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MARIUPOL MAYOR VADYM BOICHENKO PRESENTS THE CITY REVIVAL PLAN TO THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Kyiv, 23 April 2024 - Vadym Boichenko, Mayor of Mariupol, spoke about Mariupol Reborn, the unified plan of the post-occupation revival of the city at the 160th Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels on Wednesday 17 April 2024. Importantly, the experience of developing and implementing this large-scale project is a practical case study for more than 200 communities that have been and are still under temporary occupation.
Mr Boichenko is also head of the Section for the Development of De-occupied and Temporarily Occupied Communities at the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC). The AUC provides the framework for the dialogue between Ukrainian communities as well as highlighting the importance of European experience in creating a personnel reserve of specialists in recovery and reconstruction.
Mr Boichenko emphasised that he was speaking on behalf of 144 temporarily occupied and 87 de-occupied Ukrainian communities. Four million Ukrainians have lost their homes, and an even greater number of our citizens have received the terrible status of internally displaced persons. Every community that has suffered the terrible consequences of the war needs timely and comprehensive assistance. He thanked the European community for the support it has provided Ukraine since the first days of russia's full-scale invasion, and he asked the audience to continue to act and, ideally, to increase assistance. Vadym Boichenko said, "Today, Ukrainian communities need support on various fronts. In particular, we have already started preparing for the de-occupation of our territories. We do not know when exactly this will happen, but we know for sure that we must be ready. As part of our Section at the Association of Ukrainian Cities, we have started a dialogue between communities on reconstruction. There is an example of my city - the Mariupol Reborn project, which involves international partners. There are other examples for Bakhmut, Irpin and Bucha, and beyond. We need European experience in creating a personnel reserve for the recovery and reconstruction of our country. We are looking for opportunities to adopt best practices from our partners. And we need your help to create a joint training tool for managers for reconstruction, a kind of School of Recovery of Ukraine." High-quality preparation for the implementation of recovry plans is valuable for the temporarily occupied and liberated communities. It is also a guarantee of a result that can be scaled up to other war-affected areas of Ukraine. In turn, this will enable Ukraine to make its full contribution as a European country. Oleksandr Vyshniakov, director of Mariupol Reborn and head of community development at the Metinvest Group, said, "Mariupol Reborn has already developed a comprehensive examination of the city's restoration, covering the urgent first steps and strategic visions for the city, as well as developing experience in attracting donors. This expert base is universal and is already being used by communities to restore Ukrainian cities. The support Rinat Akhmetov's SCM is providing to Mariupol Reborn is one of the important ways the group is contributing to Ukraine's reconstruction.” Mariupol will be able to restore its flagship position as a modern Ukrainian city after it returns to the Ukrainian flag. -ends- The Mariupol Reborn project is being implemented by the Mariupol City Council with the investment support of Rinat Akhmetov's SCM. For more information please contact:
Hanna Korotych +380 (97) 347 70 39 hanna.korotych@scm.com.ua
Edwin Shankar +47 415 23 012 Edwin.shankar@leidar.com
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