New Free Online Course on EU Support for Ukraine Launched

East Europe Foundation, with financial support from the European Union, has launched a new free online course, “Ukraine Facility: From Opportunity to Action.” Available on the Zrozumilo! Educational Online Platform, the course helps learners understand how the Ukraine Facility instrument works and the opportunities it creates for communities, local governments, and civil society organizations.

“Ukraine Facility is, in a way, a roadmap for Ukraine’s reforms. These reforms are essential for ensuring a stable economy and for making Ukraine’s recovery and modernization transparent and effective in improving people’s quality of life. They also bring Ukrainian legislation closer to EU standards,” says the course host, journalist Tetiana Troshchynska.

The course consists of 10 short lectures covering:

• how the Ukraine Facility operates and its role in Ukraine’s EU accession process;
• what the Ukraine Plan is, how it is linked to reform financing, and who decides how funds are allocated;
• the roles of national authorities, local governments, and civil society organizations in implementing the Ukraine Facility, and how communities can attract grants, investment, and expert support;
• how monitoring, accountability, and public oversight of funding are ensured;
• practical examples of projects already being implemented in Ukraine with the support of European partners.

“Our surveys show that civil society organizations want to contribute to the European integration process but do not always know where to start or how they can get involved. We created this course to provide practical guidance and highlight concrete opportunities for engagement. The topic is especially timely: in June, the EU opened the first negotiation cluster, and Ukraine’s accession process is gaining momentum right now. The Ukraine Facility is one of the key instruments through which European integration is taking place in practice, so understanding how it works is becoming increasingly important for both civil society organizations and local governments,” said Vira Nedzvedska, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at East Europe Foundation.

The course is available online through the platform. Participants who successfully complete it can receive a certificate worth 0.2 ECTS credits (six academic hours), which may be counted toward self-directed learning.

The course was developed as part of the “Phoenix: The Power of Communities” project, implemented by East Europe Foundation with the support of the European Union.