The III All-Ukrainian Public Forum: Trust. Partnership. Results held in Kyiv
On November 25, Kyiv hosted the third All-Ukrainian Public Forum: Trust. Partnership. Results. This year's event was the result of the third year of the project Strengthening Local Self-Organization and Civic Engagement in Ukraine.
"This Public Forum speaks about the path that should be followed by every society and institution. After all, it is impossible to build close ties of interaction without trust, partnership and good results. This Forum brought together many interesting and effective people of Ukrainian society. I am convinced that the things we discussed will be fruitful for each of us because we are called to develop the help to others and to cherish merciful love and hope in actions", said the Executive Director of the Mission Caritas-Spes Ukraine, Fr. Viacheslav Hrynevych, SAC.
President of the Mission Fr. Petro Zharkovskyi noted that for 25 years of charitable activity Caritas-Spes Ukraine has become an expert in Church interaction with civil society, experts in building trust and partnership. Today the Caritas-Spes Mission is more than 30 charitable organizations in Ukraine working for the welfare of people in need. Caritas-Spes is one of 48 members of the Caritas Europe Federation and a member of Caritas Internationalis, a global confederation of 162 Catholic organizations.
"Despite the large number of charitable projects implemented by Caritas-Spes Ukraine, it is quite natural for the Mission to work on community development. The vision of our organization is to build a civilization of love, justice and peace that will overcome poverty, establish justice and restore the dignity of every person in all the regions of Ukraine. Therefore, it is natural for us to work with communities. It is not only the care of family-type orphanages, shelters, homes for single mothers, kindergartens and social centers. Three years ago, we set ourselves an ambitious goal to work on the self-reliance of communities throughout Ukraine. Our project has brought very inspiring results - the launch of about 40 initiatives across Ukraine. These are trained volunteers and activists, prepared teams that are able to transform their cities and villages into comfortable, inclusive and environmentally friendly spaces. We are proud of these results, because the small steps you take in your communities become the engine of global positive changes in our country," added Fr. Petro Zharkovskyi.
The Forum was attended by Mission partners, representatives of international donor organizations, state institutions and civil society. It became an example of cross-sectoral unification for the welfare and prosperity of people.
Speakers of the Forum were:
Mariana Kobelia - Expert in the field of attracting grant funds;
Iryna Polietukha - Advisor to the Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine;
Oleksii Chekal - Graphic designer, calligrapher and art historian;
Mariana Kashchak - Director of the CO "Ukrainian Educational Platform", teacher;
Vitalina Lopukhina - Graphic designer, calligrapher and teacher;
Fr. Viacheslav Hrynevych SAC - Catholic priest, Executive Director of the Caritas-Spes Ukraine Mission, delegate of the Pallottine province in Ukraine, specialist in communication and graphic design;
Mariia Heletii - Deputy Chief of Party of the USAID 5-year project Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Initiative (UCSI), PhD in Political Science.
The Forum also presented the participants' teams initiatives of the project Strengthening Local Self-Organization and Civic Engagement in Ukraine.
Olena Shevchuk, project manager of the Strengthening Local Self-Organization and Civic Engagement in Ukraine Project, commenting on the event, said, "We are very proud of the results achieved and of the changes started in the communities. Teams are going to improve the situation in their community, change the world around them and build a strong and independent country", summed up Olena.
We would like to remind you that more details about the activities of the Caritas-Spes Ukraine Mission can be found on the website: caritas-spes.org
For more information about the project Strengthening Local Self-Organization and Civic Engagement in Ukraine, funded by the German Renovabis Foundation, follow the link: caritas-spes.org
