Community Recovery Academy: second training stream for managers from 17 regions of Ukraine launched

On 2 October 2025, the second training course of the Community Recovery Academy began with the forum "Community Development in Ukraine: Achievements, Trends and Strategic Challenges". The forum served as a platform for dialogue between communities, the government, international partners and educational institutions, as well as a starting point for a new stage of training.

The forum brought together representatives of local and central government, international organisations and leading universities. Participants discussed challenges, shared experiences and identified strategic priorities. Two key panels were held: "Veterans for Communities: Ambassadors of Development" and "Local Recovery and Development: Achievements, Trends and Challenges". Participants reviewed cases from the past year: a new water pipeline from the Southern Bug, social housing for displaced persons, and the Mariupol Strategy.

After the Forum, participants of the second stream of the Community Recovery Academy started their training. The programme runs from October 2025 to April 2026 and covers five modules in a mixed format – both offline and online. It includes lectures, practical case studies and workshops.

The second stream involves 120 community representatives from 17 regions of Ukraine, including Melitopol, Nikopol, Okhtyrka, Kakhovka, and Balakliya. These are communities that are under temporary occupation, have been de-occupied, or have suffered as a result of hostilities.

Municipal teams will learn how to develop reconstruction strategies, economic modelling, overcome social conflicts, attract investment and resources – everything in order to lay the foundation for the sustainable development of their communities today.

We would like to thank all our partners who contributed to the creation of the first and second training programmes and made this project possible, in particular the Association of Ukrainian Cities and Mariupol Reborn, Metinvest and System Capital Management, the British Embassy in Kyiv, the International Republican Institute (IRI Ukraine),  National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Metinvest Polytechnic.