Strengthening community resilience: New initiative launches in Zaporizhzhia

As part of a newly established partnership, the Zaporizhzhia City Council, the Zaporizhzhia City Development Institute, and the Israeli Trauma Coalition (ITC) held their first joint resilience training program.

This initiative is designed to strengthen the psychological preparedness of municipal sector employees and the civic sector to operate effectively under constant stress and emergency conditions.

The training marks a successful exchange of experience between Zaporizhzhia — a Ukrainian city near the front line — and Israel, a country with decades of expertise in crisis response.

The one-day intensive session was led by crisis psychologists and ITC trainers. Participants learned Israeli approaches to providing initial emotional support and received practical tools for stabilizing themselves and others during stressful situations. This knowledge is especially valuable for professionals who work daily with people experiencing anxiety, loss, or uncertainty. The skills gained help them better understand reactions to stress, and enable them to offer basic emotional support quickly and confidently — whether to colleagues, subordinates, or community members.

Key topics covered during the training included:

• Understanding psychological trauma and strategies for recovery;
• Core self-regulation techniques for use in crises;
• Principles of effective communication with people affected by traumatic events;
• Action algorithms for dealing with aggression, panic, crying, or emotional “freezing.”

Specialists from various city departments had the opportunity to acquire professional knowledge and tools that have already proven effective in other countries where resilience is a critical issue.