DECIDE at Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026: new partnerships for community recovery and education development

    On 25–26 June 2026, Gdańsk hosted the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 – the leading international conference dedicated to Ukraine’s recovery. The event brought together more than 7,000 participants, including delegations from over 40 governments, international organisations, financial institutions, business, and civil society. During the conference, more than 200 international agreements and contracts aimed to support Ukraine’s recovery were concluded.

    The delegation from Switzerland was led by Jacques Gerber, Federal Council Delegate for Ukraine. During the conference, he joined discussions on the reform of public administration, community recovery, anti-corruption policy, and the development of science and innovation. The delegation also included Jean-Luc Bernasconi, Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine, who held a series of working meetings with partners on the further implementation of Swiss support programmes for Ukraine.

    DECIDE Project was represented by Valentyna Poltorak, Project Manager; Yuliia Molchanova and Larysa Zhabenko, Project Component Coordinators; and Yuliia Lokshyna, Head of the Partnership Development Expert Group.

    This year, DECIDE traditionally supported the School Nutrition Reform booth and the School Nutrition Reform Team. The visitors had the possibility to see the transformation of school kitchen units before and after modernisation, sample dishes from the school menu, learn about the work of the culinary hubs established with the support of DECIDE, and discover the capabilities of the new AIKOM 2 financial module, which ensures transparent analysis of the use of funds in the school nutrition sector.

    At the invitation of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, and with the support of DECIDE Project, representatives of six partner communities also participated in the conference: Trostianetska community (Sumy region), Berdychivska community (Zhytomyr region), Avanhardivka community (Odesa region), Bobrovytska community (Chernihiv region), Shostska community (Sumy region), and Sheptytska community (Lviv region). In total, more than 100 communities took part in the conference this year, presenting their own investment projects and development potential, including in education, to international partners.

    For the DECIDE team, participation in the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 was a chance to strengthen international partnerships, present the results of the reforms that are supported by Switzerland, and to open up new opportunities for the development of Ukrainian communities and the scaling up of successful initiatives, including the development of a career guidance system in Ukraine based on a partnership between the education sector, public authorities, and the business sector as one of the key steps towards the recovery and development of the country.

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    Alla Kostenko

    Since 2010, she has been working in the Executive Committee of the Trostyanets City Council. During several terms, she was repeatedly elected as the Managing Affairs Officer (Secretary) of the Executive Committee. This shows a high level of professional trust, work efficiency, and authority among the staff of the city council, members of the executive committee, deputies, and community leadership.
    She has two higher educations: she graduated from the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” with a degree in Marketing, and from Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics with a degree in Public Management and Administration. This provided her with strong knowledge in management, communication, human resources policy, and strategic planning.
    Over the years, she has shown herself as a responsible, systematic, and professional manager who is able to ensure effective coordination of executive bodies, organization of the city council’s work, and stable functioning of administrative processes. She pays great attention to the development of staff potential, building a professional team, improving executive discipline, and introducing modern approaches to personnel management. In her professional activity, she combines strategic thinking, organization skills, a practical approach, and a deep understanding of the community’s needs.

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