Martin Candinas: Vinnytsia Was and Remains the Champion in the Implementation of Complex Integrated Projects - Vinnytsia Is the Champion of Innovation

At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Serhii Morhunov noted that he was extremely pleased to celebrate such a significant day for Ukraine – the 30th anniversary of Independence – with representatives of the state, which is not just a partner but a friend of Ukraine.

"Switzerland is among the ten countries in the world that Ukraine feels the most support from. And for Vinnytsia, the Swiss Confederation is a strategic international partner. This year is significant for us, because 15 years ago we signed the first cooperation agreement. This was the first step in establishing a transport system, mobility in the city and receiving the first batch of Swiss trams from Zurich. We appreciate these results. And this is a long-term cooperation, which later expanded into other areas. Another area of cooperation is the energy efficiency project. We were able to provide a new quality of heat supply services for residents of 3 neighborhoods. Thanks to large-scale measures to modernize the system: replacement of networks, construction of new and reconstruction of obsolete boilers, implementation of the SCADA system, Vinnytsia was the first city in Eastern Europe to receive the European Energy Award. We continue to support this status through systematic work," said Mayor Serhii Morhunov.

The development of bicycle traffic is another important project for Vinnytsia, to the implementation of which Switzerland is directly involved. Vinnytsia is one of the first in Ukraine to have an extensive bicycle rental system in the city. Since 2011 we have created a bicycle network of 85 km, which is convenient for cyclists. Today the city has a large active cycling community, with which the municipality works closely.

"An important area of work is e-government and digitalization. Modern and accessible services for residents, quality communication with the community, principles of participation. By the way, digitalization of municipal space is one of the priorities of the City Strategy for the next 10 years. It is also very important to us that Switzerland has supported our initiative to conduct an audit of community financial management. Our city has been selected to participate in this project, and we are ready to continue working with a team of experts to increase the level of transparency and openness," the mayor added.

Thanks to such cooperation, Vinnytsia City Territorial Community is actively implementing and using e-democracy tools created within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian EGAP Program. In particular, the system of petitions, public budgets, a new tool for communities is the municipal chatbot SVOI. Together with the specialists of Vinnytsia City Council, the Concept of Digital Participation of Vinnytsia City Territorial Community for 2019-2025 was developed.

"Vinnytsia has been systematically implementing the latest technologies for many years. It has become a platform for the pilot implementation of national services and electronic tools and disseminates the experience gained among other cities of Ukraine. We are grateful to the Swiss Confederation for supporting various digitization projects implemented in cooperation with the EGAP program," said Deputy Mayor Andrii Ocheretnyi.

The new official web portal of Vinnytsia, which was presented and launched, was also developed with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian EGAP program. The site is convenient, modern and contains all the necessary information about Vinnytsia, city services and city authorities https://new.vmr.gov.ua/. The mayor noted that the new portal was created for Vinnytsia residents who are already used to searching for the necessary information on the city's website.

The head of the Swiss delegation, Second Vice-President of the Swiss National Council Martin Candinas, congratulated everyone on Independence Day. He wished Ukraine peace, prosperity, and success in implementing reforms. He reminded that this year marks 25 years of Ukrainian-Swiss cooperation. Over the years, the countries have been able to jointly implement many projects in different directions, such as decentralization, energy efficiency, development of public space, provision of quality medical services, environmental development and environmental protection, transport and others, thanks to which millions of Ukrainians were able to improve their living standards.

"Cooperation with Vinnytsia is very important in our bilateral relations, because the city of Vinnytsia was and is a champion in implementing integrated projects, is a champion of innovation, the introduction of high standards of service to citizens, and Vinnytsia shows effective change in democratic governance. Yesterday we had the opportunity to see how the energy efficiency project was implemented, as well as to discuss changes in the transformation of public space, mobility, transport system, democratic self-government. We are amazed by the results we saw. But visible successes always have an invisible side. Our colleagues told us that Vinnytsia is a champion among communities in e-government and digitalization, and this, in particular, allows us to effectively implement the processes we have already mentioned, as well as be effective in providing administrative and social services. That is why we are also looking forward to getting acquainted with this aspect of our cooperation," said Martin Candinas, Second Vice-President of the Swiss National Council.

After the presentation and communication with the media, the delegation was conducted a study tour of the Transparent Office.