On 26 August, the webinar “Supporting Information Campaigns for Partner Hromadas of the Polaris Programme” was held, focusing on engaging citizens in discussions on draft Statutes and raising awareness about forms of participation in local decision-making. The event brought together representatives of 10 partner hromadas, which are currently working on developing their Statutes and implementing mechanisms for citizen participation in governance.
The webinar began with a discussion of the key goal of these campaigns – increasing residents’ awareness of the importance of the Statute and the opportunities for participation in local self-government. Programme expert Pavlo Pushchenko, who facilitated the webinar, emphasised that effective communication with residents is essential for embedding democratic practices at the local level.
“Polaris seeks to support hromadas not only with expertise but also with material and technical resources so that they can run effective information campaigns and explain to residents why the Statute matters and how participation mechanisms work. It is not enough to adopt a good document – people must also learn how to use the tools of local democracy: public hearings, general meetings, local initiatives, or electronic petitions,” – underlined Pavlo Pushchenko, expert of the “Citizen Engagement on the Local Level” component.
Participants discussed possible formats and channels for the campaigns. Pavlo Pushchenko recommended combining free resources, such as hromada websites and social media, with printed materials – leaflets and banners. He stressed the importance of clearly defined goals and audience segmentation to ensure messages are accessible to both younger and older generations. Practical ideas were also shared, such as installing electronic information boards for timely updates. Participants further explored budgeting and logistics for implementing the campaigns.
Special attention was paid to evaluating effectiveness. The expert advised using surveys before and after campaign activities, as well as analysing the reach of online and offline tools.
As a reminder, within the “Citizen Engagement at the Local Level” component, the Polaris Programme will provide partner hromadas with material and technical support to implement their information campaigns on the role and significance of Statutes and the forms of resident participation in local governance.
