American Councils for International Education is proud to announce a partnership with Internews Ukraine and the U.S. Agency for International Development in Ukraine (USAID) to support the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the country’s national parliament. The USAID Rada: Next Generation Program will support further development of the Verkhovna Rada to become a truly efficient democratic parliament serving the Ukrainian people.
American Councils, in close coordination with its partners, will assist the Verkhovna Rada transformation into a more open and accessible institution. The partnership will deliver a carefully curated series of activities that empower and enhance the capacity of the Parliamentary Education Center (PEC), facilitate collaboration between units at the Verkhovna Rada, and ultimately produce a PEC that is well networked, engaged, and valued both within the Verkhovna Rada and by Ukrainian citizens. The PEC exists to educate Ukrainian students on the activities and functions of their parliament. American Councils will leverage its longtime relationship with the Congressional Office for International Leadership (formerly the Open World Leadership Center) and other federal and state institutions to design specific U.S.-based programming that targets the professional development needs of the Verkhovna Rada and the PEC’s staff.
The USAID Rada: Next Generation Program will be implemented in 2021-2026 by a consortium of partners led by Internews Ukraine in cooperation with American Councils for International Education, the International Republican Institute (IRI), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), the Agency of Education Policy Development, and the Center of Policy and Legal Reform (CPLR). The program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the NGO Internews Ukraine.