Transparency in government decisions is usually one of the first casualties during a time of war. That’s why it was surprising to read that two Ukrainian communities – Zvyahel and Slavutych – will hold their first citizens’ assemblies in October and November.
I thought, “Bravo!” But the topics of the two assemblies in Ukraine are curious. One is how to create urban public spaces as “locations for social interaction and recovery.” The other is how to improve household waste management systems. It seems somewhat odd that these are the priorities selected by the residents of a country actively at war.
Then I read that the assemblies were initiated by the Council of Europe. I don’t know about you, but that raised questions for me. Given the discussion above about the choice of assembly topics, I wonder who set the priorities and why.
When I lived in the Gaza Strip and I talked to local NGO leaders about their priorities, it was common for them to first ask, “What will you fund?” They were so used to international NGOs coming to them with projects already selected that they didn’t even bother recommending their own solutions.
- PB
