Ideas Day in Dnipro: ways to develop cities to increase their capacity

The basis of urban resilience is the ability of authorities, citizens, and businesses to consolidate efforts for a common goal. Intersectoral cooperation will be equally crucial for the recovery and development of settlements after the victory. 

During the panel discussion, speakers discussed “Cross-Sectoral Cooperation as the Basis for Dnipro Development” held in Dnipro as part of the Ideas Day, the role of various stakeholders in the restoration of urban space, mechanisms of citizens’ influence on city development, and the proactive role of business in its life. 

We share the key ideas of the speakers:

• Borys Markov, CEO of ATB Corporation:

“Our task now is to create places where people will want to come and stay. We must understand that without people, there will be nothing: neither development nor capacity building. We don’t have time to do something “good” or even “cool” — we must do something extraordinary. In particular, a branch of a powerful foreign technological university could become one of such projects.”

• Julia Pischanska, Director of Dmytro Yavornytsky National Historical Museum of Dnipro:

In the post-Soviet countries, we used to believe that culture was not for everyone; only the intellectuals should have access to it. Another stereotype is that culture is entertaining, not something that can set an economic agenda. Funding and attention are paid to culture only when we lose it. The full-scale war has shown this. Cities need influential projects related to culture and education. After all, effective recovery requires not only the intelligence of society but also a high level of education.

• Shmuel Kaminsky, Rabbi of Dnipro and Dnipropetrovsk Region:

Many people are now choosing where to live in Ukraine. Life in Dnipro has dramatically changed – since the 90s, the city has evolved tremendously technologically and cross-culturally. Dnipro has a vast potential for development and is now a very convenient city. That’s why we, citizens of Dnipro, need to create a marketing system. It is essential to understand that foreign countries are interested in Ukrainian specialists and creating conditions for them, so we must do it better and faster.