The round table “Prospects of sustainable development of rural areas” was held

The main goal of the event is to organize a dialogue between communities, central bodies of executive power and partners of the project “Perspectives for sustainable development of rural areas” of the Ukrainian Network of Rural Development, NGO “Ekodiya Center for Environmental Initiatives”, NGO “Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine” in order to create new opportunities for the development of communities by improving their agro-tourism image.

Kyiv, December 17, 2021  – NGO “Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine” in cooperation with DRA eV and with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany held a round table for leaders and active participants of territorial communities. At the event, which brought together more than 140 online and offline participants, it was noted the urgency of forming a bifunctional model of a family hospitable peasant household, eliminating the gap in legal awareness of communities, simple and clear requirements for providing quality and safe hospitality services.

“I am especially glad to open this event in the year of the 25th anniversary of Ukrainian rural green tourism, the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine”,  – noted its head  Volodymyr Vasiliev , –  “Currently, we are at the stage of sustainable development of the field of rural hospitality in in the conditions of challenges caused by the pandemic and crisis phenomena, which require strengthening the organizational and financial capacity of the Union as a leader in the formation of this sphere, reliable partners and meeting the demand for what we do, and it seems that we are on the right track.”

Olesya Moroz , coordinator of the project “Perspectives for sustainable development of rural areas”, DRA eV, –  “I am glad to be in touch with you, because today we are summing up the results of our work with the Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine in the project. This event is important for us to raise the topic of sustainable development of rural communities directly through the development of tourism and outline future prospects based on the experience we have gained during the implementation of the project. And we also want to introduce you to successful, inspiring examples of rural tourism in Ukraine.”

Maksym Boroda , head of the UNDP Project “Strengthening Member Business Associations of MSMEs in Ukraine”  joined the congratulation  : “The project that I am presenting is aimed at supporting the development of member business associations, in particular, in building a dialogue between business and the government. The round table “Prospects of sustainable development of rural areas” can serve as a successful tool for such a public-private dialogue. The topic of sustainable development is key for the UN Development Program. Green tourism is probably one of the few sectors of the economy, the development of which can contribute to the achievement of almost all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.”

“The phenomenon of management of destinations in communities allows to ensure their long-term competitiveness on the tourist market and sustainability”  – this is how  Vitalina Martynovska , vice-president of the National Tourism Organization, explained the role of DMO. –  “A modern tourist destination is not just a physical space with tourist resources, products and services, it is, first of all, a managed socio-economic system. And the newly created tourist communities should understand this at the beginning of their journey in order to continue to move correctly and achieve strategic development goals faster.”

At the event, a report on the results of the “Perspectives for sustainable development of rural areas” project was presented as of the end of 2021. The report contains the results of the activities of the Association of Rural Green Tourism in the main directions – the creation of a comprehensive training course for communities on the development of sustainable rural tourism, the organization of a study trip for the purpose of sharing experience in the field of rural tourism, the preparation of six issues of the electronic magazine “Rural Green Tourism”, the creation of educational videos about successful guest houses, implementation of the educational platform on the web resource  www.greentour.com.ua , advocacy.

An expert discussion on ways to eliminate gaps in legal awareness of community members took place at the round table.  Olena Borodina , head of the department of economics and policy of agrarian transformations of the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, drew attention to the importance of ensuring the sustainable development of rural areas;  Olena Gafurova , professor of the department of agrarian, land and environmental law of the National University of Bioresources and Nature Management of Ukraine – on the need to create conditions for raising the level of awareness of villagers regarding the organization of activities in the field of rural green tourism;  Olesya Priss , head of the department of food technologies and hotel and restaurant affairs of the Tavria State Agro-Technological University, for ensuring the quality and safety of food products produced in households;  Anna Danylyak , expert of the NGO “Ekodiya Center for Environmental Initiatives”, on water quality in communities.

Olena Shcherban , researcher, ethnologist from the Opishnya community spoke about the resources and unused potential of the community   : “Ethno-gastronomic tourism presents, advantageously distinguishing the community, the local gastronomic culture: shulyks, licks, mandriks, slaschons, vertuns, solozhniks, makagigs.” On the potential of sacred cultural heritage and its impact on the development of tourism in communities –  Yuliya Dashchuk  from the Lutsk Territorial Community: “We are convinced that sacred heritage is something that we are obliged to pass on to the next generations.”  Elvira Maslova , the owner of the Malva Ozerna ethnic estate from Cherkasy region, noted that the themed village is a “second breath” for the development of depressed areas.

The participants of the event had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the successful stories of the development of rural green tourism in communities and creative projects presented by  Serhii Tolstikhin , Staroushytsk Territorial Community, Khmelnytskyi Region,  Inessa Nosenko , Mykhailo-Lukashiv Territorial Community, Zaporizhzhia Region,  Inna Velychko , Starosiletsk Community, Zhytomyr Region region,  Nataliya Kononenko , Malobilosersk community, Zaporizhia region,  Olena Khlivna-Andreeva , Novo-Odesa City Council, Mykolaiv region,  Serhiy and Alina Klishchevski , Prysyvask community, Kherson region,  Tetyana Bozhuk , Pidhorodnya territorial community, Ternopil region.

On the territory of Ukraine, the project “Perspectives for the sustainable development of rural areas” is implemented by the NGO Ecodia together with the NGO “Ukrainian Network of Rural Development” and the NGO “Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine”, in cooperation with DRA eV and with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.

NGO “Center for Environmental Initiatives “Ekodiya”” is a public organization that unites experts and activists around the idea of ​​preserving the environment through influence on decision-making. Ecodia is fighting for energy efficiency, renewable energy, combating climate change, for clean air for everyone, and the development of sustainable transport and agriculture in Ukraine.

GS “Ukrainian Network of Rural Development” is a public union that forms a platform for mutual learning and exchange of knowledge and experience with the aim of increasing the quality, efficiency, and productivity of available agricultural and rural resources in the interests of the rural population and sustainable development of the country’s rural areas.

The NGO “Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine” is a public organization that acts to unite the owners of estates and tourists on the most powerful communication and marketing platforms, creates an attractive and high-quality alternative for tourists when choosing recreation in the form of rural green tourism, and helps the owners of estates to achieve sustainable development.

DRA eV is an international non-governmental charitable organization that works in the field of education, democracy, ecology, public initiatives and human rights. DRA eV connects people and organizations and strengthens contacts between different sectors of society.

For contacts:  info@greentour.com.ua