Today (September 29, 2025), Ukrainian Resilience Week 2025 has started in Lviv – an annual event that unites representatives of national government, local self-government, the expert community, and international partners to strengthen the resilience of Ukrainian communities.
The first day of the forum opened with the roundtable discussion “Building National Resilience: The Role of Local Self-Government”, held in the Grand Session Hall of Lviv City Hall. The discussion gathered representatives of central authorities, expert organizations, and municipalities of Ukrainian cities.
The roundtable participants discussed the action plan for implementing the Concept of the National Resilience System, adopted by Presidential Decree in 2021. This document defines national resilience as the ability of the state and society to withstand threats of any nature, adapt to changes, and quickly recover after crises.
Iryna Maistrenko, State Expert of the Government Office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, emphasized the importance of developing proposals for the new Action Plan for 2026.
Special attention was given to the principle of subsidiarity, enshrined in the decentralization reform. Maksym Terletskyi, Head of the City Institute, noted: “For resilience at the level of local self-government, it is important not to lose the achievements of decentralization, which has already strengthened the ability of communities to respond to challenges. The Action Plan must provide for the continuation of this reform.”
In the second part of the roundtable, leading expert institutions presented their work on resilience – including the Sociological Group “Rating,” the National Institute for Strategic Studies, and the Solidarity Fund Poland.
Yaroslav Zhalilo, Deputy Director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, emphasized: “The foundation of national resilience is a resilient community – cohesive, attractive for life, economically capable, and able to practice effective self-governance. This broadens the circle of stakeholders: from government bodies to business, civil society, and other actors.”
Ukrainian Resilience Week 2025 will continue in Lviv until October 2, featuring the Forum of Local Self-Government, a series of workshops, and panel discussions. It is expected that the outcomes of the Week will include proposals for the state Action Plan for 2026.
Ukrainian Resilience Week is organized by the City Institute together with the Lviv City Council, with the support of the project «Strengthening of Urban Resilience in Areas of Supply Infrastructure and Housing in Ukraine(SUR)», which is part of Germany’s transitional aid program, commissioned by the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH