International Mayors’ Conference ACT NOW in Brussels

Recently, at the invitation of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the mayor of Slavutych and Vice-President of the Mayors’ Club, Yurii Fomichev, attended the international ACT NOW Mayors’ Conference in Brussels.

The complex logistics were worth this meeting.

It is symbolic that the summit coincided with the day the European Commission recommended that the Council of Europe begin negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. The participation of communities in such meetings is very important. It helps develop horizontal connections between municipalities in Ukraine and Europe — from cultural exchanges and partnership projects to education and reconstruction processes.

EU accession is not only about shared values but also about interests that need to be considered and balanced. Here, our Ukrainian cities and communities have both the opportunity and the ability to advocate for Ukraine, to argue our interests in dialogue with partners. It is precisely the communities that can demonstrate the importance and urgency of our needs, find common ground with neighboring countries, and convince European societies that Ukraine will strengthen Europe and certainly has the right to be part of it.

Ukraine is Europe’s security.

Thanks to communication between communities, our resistance becomes understandable to the world and turns into a story with a face. Likewise, our education and business demonstrate potential: meetings, sports, exchanges — all of this works to reveal the real Ukraine to Europe in person.

The second key component of the conference was the reconstruction of Ukraine.

At the conference, the DREAM platform was presented — a state digital ecosystem for managing recovery. This analytical module functions like a dashboard, helping to track projects, including sources of funding, work progress, and more. The platform will enable not only maximum transparency in reporting but also the search for partners for financing and technical assistance. It is a unique tool that will surely surprise Europe as much as our Diia app has.

With one of the event’s organizers — the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) — we are implementing a project to insulate the Slavutych Lyceum. We had the opportunity to speak directly with the director of GIZ Ukraine, Mr. Daniel Bouchet, and update the project’s needs considering the conditions of communities during the full-scale war.

One of the main messages of the meeting was transparency in reconstruction.

Therefore, the involvement of city residents and public organizations is extremely necessary. Development at the local level is impossible without it. Local monitoring and participation institutions ensure the relevance of needs, trust, effective use of resources, and a truly European approach.

The European Green Deal is a set of programs that enshrine the main principles and foundations of the EU’s greatest achievements in ecology. For us, it can become a real growth driver — not to catch up, but to move forward alongside developed economies. Energy saving, green energy, diversified generation — all of this can open new markets for local businesses. Business drives communities, and it is better to do so together with European partners. We are preparing for the future now.

The large-scale summit was an opportunity to tell the world about Ukraine, its needs, and its potential.