Between Security and Transparency: a Study of How City Councils Work during the War

Ukrainian cities have survived the war and showed their resilience. However, russia’s aggression highlighted the challenges in finding a balance between transparency and security.

The matter of transparency found itself on the back burner at the beginning of the war. It is important to update this direction and continue the course of the state on transparency. After all, effective and efficient local self-government is the basis for the stability of the state, the trust of citizens and international partners.

For the first time since the beginning of the work, the Transparent Cities team conceptually changed the methodology for studying the transparency of cities. In wartime 2022, the team assessed only 70 cities out of the usual 100, and did so according to the updated criteria. Instead of points and places, we now have the status of the city and the level of indicators’ implementation.

We aim to record the state of cities because war is a great challenge. And with the example of best practices, we would also like to show how to find a balance that would allow local authorities to manage communities effectively even in war conditions, and the public to help them with this.

We invite representatives of local governments, public authorities, the public sector, the media, experts and proactive citizens to join the online presentation of the results of the study with an analysis of “good governance” examples.

Date: April 11.

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

How to join us? Pre-registration at the link — https://forms.gle/7iTLasme1pA4854A7

Event language: English/Ukrainian (simultaneous interpreting provided).

The participants who registered in advance will receive a reminder and a link to a stream of the event on YouTube and Facebook.

You will find out:

• Which cities are classified as “transparent”?
• How do cities implement indicators in different areas?
• Have the city councils adapted to the challenges of martial law?
• Recommendations for cities.

Should you have any additional questions, please contact: [email protected].

The event will take place within the project “Transparent Cities: E-Platform for Cooperation of Citizens and Local Governments for Accountability and Good Governance” implemented with the financial support of the European Union.