In Ivano-Frankivsk, Stand With Ukraine shared its experience of #MistoMatch with Ukrainian local authorities participating in the new cycle of Cities4Cities Mentorship.
On 9 and 10 September, Cities4Cities and the Polaris programme brought together newly participating Ukrainian hromadas, local authorities from the first cohort, and several international partners. The programme aims to support Ukrainian local authorities in developing their international cooperation by helping them structure their strategies, identify European partners, and turn these new contacts into concrete projects. Over the course of 10 months, they will benefit from dedicated support to advance these partnerships.
On Thursday, Edward Mayor, President of Stand With Ukraine, spoke about France’s experience of territorial cooperation with Ukraine and the work carried out through MistoMatch. Alongside other international partners, he discussed with local authorities how to build lasting partnerships and sustain them long after they have been signed.
A partnership should not remain a relationship between two mayors. It should gradually bring together residents, associations, businesses, universities, hospitals, and all the stakeholders across the territory. By multiplying these human, institutional, and economic connections, cooperation becomes more sustainable, and more people in France have the opportunity to discover Ukraine and the people who bring it to life firsthand.
This is precisely the ambition of #MistoMatch: to connect French and Ukrainian local authorities, facilitate in-person meetings, and turn partnerships into concrete cooperation (exchanges of expertise, youth projects, culture, healthcare, business, public services, or reconstruction).
Ukrainian local authorities are also ambassadors for their country. Through their partnerships, they help raise awareness in Europe of the realities of the war, but also of the resilience, expertise, and innovations being developed in Ukraine.
Because signing a partnership is only the beginning: the real challenge is to create lasting ties between territories and their residents.
Thank you to Cities4Cities for the invitation, as well as for its essential work supporting Ukrainian local authorities in strengthening their international cooperation capacities.
