Prerequisites for creation
In order to establish constructive cooperation with international donor support programs for the post-war reconstruction of Ukrainian regions, following the priorities of the "green" transition, the Social Association Ukrainian Refugees UAPT (HELPUA.PT), Portugal, initiated the process of uniting in the think-tank format the international community of professional experts, representatives of scientific and educational institutions, certification and legal support systems, volunteers and civil society activists to advocate for reforms and comprehensive rehabilitation, providing, in turn, organizational, informational, communication support, structuring and promotion of the community by thematic and regional aspects.
The formation of the ECO-PLATFORM OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT & GREEN TRANSITION (hereinafter referred to as ESD>) took place in the process of developing optimal ways of socializing Ukrainian migrants, during the creation of the Information and Training Program for the social and psychological rehabilitation of wounded military personnel, on the basis of the first European Social Project of the Fenix Rehabilitation Center, by involving them in recovery programs in Ukraine and other countries of the world, based on previous long-term programs and experience, individual expert and collective organizational cooperation, in accordance with the set of Sustainable Development Goals and targets.
After the opening of the Fénix Rehabilitation Center, by invitation, a meeting with Ukrainian military personnel took place in the Assembleia da República — the unicameral representative body (parliament) of Portugal. The President of the Assembly of the Republic (PAR) Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco received a group of 11 Ukrainian soldiers wounded in the war, who were in the above-mentioned rehabilitation center in Portugal for complex rehabilitation. The members of the parliament congratulated the wounded Ukrainians defending the independence and freedom of Ukraine with warm applause.
The primary task of the formed international consortium, which currently brings together high-level experts from Germany, Spain, Portugal and Ukraine, is to participate in the Ukraine Recovery and European Integration Program for 2024-2027, in the areas of Pillar II (investments under European guarantees) and Pillar III - grant support for project preparation, taking into account the needs and objectives of the practical implementation of the Acquis communautaire, in conjunction with all the performance indicators provided for in the Ukraine Facility Plan. Comprehensive programs for medical and social rehabilitation of war victims and improving the health of all citizens of Ukraine are included as components in the Green Transition and Environmental Protection direction. Achieving climate neutrality goals is a chance to modernize the Ukrainian economy, and increase its resourcefulness and competitiveness. This entails significant investments in the energy sector, green metallurgy, agriculture, and other areas - cumulative effect: improved public health protection, and increased innovation potential of the economy.
Preparatory organizational work is being carried out by the set of tasks set of tasks of the “green” transition and digitalization of processes, comprehensive rehabilitation of wounded citizens - victims of war, in the form of "pilot" projects in several territorial communities in the Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mykolaiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, and Kyiv regions, with the prospect of further expansion to other regions.
Our project team, which unites both professionals and civic activists from democratic NGOs, guarantees the establishment of systematic work on auditing the environmental condition of facilities and territories, energy efficiency indicators, consulting support for reconstruction programs in the processes of development/approval and implementation processes, which are introduced by partners from the EU, USA and other countries of the world, and require accompanying support in the form of educational, training activities with leading international organizations, as well as in the form of training and educational activities.
ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT THINK-TANK GROUP of the ESD> COMMUNITY
on the defined processes of project development and implementation, based on active cooperation with international and Ukrainian partners of the HELPUA.PT Association
Roman Kurtysh
President of HELPUA.PT Association, Head of the project areas for the development of the ECO-PLATFORM ESD>, development of effective international partnerships for the implementation of comprehensive rehabilitation programs for wounded and other citizens affected by the war in Ukraine and other countries of the world; restoration of war-affected areas and modernization of production facilities.
Pyatnitsky Victor
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Association HELPUA.PT
Melnychuk Vitalii Olehovych
Compliance Director. Coordinator for establishing international partnerships between the institutions involved in the project in Ukraine, Portugal and other countries of the world
Kozlovska Marina Vitaliivna
Project Manager, Sectoral Aspects and Regulatory Norms for the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernization of Ukraine in the Context of European Integration. COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE THINK-TANK COMMUNITY under international partnership programs.
Ostapenko Oleksii Ihorovych
Project Manager, Information Management Team Lead
José Ângelo Neto
Program Policy Officer
Luiz Miguel Campanacho Pelarigo
Chief Financial Officer
Iryna Davydovska
Coordinator for Functional Management and Volunteer Support of Projects
Olga Onufran
Coordination and information Management Officer
Maryna Ostapenko
SMM Coordinator (Information Management Specialist)
Coordination group
for the establishment of functional management and volunteer support of the Information and Training Space of the Social Project of the Rehabilitation Center of the Association HELPUA.PT
Nekh Andriy
specialist in complex rehabilitation
Nekh Liliia
specialist in social rehabilitation
Lada Sidorenko
Psychologist, psychotherapist in Gestalt therapy and CBT (Cognitive-behavioral therapy), group therapist, trained as a trainer-supervisor in Gestalt therapy and the course "Clinical Psychology". Volunteer at the Rehabilitation Center.
Lulka Alena
Valentyna Voronina
Qualification:
Head nurse of the rehabilitation department
Physical therapy
Awards and gratitude
for the management and team of the Rehabilitation Center
Exchange of awards during the visit to the Portuguese Parliament
Gratitude to the Ministry of Defense of Portugal for participation in the Inauguration of the Fenix Rehabilitation Center
Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Member of the "Servant of the People" parliamentary faction, Member of the Committee on Social Policy and Veterans' Rights - Anatolii Ostapenko
NGO "Lviv regional union of social protection of ATO fighters and families of the victims"
Gratitude from the commander of the military unit, Colonel Oleksandr Zuev, for providing qualified medical care and rehabilitation to the combatants.
Order of honor and bravery of the first degree Awarded to Kurtysh Roman Vladimirovich by the decision of the Board of the Kyiv City Union of Afghanistan Veterans July 18, 2022
Kurtysh Roman Volodymyrovych on the recommendation of the Lviv Regional Union of Social Protection of ATO Soldiers and Families of the Fallen Awarded with the “Cross of Civil Merit” All-Ukrainian Association of Citizens Sirkiv B. 01.12.2023
Roman Kurtysh Volodymyrovych is awarded a medal for a good deed on the recommendation of the People's Deputy of Ukraine July 7, 2023 Ostapenko Anatolii Dmytrovych Member of the Parliament of Ukraine
Kurtysh Roman Volodymyrovych IS AWARDED WITH the insignia “177th Battalion of Territorial Defense” Battalion Commander O.Zuyev 15.06.2024
Expert think-tank community
Ruslan HAVRYLYUK
Alexander BOBROV
Tetyana DYMAN
Sergiy SHCHERBYNA
Vadym KERESTEI
Lubov SOTSKA
Petro KALYTA
Юрий КАБАКОВ
Валентин ТИХОНЕНКО
Svitlana BADERA
Taras BEBESHKO
Tatiana YASKEVICH
Ірина Ільченко
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP #Think-tank_ESD>
In the 2023 enlargement package, the European Commission recommended starting accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, and on June 25, 2024, the European Union officially opened accession negotiations with Ukraine at an intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg. Thanks to international support, the country is in a state of preparation for the creation of an effective market economy. At the same time, successes in the protection of consumer rights and health care, social policy and employment, business and industrial policy, science and research are noted as limited. Involvement of public organizations (Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), non-governmental public organizations (NGOs) is considered one of the key conditions for recovery and reconstruction in cities and territorial communities. Opportunities to join both the implementation of EU programs and involvement in all UN programs regarding participation of NGOs, according to the directions of the protection of human rights, and the Goals of Sustainable Development, according to the comprehensive directions, taking into account the needs of the 2024 Report #Think-tank_ESD> is being built taking into account the needs of recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine in the process of European integration, as well as current tasks of sustainable development at the global level, and in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals of Ukraine until 2030, defined by the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated September 30, 2019 No. 722.
Applied aspects of the INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP #Think-tank_ESD> are being formed by the Mine Action Strategy adopted by the Government of Ukraine at the end of June 2024, as one of the indicators of the Ukraine Facility (Plan for financial support of Ukraine from the European Union, for recovery/reconstruction and support for the transition to membership in EU), covering a complex of humanitarian demining issues, personnel training, in particular by involving vulnerable groups of citizens affected by the war in Ukraine, rehabilitation of the wounded, monitoring of eco-threats and restoration of the environment. The leading partner in this direction is the leading organization with strong experience in performing a complex of humanitarian demining works - the National Mine Action Operator of Ukraine Demining Solutions.
The scientific research and educational structures of the State Ecological Academy of Postgraduate Education and Management act as reliable participants in the international partnership on the complex of issues of humanitarian demining, eco-security, and innovations in the conditions of European integration, on the priorities of sustainable development. On October 13, 2023, Academy rector Oleksandr Bondar and Roman Kurtysh, president of the charity organization HELP UAPT (Portugal), signed a Memorandum of Cooperation at the State Environmental Academy of Postgraduate Education and Management. It provides for the establishment of partnership relations and the development of long-term effective and mutually beneficial cooperation. Within the framework of this Memorandum, the parties agreed to develop joint actions to solve environmental problems in Ukraine in the most important directions, intended to overcome the consequences of the war in Ukraine for the environment and the health of citizens.
The partnership program includes, in particular, the implementation of soil condition monitoring based on the results of demining in non-urban territories of Ukraine using an ecosystem approach; participation in the joint implementation of new scientific programs and projects in the field of environmental safety during demining of the territories of Ukraine; definition and implementation of strategic approaches to the revitalization of lands affected by military actions, including - the forest fund of Ukraine; study of problems of local destruction of local flora, as well as migration and reproduction of fauna species; environmental monitoring and soil restoration as part of the main long-term challenges; development of methods of soil restoration in ecosystem perspectives for the green reconstruction of Ukraine, etc.
The parties intend to implement cooperation in the direction of solving several other issues related to the development of sectoral problems related to the environment and adaptation to climate risks in Ukraine.
The State Ecological Academy of Postgraduate Education and Management is the leading organization of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, scientific, practical, and methodical work on issues of environmental protection, rational use of natural resources, ensuring environmental safety, conducting ecological expertise, implementing mechanisms of ecological management, in particular, ecological audit, standardization, certification, and metrology in the field of environmental protection, preparation of scientific ecological expert assessments of the state of objects of increased environmental danger. The Academy coordinates the development and implementation of new instructional-methodical and recommendatory documents in the specified areas of activity. The Interbranch Coordination Center for Environmental Education for Sustainable Development, the analysis of the international experience of the implementation of ecopolitics and the policy of balanced development, as well as the development of action plans for environmental protection and strategies for balanced development, functions. Responsible for creating the legal basis for implementing the UNECE Strategy on Education for Balanced Development. The preparation of proposals for the integration of education for balanced development into the qualification requirements of ecologists and educational standards of the post-graduate education system, as well as upgrading the qualifications of teaching staff in the post-graduate education system for balanced development. Rector of the Academy Oleksandr Bondar and Deputy Director of the Interdisciplinary Coordination Center for Environmental Education for Sustainable Development Viktor Ermakov joined the International Action Platform for the Green Recovery of Ukraine, which began work on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024. The joint statement on the launch of the platform was signed by the Deputy Secretary General, Executive Secretary of the European Economic Commission of the United Nations Tatiana Molchan UNECE, executive director of the UN Environment Program Inger Andersen, and Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD Mathias Korman. This happened in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Rights Protection of Federal Germany Steffa Lemke, and the Commissioner of the European Union for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries. The platform will become an effective mechanism for attracting the experience and expert potential of the world's leading countries to the green restoration of Ukraine, as well as a center for the exchange of the latest developments and ideas. It will create all the conditions for the creation and effective operation of new projects in the field of ""green"" restoration.
During the panel “Green Transition as a Business Case,” the draft National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) until 2030 was presented.
By the above, the Social Association HELPUA.PT represents the international community united in the #ESD> format, which adheres to the comprehensive MODEL OF ORGANIZING ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY EXPLOSIVE DANGEROUS OBJECTS IN UKRAINE (Model Advocacy - Mine Action), developed by UNDP/UNDP based on an adaptation of international experience, the International Mine Action Standard IMAS 13.10, analysis of 50+ regulations and study of the situation in 6 de-occupied communities.
The model takes into account the factors of available resources and the capacity of communities to implement it. Therefore, it can be implemented in communities, both in full and by individual components.
The model provides for the organization of assistance to victims at the community level in 17 areas, including
education on the risks of ERW hazards
provision of medical care
psychological assistance
rehabilitation
education;
economic and social inclusion.
The model includes a description of each element, identification of stakeholders for interaction, a checklist for clarifying the situation in the community for each element, and implementation recommendations for local governments.
Development of international partnership in the organization's comprehensive rehabilitation of wounded ex-combatants and civilians based on the goals and targets of sustainable development;
attracting donor resources for the rehabilitation of injured ex-combatants within the framework of humanitarian demining programs, as well as the UN and EU cross-sectoral humanitarian response, along with programs for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine in the format of public-private international partnership;
combining physical rehabilitation and environmental improvement measures within the framework of green business transformation to restore the territories and production facilities affected by the war in Ukraine;
as well as to socialize migrants by engaging them in sustainable development programs worldwide.
The formation of the #Think-tank_ESD> community is aimed at establishing long-term and systematic partnerships aimed at combining efforts in establishing transparent and effective forms of interaction, in the integrated structure of European and other international donor support programs, by combining international efforts in applied sectoral/cluster and regional aspects to assess and overcome environmental damage caused by military operations;
expanded professional training of personnel according to a set of European sectoral regulations and international standards, in particular, public activists in expert groups on recovery, reconstruction, and modernization in territorial communities, in the process of European integration transition.
The leading partners are the National Environmental Center of Ukraine (NECU), as a participant in WG3 "Environment, climate change, and energy security" of the Ukrainian National Platform of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership of the EU (UNP EaP CSF) and WG5 "Energy, transport, environment, and climate change", The Ukrainian side of the Civil Society Platform (US CSP) EU-UA) Ukraine - EU, in partnership with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC); Public union "INNOVATIVE ARKHUS NETWORK OF TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES OF UKRAINE AND THE CITY OF KYIV", as part of Working group 3 "Economic cooperation, free trade zone, cross-border cooperation" of the US CSP; "THE FIRST ALL-UKRAINIAN AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY SERVICE", ALL-UKRAINIAN PUBLIC ORGANIZATION. which has separate subdivisions: 24 branches, as part of Working Group 3 "Economic Cooperation, Free Trade Zone, Cross-Border Cooperation" of the PSC, and also as part of Working Group 5. Social and Labor Policy and Social Dialogue, Ukrainian National Platform of the Eastern Civil Society Forum EU Partnerships (UNP EaP CSF), and other organizations are presented in the Donors and Partners section of the ESD> Eco-Platform.
Directions and main tasks of international partnership:
- Establishment of international partnerships for the implementation of environmental acts and UN programs, programs for comprehensive rehabilitation of the wounded and the creation of relevant professional networks, expansion of the expert and volunteer base with the involvement of Ukrainian specialists, including migrants, in different countries of the world, in the context of establishing a full-fledged innovative business, public, scientific, technical, analytical, information and communication, expert and methodological, educational, training, and advocacy support.
- Establishing international partnerships to promote a just, green and people-oriented economic recovery of Ukraine, in particular in the RRR4U Consortium format, involving scientists and experts of a wide range of profiles, implementing European approaches, reliable methods and practices for assessing environmental violations due to local, trans-regional, continental and global consequences of military operations in Ukraine.
- Application of European approaches in the planning and implementation of ecological, energy-efficient recovery of Ukraine following local and trans-regional consequences of military actions, taking into account current European standards and methods of environmental management and audit, energy efficiency, needs for establishing their renewal in a complex with appropriate European-class laboratory support, and training/retraining of personnel, development of mutually beneficial cooperation with scientists, tutors, branch specialists, other stakeholders, during the transition to European regulatory norms and standards.
- Involvement of European and other international partners in the process of elaborating and introducing modern technologies, as well as laboratory-metrological and regulatory support being relevant to determine needs and opportunities to implement a "green" transition when restoring the Ukrainian production sectors and regions, including through the deployment of mutually beneficial international trade partnerships and targeted support from international financial and technical assistance funds.
- Expanded international cooperation and interaction in the field of resource-efficient reconstruction and renovation of production facilities and ancillary facilities, the introduction of innovative materials and technologies in the processes of spatial planning of sustainable development of territorial communities, in particular in meteorological systems and training of certified specialists; implementation of international accounting standards in product life cycle assessment. Development of technological and organisational solutions to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and restoration of degraded soils according to the landscape approach are key goals facing Europe and other countries of the world and are widely covered by the UN and EU acts.
- Implementation of European energy consumption requirements aimed at minimising energy consumption. Implementation of technologies for the construction of buildings with near-zero energy consumption (nZEB) is one of Europe's leading goals. Establishing professional networks in the structure of the construction industry's value chain in the areas of energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy resources (RES), taking into account best practices and relevant programs of the EU, the UN, and various progressive countries of the world.
- Establishment of flexible, transparent, and effective project management forms. Preparation of business plans for implementing various forms of programs in international aid of the specified profile in Ukraine, deploying and joining international networks of professional communities, according to the priorities of green investments and innovative development (small and medium-sized businesses), arrangement of interaction with European programs for the deployment of innovation clusters, sustainable development, interregional and intercontinental partnership, formation of intelligent communities, for interaction with creative processes of culture, etc.
- Formation of educational and training programs for specialists with a defined purpose and tasks, in particular by establishing the Information and training space at the Center for Medical, Psychological and Social Rehabilitation of Ukrainian Military Wounded in Portugal and other EU countries and deploying relevant centres in Ukraine.
- Wide implementation of social rehabilitation programs for war veterans in Ukraine in partnership with other countries of the world and creation of new jobs in the format of innovative small and medium-sized businesses, taking into account the needs of other inclusive communities and the most vulnerable categories of citizens affected by the war in Ukraine, in cooperation with the EU and UN humanitarian response programs.
- Establishment of an International HUB for Innovations and Technologies at the premises of the United Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, Association of Enterprises NGO "ENERGY ALLIANCE" with international partners, with the active participation of the parties to this Memorandum, which will play the role of a center of the latest knowledge, demonstration of the latest materials, technologies, and equipment in the fields of energy efficiency, resource efficiency, and sustainable development, as well as a center for business acquaintances and communications, research, and education.
- Implementation of the communication strategy on European integration of Ukraine for the period up to 2026 by strengthening participation in the processes of interaction with the EU member states on public and practical support for Ukraine's European integration course - development of the International HAB Centres in other countries in partnership with innovative humanitarian programs.
- Raising awareness of the citizens of the EU Member States about the EU's strategic course in the context of the Green Transition and achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and the simultaneous processes of Ukraine's European integration. The intensification of Russian aggression is accompanied by significant migration flows from Ukraine, with corresponding financial and organizational burdens, which requires the development of a migrant employment program with opportunities for professional development, and the formation of a transregional dialogue on the exchange of experience on the green transition.
- Promotion of relevant reforms and measures on the specified issues in various forms of global partnership under the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, taking into account the specifics of each Humanitarian Response Cycle, advocacy of legal and political reforms to create conditions for successful socio-economic development of Ukraine. Due to the escalation of hostilities and the change of the front line, civilians and civilian infrastructure are suffering, which leads to the displacement of people and the limitation of humanitarian access. Public awareness and skills are needed for local/transregional and international partnership in the field of ensuring sustainability and rebuilding the national economy with a safe environment, in particular with the rural environment for the production and consumption of agro-food products. Expanding opportunities for the private sector to be a key partner in the process of ensuring the recovery and stability of the Ukrainian economy, in the conditions of establishing a permanent process of determining the damage and restoration of the environment. A growing global population, an increase in varying degrees of land-use conflicts, changing consumer behavior and gradual climate change will require increasing knowledge and skills in Agriculture and Food Economics (AFECO) for a sustainable future.
- Cooperation in the #Think-tank_ESD> community format is based on the following principles: Equality, legality, mutual assistance, efficient response, expediency, and confidentiality of information obtained during cooperation. In the cooperation process, the legal requirements of the EU and countries to which the organizations belong, and where appropriate, of other international donors, shall be considered. Participants coordinate their work plans regarding the implementation of measures aimed at achieving the goal of cooperation, exchange necessary materials within the framework of collaboration, establish operational and strategic planning, and timely analysis of the effectiveness of cooperation between the Parties.
Augusto Santos Silva - President of the Portuguese Assembly shakes hands with ex-combatant during a solemn meeting in the Parliament
Based on the materials of the webinar "Green transition of the EU: a look into the future of climate neutrality" of the Women's Energy Club of Ukraine. 2024/10/23 (as part of the series of webinars under the general theme "Green course and new technologies: the future of energy and sustainable communities"). Speaker: Andriy Andrusevych — Senior Policy Analyst at the Resource and Analysis Center "Society and Environment" , Vice President & Board Member at the European Environmental Bureau - EEB
