Lviv Region in the Time of War: Challenges and Sources of Resilience

Academic staff of the Department of Public Administration and Business Management of the Faculty of Financial Management and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv took part in the regional platform “Lviv Region in the Time of War: Challenges and Sources of Resilience”, which took place on October 17, 2024 in Lviv.
The event was organized by the National Platform for Resilience and Cohesion, bringing together representatives of local governments, executive authorities, NGOs, and the academic community. The event was moderated by political scientist and co-founder of the National Platform Oleh Sahakyan. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi welcomed the participants, emphasizing the importance of planning for the future even in wartime and urging them not to be afraid to dream.
Head of the Department of Public Administration and Business Management, Professor Hanna Komarnytska and Associate Professor Olena Herasymenko joined the discussion of the region’s resilience in times of war. The event consisted of three panel discussions. The first panel discussed wartime risks to resilience and social cohesion. Volodymyr Lupatsiy, co-founder of the National Platform, outlined six key components of Ukrainian resilience, including the values of democracy, self-organization, and social cohesion. Yaroslav Zhalilo, Doctor of Economics, presented an analysis of challenges for communities at the global, human, and organizational levels.
The second panel was devoted to managerial sustainability and regional cohesion. Orest Hryniv, Director of the Economic Policy Department of the Lviv Regional State Administration, announced that the updated development strategy would be approved by February next year. Local government representatives, including Volodymyr Matseliukh, Mayor of Novoyavoriv, and Tetiana Goldun, First Deputy Mayor of Pustomyty, shared their experience of community adaptation to the challenges of war.
The third panel focused on risks and threats to social resilience. Representatives of the State Emergency Service and the police discussed security and law enforcement. Particular attention was paid to the issues of inclusion and accessibility of the environment.
An important point about resilience was made by Oksana Dashchakivska, Head of the International Renaissance Foundation’s regional office in Western Ukraine, who emphasized the importance of self-organization and participation. She emphasized the need to understand the context of European integration in order to restore conservation and focus on strategic goals.
Viktor Borshchevsky, Head of the Department of Public Administration at UCU, Doctor of Economics, drew attention to the risks to sustainability, including increasing social fragmentation and insufficient economic preparation for a prolonged “rear war.”
Volodymyr Rudkovsky, a veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, emphasized the importance of veterans’ participation and military personnel’s actions in such events. According to him, resilience and cohesion are simultaneously linked to the responsibility of each individual
Summarizing the discussions, Volodymyr Lupatsiy assessed the need to bring the discussion of resilience issues to the national level, and Yaroslav Zhalilo noted the importance of thinking in the resilience paradigm and the need for risk inventory, resource assessment, and strategic planning. According to the expert, a vision of the future is a key point of unity for society.