December 8, 2024, 11:17 am

International
Mayors Summit 2022

About

International Mayors Summit (IMS), launched in 2016 as a knowledge exchange platform for local government leaders, became “more than a conference”, a place where projects and partnerships are born.

The annual Summit brings together prominent mayors from throughout the world, the business community, international organizations representatives and civil society to discuss solutions, innovations, best practices and Ukrainian cities’ success stories in various spheres. The Summit is organized by Western NIS Enterprise Fund and supported by the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Mayors and experts from the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, UK, UAE, Albania, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Germany took part at the International Mayors Summit.

The Summit’s format allows participants to get knowledge and build a strong international network with prominent global leaders of urban transformation, join professional speed-networking sessions, test various solutions right on the spot, sign memorandums and launch special projects.

Since fall 2019, cities globally face a double challenge: how to fight the pandemic while feeling the pressure of the need for further community development? Mayors were at the frontline of urgent and necessary decisions, trying to coordinate with the central government, create partnerships with businesses, engage and convince the community.

Since February 24, the leaders of Ukrainian cities have faced a new critical challenge, as they had to save the community from the brutality of the Russian aggressor: Mariupol was completely destroyed, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv are still under unceasing fire, Chernihiv, Irpin and Bucha suffered devastating destruction. The enemy is shelling civilian objects of strategic importance – hospitals, schools, kindergartens, roads and bridges, railway hubs and stations. Security has become one of the most important challenges for Ukrainian cities throughout the country. In the west of Ukraine, communities are doing their best to shelter IDPs for an uncertain period. At the same time, international cooperation between communities has increased and many new partnerships are being built with Ukrainian partners.

The reconstruction of cities is the reconstruction of society. Therefore, all these issues, as to how to revive cities, how to return residents, how to develop the cities’ economic profile, how to ensure the safety of residents, how to make space accessible – will be on the agenda of the next summit.

 

We invite you to Summit 2022!

International Mayors Summit (IMS), launched in 2016 as a knowledge exchange platform for local government leaders, became “more than a conference”, a place where projects and partnerships are born.

The annual Summit brings together prominent mayors from throughout the world, the business community, international organizations representatives and civil society to discuss solutions, innovations, best practices and Ukrainian cities’ success stories in various spheres. The Summit is organized by Western NIS Enterprise Fund and supported by the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Mayors and experts from the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, UK, UAE, Albania, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Germany took part at the International Mayors Summit.

The Summit’s format allows participants to get knowledge and build a strong international network with prominent global leaders of urban transformation, join professional speed-networking sessions, test various solutions right on the spot, sign memorandums and launch special projects.

Since fall 2019, cities globally face a double challenge: how to fight the pandemic while feeling the pressure of the need for further community development? Mayors were at the frontline of urgent and necessary decisions, trying to coordinate with the central government, create partnerships with businesses, engage and convince the community.

Since February 24, the leaders of Ukrainian cities have faced a new critical challenge, as they had to save the community from the brutality of the Russian aggressor: Mariupol was completely destroyed, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv are still under unceasing fire, Chernihiv, Irpin and Bucha suffered devastating destruction. The enemy is shelling civilian objects of strategic importance – hospitals, schools, kindergartens, roads and bridges, railway hubs and stations. Security has become one of the most important challenges for Ukrainian cities throughout the country. In the west of Ukraine, communities are doing their best to shelter IDPs for an uncertain period. At the same time, international cooperation between communities has increased and many new partnerships are being built with Ukrainian partners.

The reconstruction of cities is the reconstruction of society. Therefore, all these issues, as to how to revive cities, how to return residents, how to develop the cities’ economic profile, how to ensure the safety of residents, how to make space accessible – will be on the agenda of the next summit.

 

We invite you to Summit 2022!

help to stop the war

Open Letter to World’s Mayors and
Local Self-Governance Leaders

At dawn on February 24, the Russian Federation attacked independent and sovereign Ukraine. This cruel bloodshed in the heart of Europe was the beginning of a full-scale insane war: civilians are being brutally killed, hospitals and kindergartens are being bombed, while key city infrastructure is being destroyed by the invaders. Various methods of terror are being applied, and the aggressor is grinding Ukrainian cities and villages to dust that until a few days ago were filled with happy citizens investing in their development and prosperity.

During the last decade, we implemented local self-governance and decentralization reforms, and were proud to call them Europe’s “best practices”. Today, the strength of Ukrainian communities’ self-governance is an important element of Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invaders. Regular citizens have self-organized to defend their cities, towns, and villages; they are coming barehanded to the streets to protest and face armed military forces with tanks. City mayors, community leaders and local deputies are doing their best to fulfill basic needs of their citizens under a sky full of Russian rockets. Cities and communities are being savagely bombed by Russian invaders…

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Open Letter to World’s Mayors and Local Self-Governance Leaders

At dawn on February 24, the Russian Federation attacked independent and sovereign Ukraine. This cruel bloodshed in the heart of Europe was the beginning of a full-scale insane war: civilians are being brutally killed, hospitals and kindergartens are being bombed, while key city infrastructure is being destroyed by the invaders. Various methods of terror are being applied, and the aggressor is grinding Ukrainian cities and villages to dust that until a few days ago were filled with happy citizens investing in their development and prosperity.

During the last decade, we implemented local self-governance and decentralization reforms, and were proud to call them Europe’s “best practices”. Today, the strength of Ukrainian communities’ self-governance is an important element of Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invaders. Regular citizens have self-organized to defend their cities, towns, and villages; they are coming barehanded to the streets to protest and face armed military forces with tanks. City mayors, community leaders and local deputies are doing their best to fulfill basic needs of their citizens under a sky full of Russian rockets. Cities and communities are being savagely bombed by Russian invaders. The city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region was attacked by forbidden hypersonic cassette missiles. More than four hundred thousand citizens of Mariupol are locked behind a blockade that is provoking humanitarian crisis. Cities like Irpin (Kyiv region) and Volnovakha (Donetsk region) are nearly destroyed from continued bombing by the enemy. Famous universities, historical and cultural and civil infrastructure of Kharkiv have been ruined. Chernihiv, one of the oldest cities in Ukraine and in Europe, is under systemic missile attacks by Russian forces. The whole world was frightened by news of Russia’s attack on Energodar (Zaporizhzhia region), the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. In Mariupol, ceasefire agreement was broken by Russian forces and evacuation route for civilians and the local maternity hospital was viciously shelled. Civilian infrastructure and residential areas in Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr remain under heavy shelling. Mykolaiv and Kherson are putting all their forces to defend their citizens and land, Mykolaiv witnessed the cruel shooting of kindergarten teachers. Invaders killed your mayoral counterpart, the mayor of Hostomel, on the outskirts of Kyiv, the city was heroically defending Ukraine’s capital.

We are very grateful for your support in this wartime by your humanitarian aid and shelter for Ukrainians escaping rockets and tanks. We also believe there is a larger role for the world’s cities and leaders to help bring peace by stopping the aggressor.

Ukrainian cities and communities learned from you that local self-governance is a key pillar of democracy. Now we ask you to apply this principle in your own countries to defend your Ukrainian counterparts and partner cities.
Our President, government officials and parliamentarians have addressed the UN, NATO, international organizations and leaders of the democratic world with one urgent request – to close the sky above Ukraine and help fight the aggressor and defend the European values that Ukrainians are giving their lives for. We understand there might be reasons why this hasn’t been done yet, but people’s lives are not worth excuses. Politicians and world leaders will not forgive themselves for permitting the unnecessary deaths of children who could become doctors, writers, engineers, economists. We also ask for stricter sanctions against Russia to stop this bloody war against sovereign Ukraine.

You can be a strong voice in your cities and communities that impacts decision-making of your countries’ leadership. The appeals and voices of mayors, associations of local self-governance and local deputies representing political parties should be loud to be heard. Help us protect our children and women as we would help to protect yours.

We urge you to mobilize direct contacts with your Ukrainian counterparts in partner-cities and partner-communities or within various international platforms. Allow Ukrainian representatives of local self-governance to address your people asking for support. Talk to your countries’ leadership and decision-makers about our cries for help with our defense. Appeal to your central governments to support Ukraine’s European Union and Euro-Atlantic integration under the accelerated accession procedure. Together, we can find solutions that save Ukraine.

Now, as never before it’s vital to unite behind European values, democracy and freedom. This is the moment to confirm those values. Today, we are all Ukrainians.

Mayors of big cities, heads of amalgamated communities and representatives of local-self-governance associations representing over 800 communities signed the letter.

Signatories:

Mayors:
Igor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv
Adnriy Sadovyy, Mayor of Lviv
Borys Filatov, Mayor of Dnipro
Vladyslav Atroshenko, Mayor of Chernigiv
Anatoliy Kurtieev, Mayor of Zaporizhzhia
Sergiy Hadal, Mayor of Ternopil
Ruslan Martsinkiv, Mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk
Vadym Boychenko, Mayor of Mariupol
Oleksandr Sienkevich, Mayor of Mykolaiv
Oleksandr Tretyak, Mayor of Rivne
Roman Klichuk, Mayor of Chernivtsi
Sergiy Sukhomlyn, Mayor of Zhytomyr
Oleksandr Symchyshyn, Mayor of Khmelnytskyy
Sergiy Morgunov, Mayor of Vinnytsia
Ihor Polischuk, Mayor of Lutsk
Bohdan Andriiv, Mayor of Uzhgorod
Anatoliy Bondarenko, Mayor of Cherkassy
Hennadiy Trukhanov, Mayor of Odessa
Yuriy Bova, Mayor of Trostyanets
Oleksandr Honcharenko, Mayor of Kramatorsk

Ministry:
Oleksiy Chernyshov, Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine

Associations:
Association “Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine”
Association of Amalgamated Communities of Ukraine
Association of Communities of Ukraine

Local Self-Governance Platform:
International Mayors Summit

If you wish to help or support Ukrainian cities, please coordinate efforts with us: Iryna Ozymok, Founder of the International Mayors Summit at iozymok@wnisef.org or info@wnisef.org

Video

Organizer

Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) is a $150 million regional fund, a pioneer in Ukraine and Moldova with over 25 years of successful experience in investing in small and medium- sized companies.

WNISEF was funded by the U.S. government via the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Since its inception, WNISEF’s cumulative investments total over $186 million to 130 companies employing 26,000 people and made it possible to unlock $2.2 billion for companies in Ukraine and Moldova.

In 2015 WNISEF has launched a $35 million legacy program focused on export promotion, local economic development, impact investing and economic leadership. WNISEF is funding innovative, high-impact, reform focused programs and aims to support Ukraine and Moldova at this critical period by developing sound economic policy and leadership.

Visit wnisef.org

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Олександр Маркушин: Ірпінь майбутнього, нове житло, залізне містечко, пошук коштів, Хірокі Мацура

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Володимир Шматько: обстріли Чорткова, де місто шукає гроші, московська церква, тимчасові переселенці

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Мер Любліна: допомога українцям, інноваційний бізнес, академічність міста, поради українським мерам

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Сергій Сухомлин: Житомир - місто військових, допомога мерів, український Нептун, відновлення бізнесу

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Олена Шуляк: відбудова зруйнованого житла, репарації рф, шефство над містами, повернення біженців

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Олександр Сєнкевич - Миколаїв, війна, бомбардування міста, Віталій Кім, евакуація, допомога мерів

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Війна в Україні | Мер Тростянця Юрій Бова про окупацію, життя під час війни та відбудову міста

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Війна в Україні | Мер Чернівців Роман Клічук про переселенців, гуманітарку та міста-побратими

Contacts

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Russia has started a full-scale war with Ukraine.
They have already began their attack on Ukraine, all major cities are under fire, civilians are suffering. Please, Stand with Ukraine!
✅ HOW CAN YOU HELP? The most important thing you can do for Ukraine now is to READ and SHARE verified information about Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
🔹 President of Ukraine
Web: https://www.president.gov.ua/en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zelenskiy.official
🔹 Ukraine’s official social media accounts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UkraineUA.MFA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ukraine.ua/
🔹 Embassy of Ukraine in your country (Web, Facebook & Twitter)
✅ Help to defend Ukraine — donate to Ukraine’s main charity fund — https://savelife.in.ua/en/donate/
✅ Help to defend Ukraine — donate to the fund of the National Bank of Ukraine https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi
✅ Help Ukraine by placing this widget on your website
https://github.com/ukraine-not-war/stop-war
Stand With Ukraine!