Representatives of coal mining towns took part in the Project Workshop for Coal Mining Communities

On June 14-16, 2023, the Project Workshop for Coal Mining Communities took place, which was attended by representatives of the newly established working group of coal mining towns.

With the russian full-scale invasion, the numerous problems of coal communities have been compounded by additional challenges. At the same time, it is important to plan for the recovery of communities with a view to addressing the problems that communities have had and still have in place as a result of the functioning coal industry, as well as those challenges that have additionally arisen during wartime.

Among the challenges that hinder the recovery and development of coal communities are – poverty, lack of water and/or its centralized supply and disposal, an increase in the number of internally displaced persons (people leaving the areas close to the war zone), a demographic crisis and an outflow of personnel, especially highly qualified ones (e.g., doctors).

The workshop should help community representatives to prepare better projects for the restoration and development of coal communities and facilitate a more effective search for partners for their implementation.

In particular, as a result of the event, representatives of mining communities:

• Gained practical skills in high-quality project development;
• Were inspired by ideas for possible community transformation projects and potential partners/donors;
• Learned more about the reconstruction of Ukraine and the legislation on community reconstruction planning and strategic planning;
• Expressed interest in the possibility of working on inter-municipal projects.