Cedos

⭐ Read about the 4 priority areas of Cedos' work: housing, education, social policy and local development, in the blog of Ivan Verbytskyi, Director of the think tank. Cedos is currently working to address the social problems that #Ukraine has faced and provide society and the state with solutions to better plan recovery and reconstruction, aiming for just and democratic development. Briefly about our work in 2022-2023: #HOUSING 🟠 Cedos conducted an analysis of the social, temporary, and crisis housing system in Ukraine bit.ly/3LErFEi 🟠 Prepared a legal guide on rental housing bit.ly/3EW2h9f 🟠 Proposed a list of key principles on which the update of housing policy in Ukraine should be based bit.ly/3RDHG1k 🟠 Today, Cedos is researching the housing needs of cities and hromadas and preparing recommendations for international humanitarian organizations. #EDUCATION 🔵 Cedos conducted research on the impact of the full-scale war on secondary education in Ukraine, combining quantitative and qualitative methods bit.ly/3PVTfzB 🔵 Analyzed approaches to measuring and compensating for educational losses, preparing proposals for filling gaps and discrepancies in knowledge and skills among education seekers in Ukraine. 🔵 Prepared a review on the readiness of the sector to join the EU and analyzed the government’s Recovery Plan in the areas of secondary and higher education. 🔵 Currently, we are studying the impact of the war on the working conditions of teachers and professors and analyzing the need for psychological services in schools. #SOCIAL_POLICY 🟡 Cedos is working on an analysis of the social impact of the war on vulnerable social groups for the World Bank. 🟡 Conducted a national representative survey on the Ukrainian society’s attitude towards social and economic support programs and their needs. 🟡 Participated in a study on the impact of the war on youth in Ukraine, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. bit.ly/3PVTfzB 🟡 Analyzed the draft of the Recovery Plan regarding the return of displaced persons and prepared a review of the readiness of the employment and social policy sectors for Ukraine’s accession to the EU. 🟡 Currently, our work is focused on researching the impact of the war on the working conditions of social workers and on the readiness of hromadas to provide social services to veterans. bit.ly/468q5me #LOCAL_DEVELOPMENT 🟢 Cedos is implementing several projects to help hromadas involve local residents 🟢 Together with WNISEF, we support 10 hromadas in developing community-building centres 🟢 Our online media Mistosite continues working 🟢 We held the 5th Ukrainian Urban Forum in 2023. The forum's discussions were complemented by the urban podcast Rynok Vyrishyt? (“Will the market resolve it?”). We proposed a declaration with 5 key principles for Ukraine’s recovery: justice, participation, subsidiarity, credibility, and sustainability #cedos #cedosthinktank #russianinvasioninukraine #recoveryforukraine

🏡 The Ukraine Plan for the Ukraine Facility includes reforms for the development of social housing. 👉 Read more: bit.ly/3JIzbwq The Ukraine Facility is the European Union’s financial assistance programme for Ukraine in the amount of EUR 50 billion over 2024-2027. The Plan includes a list of reforms and investments grouped into 15 chapters. Cedos provided its proposals to the Government of Ukraine and the European Commission, calling for the development of social housing to be included in the Ukraine Plan and the Ukraine Facility. Cedos participated in consultations with representatives of the Government and the Commission on the preparation of the Plan. «We welcome the fact that the Ukraine Plan is in line with our proposals on housing reform. The inclusion of social housing in this document is a recognition of its importance and priority. The development of social housing will help to overcome the negative effects of the war and strengthen social cohesion» — Ivan Verbytskyi, Cedos Director. Cedos’ proposals included: 📍 aligning Ukrainian housing policy with European approaches; 📍 developing a National Housing Strategy; 📍 improving the legal framework for the creation of social housing by local authorities; 📍 determining the cost of renting social housing; 📍 creating a unified register of housing needs; 📍 strengthening the monitoring and evaluation of housing policy through data analysis. #cedos #cedosthinktank #ukrainefacility

💡 Our project "Community reBuilding", which aims to create 10 community building centres in hromadas is on the shortlist for the New European Bauhaus Prizes 2024 (NEB)! ⭐ You can help us win in the public vote! 👉 bit.ly/3T3fUu3 Cedos, together with Western NIS Enterprise Fund helps to create and renovate 10 unique community building centres. This project has been shortlisted for the NEB Rising Stars of the New European Bauhaus competition. We will compete with other participants from different countries in the category "Prioritising the places and people that need it the most". The 50 finalists were selected from more than 530 initiatives from the EU, the Western Balkans and Ukraine. Each of the hromadas participating in the project received a grant of UAH 1,000,000 and mentoring support to develop accessible physical spaces where people from different social groups can come together for leisure, community development and cooperation. In order to vote for our project, you need to enter your email in the "Participate in the public vote" box. The email you will receive from NEB will contain a link to the voting page. You can find our project in the STRAND B - NEB Rising Stars section under the “Community reBuilding” title. 👉 Voting link: bit.ly/3T3fUu3 The New European Bauhaus initiative calls on all of us to imagine and build together a sustainable and inclusive future that is beautiful for our eyes, minds, and souls.

✔ Cedos and Sumy City Council signed a Memorandum of Cooperation! According to the Memorandum, the parties will jointly develop the Concept of Integrated Development for the Sumy City Territorial Hromada. ✒ "We are glad to have the opportunity to work with Sumy. This document is a hromada's strategy, which consists of various components, from urban planning to healthcare. We are engaging 10 different experts who, together with a working group from the hromada, will analyse these areas and synchronise them for the tactical, medium and strategic future," said Vadym Denysenko, urban mobility development expert. 📈 A special working group and an expert team will work on the strategic document. In addition to Cedos, it will be joined by a consortium of organisations from the participatory planning bureau Cité and the architectural bureau PSEL. The document will be based on the Development Strategy of the Sumy City Territorial Hromada and will cover all key areas of hromada’s life. ⚫ Cedos and the expert team already have experience developing similar concepts for one of the districts of Kyiv, Melitopol, and Kharkiv. In particular, Cedos worked on the Concept of Integrated Development of the Podil District of Kyiv 2030, which was adopted by the Kyiv City Council in 2022. The Integrated Development Concept is expected to be completed by November so that it can be used as a basis for the 2025 budget.

✔ We are glad to publish our report, which distils a number of critical issues facing Ukraine's cultural future as a result of the war and Russian aggression in Ukraine. 👉 bit.ly/3uE6ay3 This report was prepared jointly with the Ukrainian Institute and in partnership with CEC ArtsLink. The research was presented in November 2023 at the international ArtsLink Assembly 2023, where artists, curators and academics shared their thoughts on the future of the cultural sector globally and in Ukraine in particular. Here are some findings: 📍 There can be some caution in describing the Ukrainian cultural field as coherent. Instead, the connections within the field are more likely to be described as heterogeneous. 📍 Despite the lack of cohesion, participants in the Assembly and interviews acknowledged the importance of interaction and cooperation among Ukrainian cultural actors. The experience of living through the trauma of a full-scale war has contributed to the growing trend of Ukrainian cultural workers to unite. 📍 After nearly two years of full-scale war, it has become even more urgent for Ukrainians to engage in long-term activities, programs and projects aimed at increasing their interaction with each other and with cultural actors from abroad. 📍 There is also a need to establish cooperation with those who have left and who, especially after the start of a full-scale invasion, feel disconnected from the field and, as a result, may gradually lose contact with it. 📍 Interaction with Russians is one of the most controversial issues. Most interview participants agreed that such interactions are impossible in today’s conditions. Therefore, projects that involve contact between Ukrainians and Russians, even participation in joint exhibitions or festivals, may be inappropriate and insensitive to Ukrainian cultural actors, at least until the victory of Ukraine and the full restoration of its territorial integrity within internationally recognised borders. In the full version of the report, you can also find recommendations for cultural workers from abroad, namely for national cultural institutions, national and international foundations, national and international NGOs.

⭐ In December 2023, Cedos, with the support of the @Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Ukraine, organised the Housing Leadership Lab, a three-day workshop for housing leaders. 👉 Read more: bit.ly/3uupMVw The event brought together 27 participants from all over Ukraine: representatives of municipalities from different hromadas in Ukraine, NGOs, and government agencies. Over the course of three days, housing leaders presented their best practices, discussed important topics, and exchanged experiences on working on the common problem of the housing crisis in Ukraine. The participants worked together to develop practical recommendations for municipalities, NGOs and donors, as well as recommendations for legislative changes. 📍 “We believe that dialogue and exchange of experience on an equal footing is the best tool for strengthening local self-government and civil society, and thus strengthening democratic institutions and political culture in Ukraine. We hope that these ideas and best practices will help ensure the realisation of the right to housing as an inalienable human right,” — says Ivan Verbytskyi, Cedos Director. We are sincerely grateful to all participants for their active position, patience and motivation to improve housing policies in Ukraine.

✔ Our report on the assistance in 10 hromadas in participatory planning for recovery, development and finding solutions to current challenges is out in English now! 👉 bit.ly/48HojtI In the report you will find information about selected hromadas, the challenges they faced during the full-scale war, the key results of the cooperation of the engagement experts with the selected hromadas, particularly conclusions regarding the collective work with hromada representatives and recommendations on establishing participatory processes, etc. The project’s goal was to strengthen the hromadas’ capacity to engage their residents in the process of recovery with the aim to overcome the consequences of the war and the challenges caused by it. As part of the project, in May–October 2023, the selected hromadas worked with teams of experts in the fields of citizen engagement, research, spatial and strategic development, working with heritage, education, social protection, housing, and urban planning. Here are some of the conclusions: 📍 Experts who work with hromadas on engagement issues should be flexible in planning and conducting activities during the full-scale war. For example, they should be prepared to reschedule activities in case of bombings or power outages. They should also be sensitive to the life of hromadas in the conditions of bombings or tragic events. 📍 While working with hromadas during the full-scale war, the team should focus on safety aspects, for example, by planning public events in shelters or in buildings which have shelters. At the same time, to improve the accessibility of public events and engage groups with limited mobility, events should be conducted in inclusive spaces. 📍 Events should be conducted not only in the central locality, in order to involve residents of rural areas or remote localities in the conditions of problems with public transit. 📍 To ensure effective and high-quality engagement, several instruments should be combined, such as surveys, consultations, focus group discussions, and interviews. These instruments can be used both offline and online, as well as in combination. 📍 Expats and workers of local self-government bodies who organize the engagement process must be ready to adapt to the capacities of stakeholders. The report was prepared as a part of the project "Leaving no one behind: civic participation for municipality recovery planning", implemented with the support of ULEAD з Європою / ULEAD with Europe. The Ukraine Program for Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development "U-LEAD with Europe" is jointly funded by the EU and its member states Germany, Poland, Denmark and Slovenia to support Ukraine on its way to strengthening local authorities. U-LEAD promotes transparent, sustainable and accountable multi-level governance in Ukraine that responds to the needs of citizens and empowers hromadas.

✅ We are happy to announce the winners of the competition for mini-grants for civil society organisations! Grants are provided to implement research projects in hromadas related to recovery and European integration. The competition was organised by Cedos and the Institute for European Policy Institut für Europäische Politik e.V., IEP. Three mini-grants of 5,000 euros each will be awarded for the implementation of research projects to: ✔ NGO "Syla Hromady", Kolomyia. It is planned to create a single support centre for veterans and their family members in the Kolomyia city community. The purpose of the research is a comprehensive analysis of the problems and needs of veterans in the Kolomyia urban territorial community and neighbouring territorial communities. ✔  NGO 3.5 percent, Mukachevo. The project aims to investigate the motives of young people and their parents for labour and student migration, helping reveal gaps in local education and employment systems and understand workforce dynamics and skill gaps to assist the local authorities with accurate data to develop local strategies and programs. ✔ Youth Center the Seven Storey Mountain (NGO The Seven Storey Mountain), Lutsk. The research proposal seeks to analyze the integration and application of perennial plants in urban design to enhance sustainability, aesthetics, and quality of life in urban areas. The central idea is to explore how the strategic use of perennials can contribute to environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and aesthetically pleasing urban spaces. We received 56 applications in total. Winners will also receive mentoring support on the methodology, research process and writing a research report. “UA Transformation Lab” is a joined project by the Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP), Cedos, Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation (DIF) and New Europe Center (NEC). It is kindly supported by the German Federal Foreign Office. The project aims to strengthen Ukrainian analytical centers and civil organizations, deepen their cooperation with local authorities, and provide the necessary tools to effectively support recovery and European integration processes. #cedos #cedosthinktank #research #researchinukraine #communitydevelopment

✅ This year, the FILMA feminist film festival presents a program of films that look at housing not in terms of architecture or aesthetics, but as a basic human right. 👉 More about the program: bit.ly/418qgwk ❓ What is the actual value of a home for a person? Especially in a world where many people have either lost their homes or have never had one and will never have it due to wars, poverty, colonialism, and xenophobia. Anastasia Bobrova, the co-curator of the program, together with the Filmа team, chose five stories that are different in experience but similar in their universality to the problem of housing. 👉 Read Anastasia's reflections on the films and her sense of home in the curatorial text.

✔ We invite you to the ArtsLink Assembly 2023 event, where Cedos analyst Olena Syrbu will take part in the presentation of the strategic report "Beyond Greener Grass: Strategies Towards Ukrainian Transnational Cultural Reconstruction”. 💡 The full programme of ArtsLink Assembly 2023 and registration: bit.ly/40IdHaN The presentation will take place on the second day of the event, focusing on Ukraine's cultural recovery and presenting the perspectives of key cultural voices. ❗ Join the live stream tomorrow, November 17, 17:00 Kyiv time. Emerging from the ideas and issues raised by Ukrainian artists and cultural leaders at last year’s ArtsLink Assembly in Warsaw, the Ukrainian Institute, and independent think tank #Cedos will present a strategy report that distils many critical issues facing Ukraine’s cultural future caused by Russia’s war of aggression. Through the discussion of the document, the organisers hope to propose ways to support a new future for artists and cultural practices both in Ukraine and for Ukrainian communities abroad. CEC ArtsLink #Cedosthinktank #ukrainesupport #ukrainianculture #ArtsLinkAssembly