On 4–5 December, Lviv hosted the final meeting of ten partner hromadas of the Polaris Programme’s “Citizen Engagement at the Local Level” area — the concluding stage of a nine-month joint effort to develop updated community Statutes. These documents were drafted in line with the legislation on people’s participation, which came into force at the beginning of 2025.
These hromadas have become among the first in Ukraine not only to develop but also to prepare for the adoption of modernised Statutes — tools designed to strengthen local democracy, expand opportunities for residents to engage in decision-making, and establish transparent procedures for interaction between citizens and local authorities.
A nine-month journey
The meeting brought together representatives of local self-government and active residents involved in working groups on drafting the Statutes and conducting information campaigns about civic participation tools.
Over two days, participants reviewed the path they had taken — from the kick-off meeting in Kyiv in May to the finalisation of the documents in December. The programme included hromada presentations, group work addressing challenges in the implementation of Statutes, and an interactive “World Café” exercise, during which hromadas jointly planned their next steps.
The discussions showed that all hromadas are at the final stage of preparation:
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Khotyn hromada has already adopted its Statute.
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Six more hromadas plan to approve their documents in December 2025.
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The remaining three will do so at the beginning of 2026.
This means that, very soon, hromadas will have an updated regulatory framework to support the development of local democracy.
Legal foundations and implementation of Statutes
A separate session of the meeting focused on the legal framework and the practical implementation of the Statutes. Experts from the Ukrainian Independent Centre for Political Research (UICPR), Maksym Latsyba and Maksym Lukyniuk, outlined the next steps — including amending the rules of procedure of local councils to align them with the new Statutes.
The experts stressed that adopting the document is only the first step. The next stage involves adjusting procedures, internal regulations and real participation mechanisms so they function effectively in everyday governance.
Participants also explored the experience of the Lviv City Council. Orest Faifurka, Head of the Public Initiatives Unit, presented examples of effective implementation of the community Statute in a large urban agglomeration and shared practices that foster active resident participation across various democratic instruments.
This experience sparked great interest, demonstrating how Statute-based tools can operate systematically and deliver tangible results.
Summarising the meeting, Pavlo Pushchenko, Lead of the “Citizen Engagement at the Local Level” area, highlighted the importance of joint efforts between hromadas and experts:
“We have come a long way, and over nine months of cooperation, we have produced truly high-quality documents that incorporate all ministerial recommendations for updated Statutes. We have also developed strong practices for conducting information campaigns for residents about various forms of participation. I am confident that the experience of our pilot hromadas in developing and implementing Statutes will serve as a guide for other hromadas across the country. We are ready to share this experience.”
