensive examination of the city's restoration - a plan of priority steps, urban visions, experience in attracting donors. This expert base is universal and is already used by communities to restore Ukrainian cities. Rinat Akhmetov's SCM Group is contributing to Ukraine's reconstruction today
Mariupol is able to restore its flagship position in the context of the development of modern Ukrainian cities after returning under the Ukrainian flag, and the community and its partners are making every effort to do so.
The Mariupol Reborn project is being implemented by the Mariupol City Council with the investment support of Rinat Akhmetov's SCM.
