Nataliya Martynenko, our fundraising expert represented the of the Institute for Rural Development at the Warsaw Regional NGO Congress on “Civil Society Involvement in Building Democracy”.

8-9 December, the German-Ukrainian Management Board of the Managerial Staff Retraining Programme for the Entrepreneurial Sphere of Ukraine held its second meeting in Berlin.

In the course of the project 'Policy Advice for Effective Land management at the Local Level' which is being implemented by the CLRP jointly with Krakow Real Estate Institute and financially supported by Polish-American-Ukrainian Cooperation Initiative (PAUCI), an in-depth report on results of research has been produced - 'Ways for Enhancing the Effectiveness of Urban Land Management in Ukraine'.

20 September the working group on the implementation of a pilot project to provide water supply and quality potable water for the Velykoploske village community (Velyka Mykhaylivka rayon in Odesa oblast) had its meeting with Anatoliy Darenko, Head of Velyka Mykhaylivka Rayon State Administration. The meeting was attended by Petro Poddubnyak, Rayon Sanitary and Epidemiological Station Head, Vitaliy Myronov, Rayon State Administration AIC Department Head, Tamara Podvysotska, Team Leader, Odesa Office, Ukraine Rural Livelihoods Programme, Volodymyr Orlov, Village Council Head, and Natalya Dolgikh and Antonina Shvets, pilot project coordinators.

Project “Improvement of logistic services and marketing channels for SMEs in agriculture” is pleased to announce the start of open training programme that will be implemented throughout the project operations in each of the project regions.

2 September the Polezne Village Council in Velyka Mychaylivka rayon (Odesa oblast) celebrated its move to new offices.

On Friday,19 August 2005, a Workshop “Improving Rural Livelihoods in Ukraine: Practical Aspect” will be held at the National Sorochyntsi Fair Press Centre. The workshop will begin at 13.00. The event is being organised by the Institute for Rural Development and LLC “Sorochynskiy Yarmarok”. Topics to be covered are as follows: holistic approach to rural development, social sphere asset management, promotion of rural income generation through development of credit unions, advisory services, marketing research and a farm financial revitalization and restructuring model.

21 July a Coordination Council meeting of Ovidiopol Rayon NGOs was held in Odesa Oblast. The event was attended by the leaders of Ovidiopol Rayon NGOs, Head of the Rayon Family and Youth Department, a business unit representative etc. Director of the Institute for Rural Development Svitlana Prokopenko and Social Sphere Expert Nadiya Tymoshenko were also invited.