NEWS & EVENTS (January to March 2024)

This digest provides a concise overview of the main activities and accomplishments of the City Development Institute of Zaporizhzhia (CDIZ) during the first quarter of 2024. While not exhaustive, it highlights our latest news and key outcomes for our partners, donors, and beneficiaries, focusing on our humanitarian efforts, twinning and international collaborations, and local development involvement.

Municipal Projects

Thanks to our productive partnerships with local NGOs and funding from the Government of Japan, social institutions in Zaporizhzhia will soon benefit from a modern, wheelchair-accessible minibus and rehabilitation equipment.

The project “Improving Rehabilitation Services in Inclusive Resource Centers in Zaporizhzhiaˮ is a collaboration involving CDIZ, the city’s Department of Education and Science, and the “Strategies and Technologies for Effective Partnershipˮ NGO. This initiative, developed for the 2023 Kusanone grant competition, secured funding totaling $70,844.

The grant will be used to purchase a minibus for children with disabilities and three units of suspension-based physical therapy equipment, essential for enhancing services for people with disabilities and increasing accessibility within inclusive resource centers.

In March, CDIZ submitted a grant application for the UNDP’s open call with our project “Innovative and Accessible Services Based on Veteran Hubsˮ, developed alongside the Zaporizhzhia Legal Alliance NGO and the city’s Department of Social Protection of the Population. Additionally, proposals empowering youth were submitted to UNICEF’s open call and USAID’s “Dream and Actˮ program.

Supporting City Institutions

The CDIZ remains dedicated to bolstering the capacities of municipal utilities and hospitals, promoting energy sustainability, and assisting those affected by ongoing war. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the organizations that have supported our city, including:

UNHCR Ukraine, which provided fourteen generators to MTM Concern (municipal heating networks) and Points of Invincibility.
The “Via Stellaˮ Foundation in Poland, which supplied three generators to city’s Points of Invincibility.
USAID’s DG East project, which contributed a forklift to municipal company “Eluashˮ and four excavators to MTM Concern.
Rotary Club Zaporizhzhia-Khortytsia, which delivered a fully equipped ambulance from Bergheim, Germany, to City Hospital No. 9.
Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), which donated eight generators and continues to provide humanitarian aid and financial assistance to vulnerable families and those affected by shelling.
Nova Poshta, which allocated UAH 1 million to replace windows in damaged residential buildings.
Charitable Foundation for the Development and Support of Volunteer Activities, which supplied City Hospital No. 10 with 26 medical beds.
NGO “Proliskaˮ and UNHCR Ukraine, which replenished an IDP shelter with new home appliances.

These are only several examples of the invaluable support we’ve received in the first months of 2024. We also extend our gratitude to Ukrainian Action, UNICEF Ukraine, IOM Ukraine, Caritas Zaporizhzhia, the Zaporizhzhia Regional Organization of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, and all our partners for their ongoing assistance.

Recovery and Development

In collaboration with the Ro3kvit Urban Coalition for Ukraine, we have launched a project to develop Vision 2030 for Zaporizhzhia. We already organized initial events with experts and the public, formed working groups, identified key concerns, and set priorities for the future city development strategy.

We also participated in the Zaporizhzhia Recovery Forum in February, initiated by the “Ecosenseˮ NGO. This event brought together local government officials, NGO leaders, international organization representatives, experts, scientists, and volunteers. And our director, Viktoriia Agientaieva, moderated a panel discussion during the event.

Furthermore, CDIZ managers and other city stakeholders are engaged in the project “Development of Recovery Programs for Five Communities of Zaporizhzhia Regionˮ, led by NGO “Spilno HUBˮ and funded by USAID.

International Cooperation

During the first quarter, we updated our action plans for cooperation with Oberhausen and Magdeburg. The results arrived promptly: in April, Zaporizhzhia received vehicles for municipal entities through a program implemented by GIZ GmbH in partnership with German municipalities. Additionally, charitable organizations in Germany provided an ambulance and minibus to supplement the transport fleet of city hospitals.

We are exploring opportunities with our partner cities to organize safe recreational activities for children and youth from Zaporizhzhia. In April, Oberhausen will host a youth rowing team from Lokomotiv Sports School, and later this year, small groups of school students will visit Magdeburg and Lahti for a short summer break.

A major international event was the Ukrainian-Japanese Economic Forum in Tokyo, which our official delegation attended in February. Specialists of CDIZ contributed to the materials showcasing the city and its projects for this event.

Expanding Partnerships

This year, Ukrainian cities are eligible for the first time to participate in the Interreg Europe program, offering opportunities for interregional partnerships, experience exchange, and local policy improvement. Now, CDIZ is exploring these possibilities for Zaporizhzhia.

In March, thanks to the Cities4Cities initiative and SALAR International, we attended the “Europe, Let’s Cooperate!ˮ forum in Antwerp, where we established contacts with representatives of European municipalities and expert organizations preparing to apply for the Interreg Europe 3rd Call.

From January to March, CDIZ facilitated the signing of more than 10 memoranda of cooperation between Zaporizhzhia City Council and various partner organizations, including GIZ, the Ro3kvit Urban Coalition for Ukraine, Chemonics Inc. (USAID’s DG East project), and other national and international partners.

Training and Organizational Development

Since the beginning of the year, our managers have completed an online course and participated in a residency in Lviv on effective international cooperation organized by the Cities4Cities | United 4 Ukraine team. Our specialists have also attended trainings on community security and social cohesion provided by the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme.

U.S. Peace Corps volunteer William Abbott continues to facilitate informal online classes and conversation clubs for municipal specialists seeking to improve their English.

CDIZ provided organizational and technical support for local activities under the project “Community and Government: Dialogue, Trust, Action,ˮ funded by USAID’s DG East program. As part of this project, city council and municipal entity specialists enhanced their skills in intersectoral cooperation and public communication through comprehensive training.

Finally, in March, we launched our own Project Workshop — trainings on project management and fundraising for specialists of the city council and municipal entities. The training sessions are conducted twice a month by our experts and managers.