Coimbra builds “bridges of trust” with eight Ukrainian municipalities

Othe cities of the Coimbra Region have today begun to build “bridges of trust” with eight Ukrainian municipalities, within a European project that aims to strengthen institutional relations and promote the sharing of experiences.

“ We want to build bridges between municipalities, but also between people. Bridges that resist time and strengthen through knowledge, collaboration and friendship”, said the President of the Intermunicipal Community (CIM) of the Coimbra Region, Helena Theodosio.

Portuguese and Ukrainian authorities signed this afternoon, in the city of Coimbra, Letters of Intentions under the European project ‘Bridges of Trust’, developed by the Council of the Cities and Regions of Europe (CEMR), in partnership with the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC).

The eight partnerships involve the Portuguese municipalities of Góis, Cantanhede, Miranda do Corvo, Soure, Pampilhosa da Serra, Penela, Lousã and Montemor-o-Velho and, on the Ukrainian side, Lopushne, Mykulyntsi, Vinkivtsi, Dabriva, Kosmach, Staryi Ostropil, Hryshkivtsi and Murovani Kurylivtsi, respectively.

“In the Metropolitan Region of Coimbra they find a community of municipalities available to welcome you, to share experiences and to build cooperation relations with you based on trust, respect and friendship,” Helena Theodosio said at the reception session of the Ukrainian delegation.

During her speech, the mayor of Cantanhede also stressed that this cooperation should be understood as an opportunity for mutual learning, arguing that the signature of documents represents only the beginning of a process that should be translated into concrete initiatives with benefits for the people.

“ A signature of a document only gains real meaning when it translates into relationships of trust, concrete initiatives and benefits for the communities we represent,” he said.

On behalf of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, Stanislav Taran stressed the importance of the initiative in a context in which the Ukrainian population continues to face constant attacks.

“Even in this difficult situation we understand that we need to participate in projects,” he said, expressing the expectation that the working days will be productive and allow the formalized intentions to be realized.

Look Rubchak of the Ukrainian Cities Association highlighted the affinities between territories and the importance of establishing lasting relationships.

“There is much in common, even in the landscape, they are very similar,” he said, considering that the Coimbra Region provided the Ukrainian municipalities with “eight true friends” and expressing the desire for this friendship to last.

The Ukrainian representative also stressed the importance of learning from Portuguese experience, particularly as regards European integration and the relationship between the European Union and the municipalities.

The ceremony was also attended by the Executive Secretary of the CIM of the Coimbra Region, Jorge Brito, who highlighted the importance of this project for the rapprochement of Ukraine to the European Union.

With regard to the project today formalized, among the areas identified for future collaboration identified local governance and strengthening institutional capacity; civil protection and community resilience; education, culture, youth; and sustainable territorial development.

The project aims to “promote the creation of lasting relations between European and Ukrainian municipalities through the sharing of knowledge, experience and good practice, as well as the development of joint projects and initiatives”.