40 DECIDE partner communities gathered for a launch meeting dedicated to the development of communities with a focus on education

Oct 8

4 min read

On 5–6 October, Lviv hosted the inaugural session «Development of Communities with a Focus on Education». The heads of the partner communities met with DECIDE Project team to discuss key issues of education development at the local level, identify the communities’ current needs with regard to supporting the development of the education system, outline the main areas of cooperation with DECIDE, and plan the first steps of their joint work.

‘It is important for us to work with communities that have their own vision for development and are prepared to take responsibility for change. This is not just about individual educational projects, but about the comprehensive development of the education system in the community – from management decisions and strategic planning to the implementation of key reforms. DECIDE will help communities build on what they have already achieved, develop sustainable approaches, and create solutions that will continue to work even after our support has ended. All the initiatives we will be implementing together are aimed to ensure that children and young people see a future in their communities, want to study, work and develop here, and ultimately choose to live in Ukraine,’ said Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager.

During the session, DECIDE Project experts, together with community leaders, focused on the importance of working together to develop education and local self-government, as well as to support the implementation of reforms in education. Discussions centred on initiatives to be implemented in DECIDE partner communities during 2026–2030.

As previously reported, the partner communities of the second phase of DECIDE receive comprehensive support for the sustainable development of education and the implementation of reforms. In particular, the cooperation focuses on:

expert support for the reform of specialised senior schools, including the delivery of professional development programmes for community education leaders, teachers, school psychologists, and specialists of inclusive resource centres, provided by Ukrainian and Swiss experts;
the development of a career guidance system for children and young people in partnership with the business sector and local authorities, the establishment of career guidance hubs in communities, and the teaching of JOBS optional course in the curriculum for students in Grades 8-9 of general secondary schools;
expert support for strategic planning in education and community development, including assistance in developing or updating community development strategies, education development strategies, and school development strategies based on the «School of Active Democracy» methodology. This area also involves the implementation of a grant for a community infrastructure project in education in line with the community development strategy (on a co-financing basis);
support for the development of local democracy and the participation of community youth in decision-making and implementation - establishing school boards, introducing youth internships in local councils, implementing the «Community Budget for Children’s Dreams» initiative, and introducing an optional course in local schools «Learning to Live in the Community» through the implementation of grant-funded projects;
training for local government officials and education managers, including consultative support and training for users of AIKOM 2, as well as training for local government officials and local councillors on the implementation of reforms in education and local self-government.

During the opening session, the participants also learnt about practical solutions for the development of education in communities, the optimisation of the education network, and successful practices for establishing cooperation with the business sector to support the career guidance system for children and young people.

In Sheptytskyi, the participants visited the Taras Horodetskyi Lyceum and the Sheptytskyi Vocational College of Energy and Technology.

In Lviv, they visited DECIDE career guidance hub, which is based at the Lviv Vocational College of Automotive Transport and Construction. The participants learnt about the experience of providing career guidance to children and teenagers, examined successful examples of cooperation between the education sector, public authorities, and the business community, discussed current issues related to engaging young people in vocational education, and had the opportunity to take part directly in a career guidance event taking place at the hub.

It is worth recalling that Lvivska community is one of the communities where career guidance hubs were established in cooperation with DECIDE. It was opened one year ago – on 7 October 2025. Therefore, today the positive results and opportunities that such cooperation brings to the community’s children and young people can be discussed with good reason.

At the end of the expert session, the participants visited the Lviv City Council, where they met with the Mayor of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi. The meeting gave the participants the opportunity to discuss, in a friendly atmosphere with their colleagues, the challenges that local authorities face every day, to share experiences on identifying opportunities for community development, and to reaffirm that the strength of Ukrainians lies in partnership and constructive cooperation!

We are grateful to DECIDE Project’s partner communities for their constructive dialogue, active involvement, and willingness to work together to bring about change.

Four years of partnership lie ahead, dedicated to developing education, strengthening local self-government, and implementing reforms to enhance community resilience!

The DECIDE project is implemented by NGO DOCCU and PHZH International Projects in Education with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine.

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