#V4RIT-SUARR – Topics of the Virtual Autumn School “We learn from the mistakes of others” focused on municipal waste management

As part of the V4RIT-SUARR project - V4 Regions in Transition Supporting Ukraine Redevelopment and Reconstruction, the Virtual Autumn School "We learn from the mistakes of others" consisted of six lectures presenting different aspects of management at local and regional level, and a workshops part.

The Virtual Autumn School "Learning from the mistakes of others" was dedicated mainly to representatives of Ukrainian local authorities as key actors in the processes of reconstruction of Ukraine and its preparation for accession to the European Union. It was attended by 67 participants from: 32 Ukrainian municipalities, 5 from the Czech Republic, 16 from Poland, 7 from Slovakia and 8 from other countries (Germany, France, USA and Moldova). The training was prepared by experts from the Czech IURS, the Polish IETU and the Slovak SPECTRA. The recruitment of participants from Ukraine was perfectly organised by the LEDA Network of Local Economic Development Agencies.

The topics of the presentations focused on the problems of rebuilding and reconstructing mining regions in transition, resulting from the effects of climate and social change. This time, the focus was on case studies relating to the problems of nature protection and conservation, biodiversity and green diversity, implementation of climate resilience measures, planning and implementation of municipal waste management with the idea of the Circular Economy. In addition, the possibilities of combining phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soils with the production of high-yield energy crops and the technical problems of new construction related to underground mining were pointed out.

In the theme of this meeting, "We learn from mistakes of others", the speakers pointed out things that have gone wrong and why, what can be done to avoid them, why some solutions are readily accepted and others, even more effective, are not. What pre-testing gives and what money can be saved by doing it.

At the Autumn Virtual School of the V4RIT-SUARR project, our lecturers showed that it is possible to talk about transformation problems in a different way - says Piotr Cofałka, Deputy Director for Research and Development - In addition to pointing out mistakes made in various projects, it was important to show aspects that are often forgotten or treated as secondary in regional transformation activities. I am thinking, for example, of the protection of biodiversity, the creation of ecological corridors or the restoration of habitats.

The final point of the Virtual Autumn School "Learning from the mistakes of others" was the workshops "Searching for a future function is difficult, but necessary". The Autumn School ended with a knowledge test. After passing the test, the participants received certificates.

On behalf of the V4RIT-SUARR project implementers, we would like to thank all participants and lecturers for their excellent cooperation.

Strengthening the functioning of Ukrainian local authorities as key actors in the processes of reconstruction of Ukraine and preparation for its accession to the European Union is the main objective of the V4RIT-SUARR project financed by the Visegrad Fund.

More about V4RIT-SUARR project