Fellows of Salzburg Global's Ukraine Civil Society Forum established civil society priorities for the development of Ukraine's national reconstruction strategy
On 4-8 June 2023, Fellows of Salzburg Global Seminar gathered in Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, Austria, for a meeting of Salzburg Global’s Ukraine Civil Society Forum.
At the meeting, several working groups set out priorities for the country, including concrete recommendations for stakeholders to support the rights, return, and reintegration of displaced persons and refugees, addressing both immediate humanitarian needs and long-term perspectives including the ultimate physical reconstruction and social integration of liberated territories as part of a Ukraine-wide project of national identity.
The working group on national reconstruction established civil society priorities for the development of the national reconstruction strategy of Ukraine and for the de-occupied territories, in recognition that such strategies must be inclusive and transparent to gain legitimacy among Ukraine’s diverse citizens. Fellows concluded that effective contribution of civil society will only be possible in the case of capacity support, taking into account the conditions in which public organizations work in Ukraine. The group prioritized two problems: lack of care and wellbeing problems in civil society organizations (CSOs); and invisibility of CSOs as economic actors in recovery processes.
The Ukraine Civil Society Forum provides vital connectivity for Ukrainian civil society leaders both inside and outside the country not only with each other but also with strategic actors and in the private sector, international donor, development, and political communities, and counterparts in other countries in the region. It enables continued prioritization, planning and collaboration among Ukrainian civil society leaders for both near term support during the ongoing war, as well as for future reconciliation, reconstruction, and rebuilding processes.
Read the working group’s recommendations here.
Read the Ukrainian version here.
