BRIDGE NRW-Dnipropetrovsk: From solidarity to Partnership
The German-Ukrainian Bureau, together with its Ukrainian partner organisation, Civil Control Platform, and with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office, has launched the “BRIDGE NRW–Dnipropetrovsk” project. The project aims to strengthen democratic resilience and support Ukraine’s European integration by promoting transparent, accountable and participatory local governance in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The specific purpose of the project is to introduce and put into practice European good governance approaches and mechanisms for citizen participation, strengthen the involvement of citizens and civil society in local administrative and decision-making processes, and deepen sustainable cooperation between stakeholders from the Dnipropetrovsk region and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
The project is being implemented jointly in Germany and Ukraine by the German-Ukrainian Bureau and the Ukrainian non-governmental organisation Civil Control Platform, based in Dnipro, Dnipropetrovsk region.
The official regional partnership was launched on 28 February 2023, when NRW and the Dnipropetrovsk region signed a declaration of intent. NRW thereby became the first German federal state to formalise its solidarity with Ukraine through a partnership with a specific Ukrainian region. Today, the partnership is no longer limited to cooperation between regional governments: a growing network of municipal partnerships, professional contacts and people-to-people connections is bringing the two regions closer together.
Civil society has an important role to play in taking this partnership to the next level. Our ambition is to strengthen democratic resilience and support Ukraine’s European integration by advancing transparent, accountable and participatory local governance in the Dnipropetrovsk region. We believe that democratic practices and practical solutions do not need to travel only from governments to communities – they can also travel horizontally, from city to city, organisation to organisation, and citizen to citizen. Through BRIDGE, we want to strengthen precisely these connections.
The Dnipropetrovsk region is particularly important in this context. As one of Ukraine’s largest economic and industrial centres, located close to the frontline and serving as a major logistical and humanitarian hub, the region plays a crucial role in Ukraine’s resilience and future reconstruction. At the same time, the war and martial law create additional challenges for local democracy and meaningful citizen participation. The project therefore seeks to strengthen the capacity of citizens and civil society to engage effectively in local administrative and decision-making processes while promoting European approaches to transparency, accountability and participatory governance.
Photo: Landtag NRW
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