Selection for the fourth School of Community Leaders is now opened! You can fill in the application form and apply for participation in the program from April 15 to May 10.
The School ща Community Leaders is a project designed to bring together local leaders from all regions of Ukraine and help them develop their communities. Decentralization reform has initiated an irreversible process of change. That is why it is now essential to strengthen Ukraine on the local level, to help new leaders from the regions to take responsibility and implement further changes.
The School of Community Leaders Program was launched in 2015 under the auspices of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies and the Agency for Legislative Initiatives with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.
During this time, we have results that prove the need for further work with communities:
- 3 programs of the School of Community Leaders have been conducted since 2015. 2 of them were dedicated to the preparation for the local elections.
- > 250 representatives of local self-government and civil society became Alumni.
- 48% of Alumni of the program of different years ran in the 2020 local elections. 40% of them won.
The School of Community Leaders 2021 will differ from the programs of previous years, responding to the challenges that communities from different regions of Ukraine face on a daily basis. Community issues cover a wide range – from safety and clean environment to problems with access to quality medicine and education. And we will work together to find solutions for all these problems.
This year’s training will focus not only on good governance skills, decentralization reform, and community participation tools. We plan to deepen our cooperation with communities and provide long-term mentoring to address the urgent needs of communities.
Special attention will be paid to environmental mentoring, during which program participants will learn more about environmental impact assessment for communities, adaptation to climate change, disposal of household and other waste. Issues related to environmental safety, access to medicine, and education will be explored in detail through public participation tools – Town Hall Meetings and social audit.
We encourage to apply people who:
- are representatives of local self-government at all levels, heads of the amalgamated territorial communities, local activists, and volunteers;
- have significant professional achievements and demonstrate leadership qualities;
- take an active position in life and are ready to use the acquired knowledge for the benefit of society and community;
- have trust and support of the community;
- will be able to involve their community in an environmental mentoring program and work with an environmental consultant;
- ready to work with the community using the tools learned during the training after completing the program.
The School of Community Leaders 2021 is planned to be held offline. However, due to quarantine restrictions, the program dates may change (participants will be notified in advance). Participation in the program is free, as the International Renaissance Foundation supports the project.
Approximate dates of the program:
| until May 10 | Acceptance of applications for participation in the program |
| May 11 – 21 | The announcement of results of the I round |
| May 24 – June 4 | The II round of selection |
| by June 7 | The announcement of results of the II round of selection |
| June 25 – 27 | Seminars for participants (Kyiv) |
| September-December | Environmental mentoring of communities |
More details of the program and answers to important questions about this year’s program are here. For any other questions, please contact the e-mail address info@usps.org.ua or the Facebook page of the USPS.
