On May, 30-31, a Network Meeting of Veteran Development Centres was held in Kyiv, which was attended by representatives of the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” – Vice-Rector for Scientific, Pedagogical and Educational Work Anatolii Martynenko, Coordinator of Veteran Development Centre Vitalii Zapladnyi and Yurii Horbenko, Associate Professor of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy of Faculty of Philology, Psychology and Pedagogy, currently a military psychologist in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The networking meeting was organised by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine with the financial support of the European Union, provided under the “EU4Recovery – Community Empowerment in Ukraine” project, and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Participants from different regions of Ukraine gathered to form a common vision of the format of functioning, place and role of Veteran Development Centres in the overall veteran reintegration ecosystem. Representatives of other relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Social Policy, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, also joined the expert discussions.
“We must create all the opportunities for the successful return of veterans by combining the efforts of all key players – the state, business and society,” – stressed Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Maksym Kushnir. “Veteran Development Centres are a key element in this chain, as they provide opportunities for veterans to gain the necessary knowledge, improve their professional adaptation and increase their competitiveness in the labour market.
Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine Stefan Schleuning noted that the European Union welcomes the establishment of Veterans Development Centres across the country and expressed interest in their long-term support. “Together with our international and national partners, we are working hard to create favourable conditions in communities so that Ukrainian veterans do not face any barriers when returning to civilian life,” – said Mr Schleuning.
Deputy Head of Mission Esselien van Eerten (Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), stressed the need to support the reintegration of veterans at the community level. “We strive to create the conditions for veterans to integrate easily and effectively fulfil their potential in civilian life, and Veteran Development Centres play a key role in this process,” – she emphasised.
The Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Ukraine, Christophoros Politis, stressed that the rehabilitation and reintegration of female and male veterans is crucial for the recovery and creation of decent conditions for their return to civilian life. “It is very important for us at UNDP to create this ecosystem together with the Veteran Development Centres,” – said Mr Politis. “Inclusive processes, reintegration and rehabilitation should be a guaranteed right for women and men veterans, not a privilege they have to demand. These services should be firmly embedded in the system of public services.”
During the two intense days of the event, the participants actively shared their experience and best practices, presented the activities of their Centres, and took part in group discussions with experts from the academic community. Everyone had the opportunity to pitch project ideas and receive funding for their implementation.
“Worthy sons and daughters of the Ukrainian people, who spared no effort and their own health, who put the interests of their mother Ukraine and its sovereignty above their own lives, deserve our full support and help. That is why at the Veteran Development Centre, which operates on the basis of Poltava Polytechnic, highly professional specialists are always ready to help veterans and their families in their reintegration into civilian life,” – commented Vice-Rector for Scientific, Pedagogical and Educational Work, Candidate of Military Sciences Anatolii Martynenko.
The two-day discussions resulted in an operational plan for the Network of Veteran Development Centres, which provides for the improvement of reintegration processes.
It should be recalled that Poltava Polytechnic is one of the five universities that implement the governmental pilot project for veterans.
Recently, Polytechnic representatives took part in the Ukrainian Women’s Congress “The Path to Recovery: Women’s Participation at the Local Level”, the Gender Centre of Poltava Polytechnic presented its activities at the first scheduled meeting of “Coalition 1325 Poltava Region”, the regional stage of All-Ukrainian Children's and Youth Military and Patriotic Game “Sokil” (“Dzhura”) was held at the university.
Earlier, Polytechnic signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation with Medical Centre “Novi Sanzhary” of the National Guard of Ukraine, representatives of Veteran Development Centre and administration of Poltava Polytechnic took part in a meeting initiated by the Ministry of Veterans, where the Veteran Development Centre taught how to establish communication and legal interaction with war veterans, discussed the peculiarities of communication with combatants and war traumatised people.
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National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
