The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2023), co-hosted by the UK Government and the Government of Ukraine, took place in London, 21-22 June 2023.
How was Hope and Homes for Children involved?
Working with a broad coalition of NGOs and private sector organisations, we sent a joint letter to the organisers of URC 2023 to propose a dedicated session on care reform.
We also, alongside a coalition of NGOs and private sector organisations, outlined our joint recommendations on the reform of Ukraine’s child protection and care system, including:
- Asking the Government of Ukraine to formulate a single national care reform strategy, backed up by legislation, that sets out a full transformation of the care system for children and an end to the use of residential institutions.
- Calling on the EU to act as a champion and catalyst for care reform for children in Ukraine.
We also called on Ukraine’s international partners, including United Nations multilateral agencies, the EU, international financial institutions, partner governments, donor agencies and private sector investors to:
- Dedicate long-term, sustainable funding towards supporting Ukraine’s care reform process.
- Support the Government of Ukraine in the development of a national strategy for care reform, as outlined above, and coordinate the international donor community to ensure that all international funding for care reform goes through the coordinated mechanism responsible for its implementation.
- Prioritise funding to support families to care for their own children, to develop inclusive, family and community-based care services, and to strengthen the social service workforce required to deliver these services.
- Ensure continued support for children who have been evacuated from Ukraine to receive quality, family-based care in host countries, and ensure that they are not re-institutionalised on their return to Ukraine.
Ukraine Recovery Conference Side Event
The URC side event, “Care Reform: a Ukraine Reconstruction Priority”, hosted by Hope and Homes for Children, the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), Government of Ukraine, UNICEF and Lumos brought together key stakeholders to focus on the care reform process in Ukraine, provide a platform for the Government of Ukraine to articulate its vision of Better Care and offer an opportunity to build support for a co-ordinated care reform strategy in Ukraine.
Watch Ukraine country director Halyna Postoliuk’s heartfelt speech on the opportunities for child care and protection reform in Ukraine, during the closing session of the Ukraine Recovery Conference side event, hosted in London at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office headquarters.
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What is the Ukraine Recovery Conference?
The URC is an event dedicated to Ukraine’s transformation. Established in London in 2017 as the Ukraine Reform Conference, it became a platform for strengthening support for reforms in Ukraine.
Last year, the conference was held for the first time during the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, launching the Lugano Principles, which laid the foundation for the reconstruction process of Ukraine.
URC 2023 focused on mobilising international support for Ukraine’s economic and social stabilisation and recovery from the effects of war, including through emergency assistance for immediate needs and financing private sector participation in the reconstruction process.
Who was invited to participate in URC 2023?
Private sector organisations, civil society and international financial organisations came together at URC 2023 to mobilise support for Ukraine. Our brilliant Ukraine Director, Halyna Postoliuk, attended URC 2023 on behalf of Hope and Homes for Children and made a heartfelt speech on the opportunities for child care and protection reform in Ukraine, during the closing session of our Ukraine Recovery Conference side event, hosted in London at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office headquarters.
