For the first time, Ukrainian mayors and top businesses will generate urban solutions at the International Mayors Summit

The Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), supported by the Office of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, is organizing an international event on October 9, 2018, where Ukrainian mayors and their foreign colleagues will share best urban development practices

For the third year in a row, the International Mayors Summit will bring together mayors from throughout Ukraine, their foreign counterparts, local government leaders and the innovative business community to find solutions to key problems in the cities. The topic of this year’s Summit is “Cooperation for Economic Growth,” with a specific focus on partnership with business.

The summit is organized by the Western NIS Enterprise Fund under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman.

“Ukraine can and should become an economic stronghouse,” says Prime Minister Groysman. “To get there, we need to understand that we all share responsibility for the future of our country. That’s why the Summit includes plans to professionally discuss the concept of cooperation and innovative approaches that can work at the local level.”

The format of this event will include presentations of success stories involving public-private partnerships in the cities of Poland, Germany, Finland, Norway, and the US, as well as the achievements of Ukrainian cities in such matters as modernizing water supply systems and infrastructure, urban renewal, waste recycling, and other municipal projects.

For the first time, this year’s Summit introduces speed business networking, a new platform for mayors to get to know the CEOs of leading Ukrainian and international companies such as Visa, Datagroup, Mercedes-Benz, Kerameya, Google, Danfoss, Interproject GmbH, iC Consulenten Ukraine, and many more. The event held in partnership with the Energy-Efficient Cities of Ukraine Association and the Association of Small Cities of Ukraine.

“This event is primarily for mayors as city managers,” says IMS Founder Iryna Ozymok. “It’s more than just another conference because we offer a format that allows them to put into practice what they learn at the Summit. At the same time, the mayor is not the only person responsible for the city development. Many cities around the world have examples of city-to-business partnerships, such as San José, California, and city-to-community cooperation in Bologna, Italy. After all, the community is an additional human resource to generate change in a city, understand its needs and engage actively. That’s why we started a campaign called ‘What idea can change your city?’ to find out what new ideas mayors, citizens and community have about their cities. We plan to help the best of these to be put into action.”

To suggest an idea that can change your city, visit the International Mayors Summit website at http://internationalmayorssummit.com or check the hashtag #мояідеямоємісто on social networks starting September 10, 2018. There you will find complete details about this competition.

The International Mayors Summit is an annual event that brings together city mayors, local government leaders and local development experts to promote innovation and quality city governance that can improve the quality of life for residents. Last year, the Prince of the Netherlands, Constantijn van Oranje, was the Guest of Honor at the Summit. This autumn, the organizers expect mayors and experts from Austria, Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and the US.

Visa is this year’s Summit exclusive partner. Partners of the event are Datagroup, Autocapital, the official Mercedes-Benz representative office in Ukraine, Daimler AG, Kerameya, Danfoss Ukraine, Interproject GmbH, the Empire of Water, iC Consulenten Ukraine, the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, BigMedia, GIZ, Partnership for Local Economic Development and Democratic Governance Project (PLEDDG), Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine Association, Association of Small Cities of Ukraine, and CANactions. American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine is the information partner of the event. KyivPost, Ліга.net, Obozrevatel, Новое Время, delo.ua and РБК Україна are among media partners of the event.