DECIDE and Ivano-Frankivsk region extend educational partnership until 2030

The document was signed by Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager, and Svitlana Onyshchuk, Head of the Regional Military Administration.

The strategic partnership will continue amidst the recovery and reform of the education sector.

‘We have already been working together with Ivano-Frankivsk region for six years – this is about trust, results, and a partnership that has withstood difficult times. Today, we are not simply extending this cooperation until 2030 – we are deepening it, with a focus on quality education, the implementation of specialised senior secondary school reform, the development of vocational education, the creation of a career guidance system, and the development of local democracy through education. It is about working together to develop quality education in the region,’ said Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager.

The Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration notes that the continuation of this cooperation is primarily about systematic support for communities and the development of educational reforms in the region, ‘This year, we also plan to launch a leadership programme, which involves internships for young people in state and local governments.’ According to Svitlana Onyshchuk, this is an important step towards shaping a new generation of specialists for the civil service.

Ivano-Frankivsk region has been a partner of DECIDE Project since 2020. During this period, a number of important initiatives have been implemented:

• the Strategy for the Development of Education in Ivano-Frankivsk Region for 2023–2027 and its implementation plan have been developed and approved, as well as 3 community development strategies, 4 strategies for the development of education in communities and 8 strategies for the development of general secondary education institutions;

• 9 grant projects have been implemented within the framework of cooperation between communities in education;

• more than 540 participants have joined the ‘Community Budget for Children’s Dreams’ initiative;

• 45 school participatory budgeting projects were implemented in 4 partner communities;

• 7 social projects initiated by pupils were implemented;

• a modern career guidance hub was established at the Vocational and Technical Education Centre No. 1 in Ivano-Frankivsk;

• 22 communities received advisory support on the implementation of specialised secondary education reform;

• 24 communities joined the national pilot of the career guidance system;

• more than 7,400 children took part in DECIDE Summer Clubs ‘We Are at Home – in Ukraine’, with the participation of over 300 teachers;

• 220 children completed training in video filming and editing, and a further 113 took a course in Scratch programming;

• representatives from 58 communities undertook professional development, and 169 teachers completed the course ‘Learning to Live in the Community’.

The next five-year cooperation will focus on:

• supporting the implementation of the reform of specialised secondary education and the development of a network of academic lyceums;

• supporting the reform of vocational education;

• strengthening inter-municipal cooperation between communities, in particular through grant programmes to create training laboratories;

• updating regional development strategies with a focus on education;

• developing educational agglomerations;

• professional development of education managers, community leaders, and school principals;

• developing teachers’ competencies in civic education and career guidance;

• developing the career guidance system and creating career guidance hubs;

• internship programmes for young people in regional administrations and local governments;

• DECIDE Summer Clubs initiatives ‘We are at home – in Ukraine’.

Six pilot partner communities are also to be selected in the region, with which the DECIDE Project team will work closely in identified areas.

The cooperation will continue until August 2030 within the framework of DECIDE Phase II.

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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