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Novoukrainka Territorial Community
Kirovohrad
Population:
The Novoukrainka Community is located in the Kirovohrad Region in the center of Ukraine.
As of 01 January 2022, the population of the community was 19,429 people.
Women – 10,536;
Men – 8,893;
Children – 3,407;
Internally displaced persons – 1,527 persons, of whom 752 are women and 435 are children.
The total surface area of the community is 448.43 km2.
The Novoukrainka Community includes 16 settlements: the town of Novoukrainka – the center of the community, 15 rural settlements.
History
The center of the community is the town of Novoukrainka, which was founded in 1770 as a military settlement of the Pavlivska fortress, from which the first name of the town of Pavlivsk came.
In the late 19th century, the town was given its present-day name.
The industrial facilities known at that time included the Varshavskyi steam mill operating in the territory of the town and supplying high-quality flour not only to the local bakeries, but also to other European countries. In 1909, a branch of the Odesa railway passed through Novoukrainka, which contributed to further development of the region’s economy.
Moreover, industrial extraction of granites began in the early 20th century.
Economy and Welfare
Red granite is quarried in the territory of the Novoukrainka Community. It is special in terms of its pattern and colour, which is appreciated in many countries outside Ukraine and is still of interest to builders and decorators across the world.
But the main source of welfare of the Novoukrainka Community is agriculture. The best Ukrainian chornozem (black soil) areas are concentrated exactly in the territory of the Kirovohrad Region, which, along with moderate climatic conditions, make it possible to harvest fairly high yields of grain and oil crops. Everyone knows that Ukrainian farmers feed the whole world, which is the guarantor of food security in the countries of Western Europe, Africa and Asia.
Alternative energy is also developing as a result of building photovoltaic stations mostly on land plots that are not good for farming.
The Novoukrainka Community has the Scythia Park Hotel complex, which is considered a pearl among Ukrainian Park Hotels for a good reason. It is located away from the noisy roads, near the lake, in a natural and landscaped area, offering its guests not only comfortable, but also interesting holidays. Scythia is a huge complex being home to two hotels – these are actually small settlements – Parkovy and Sunny Wind. For visitors, there are modern, comfortable Standard, Cottage, VIP Cottage rooms as well as a Villa with a Pool, which is the hallmark of the hotel.
In addition, Scythia has 100 cozy gazebos; the sandy beach has lifeguards, sunbeds and bungalows. There are four piers with kayak, catamaran and pleasure boat rentals. A complex of swimming pools and children’s water slides is located in the central part of the beach area.
In order to solve the main issues related to the community development, public institutions are always involved and residents also take an active part in the decision-making process. An example of such cooperation is a competition of mini-projects “Authorities and Community Work Together!” within the framework of which more than 40 public initiatives have been implemented through joint efforts.
Education is effectively developed in the Novoukrainka Community with the largest part of funds from the community budget being spent on it.
The community has:
- 4 secondary schools
- out-of-school education institutions – ZORIT Centre for Children’s and Youth Creativity and Interschool Educational and Industrial Plant
- 5 preschool education institutions, one of which has 2 branches, and two preschool units.
In 2017, the system of competitive recruitment for the position of director of an educational institution was recognized as the Best Practice of the Year.
And in 2018, the community opened a Town Inclusive Resource Centre, where children with special educational needs receive psychological-pedagogical and correctional services, while teachers and parents receive methodical and advisory services to help a child get included in the educational process. Various specialists work with children, who are faced with the task of helping each child integrate into society.
Also, the community has many different cultural and art schools, libraries and Jubilee Town Palace of Culture. Local choreographic and folklore festivals are held, creative teams participate in national and international art competitions.
A children’s and youth sports school functions in the territory of the community as a centre for training children’s national teams for district and regional competitions. The sports school employs 13 coaches training 419 children in 8 sports: basketball, boxing, volleyball, table tennis, chess, checkers, football and Cossack duel fighting.
The community has many sports grounds, a tennis court, football pitches for various sports activities.
Community and War
Unfortunately, due to the war, implementation of many projects had to be postponed. Many Novoukrainka residents are defending Ukraine with weapons in their hands, and those living behind the frontline are focusing their potential on support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Every resident of the Novoukrainka Community is constantly involved in collecting necessary things for the army and even started producing their own items.
Funds are also being raised to meet the urgent needs of the military. For this purpose, the community constantly organizes sports and art charity events; all proceeds go to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The highest value of human potential and effective cooperation between the authorities and the public is also highly appreciated by international foundations.
The Novoukrainka Urban Territorial Community cooperates with 10 international organizations, thanks to which many important projects have been implemented both in peacetime and in wartime, in particular in terms of supporting internally displaced persons.
A total of 2,786 people, including 794 children, have found refuge in the Novoukrainka Community since the beginning of the war.
For them, a Humanitarian Aid Centre, a Centre for Complex Stay of Internally Displaced Persons for 222 people have been set up, 15 houses have been equipped, Family and Psychological hubs are functioning, all conditions have been created for the provision of necessary material, legal, and informational assistance by the state authorities and local self-government bodies, international organizations caring for people who suffered as a result of the war in Ukraine.
People of the Community
Novoukrainka mayor Oleksandr Korinnyi was first elected as mayor in October 2010 and is still the town’s mayor.
Oleksandr Korinnyi is one of the founders and has been the head of the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities since November 2016.
More than 600 communities from all over Ukraine elected Oleksandr Korinnyi for the second time to be the head of the Ukrainian National Association of Local Self-Government Bodies “Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities”, and the President of Ukraine chose him as a delegate of Ukraine to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe for 2021-2026.
The main priorities of the activities of Oleksandr Korinnyi and his team are the creation of a new system of relations between the authorities and the residents of the community.
Decentralization of power is aimed at providing quality services in all the areas ranging from medicine to housing and utility services.
Concerted cooperation between the authorities and public officials was marked by a number of awards received by the Novoukrainka Town Council in 2019, including “Model Community DOBRE” awarded to the Novoukrainka Town Council for the highest scores of the “local self-government capacity index”, the “Participation Community” contest award for reaching compromise in the community through the Public Hearings mechanism, the project “Participatory Democracy as a Basis for Proper Governance in New Communities”.
As a result of achieving a high level of the community development in all the sectors, Oleksandr Korinnyi received a Letter of Honour from the Kirovohrad Regional Council (2014), a Letter of Honour from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (2016), and a Letter of Acknowledgment from the Prime Minister of Ukraine (2017).
The slogan on the emblem of the town, the centre of the community, says “Unity Means Strength!” These words were chosen for a good reason because every event held in the Novoukrainka area takes place with the participation of the public, on their initiative.
In 2017, the most initiative residents of the Novoukrainka Community founded Nongovernmental Organization “Unity Means Strength!”, which has implemented many projects, including with the support of the local authorities, domestic and foreign donors.
One of the initiatives of the nongovernmental organization is the preparation of houses for internally displaced persons. Thus, with the participation of the organization’s representatives, 12 houses were repaired and prepared for more than 60 people.
Development Strategy
Effective performance of the Novoukrainka Town Council is based on strategic planning, in particular, the Novoukrainka Community Education Strategy, Communication Strategy and Gender Profile. The general strategy was developed with the assistance of international experts who complemented it and recognized sectorial priorities.
The key areas of the Strategy and the main projects aimed at their implementation are: economic development, infrastructure development and creation of a conscious and active community with a high quality of living standards.
Some of the authorities’ priority tasks are:
- repair of community roads and reconstruction of sidewalks, taking into account the standards of an accessible environment for persons with limited physical abilities and other groups of the population with reduced mobility
- reconstruction of the central municipal stadium and the administrative building of the children’s and youth sports school and minor repairs of educational buildings
- reconstruction of the territory of the park with improved infrastructure for businesses and residents in the town of Novoukrainka “Square on Soborna” and reconstruction of the historical monument “Vyhdor Zeilyhovych Varshavskyi Mill” and construction of a hotel and entertainment complex near it
List of Sources
- Official website of the Novoukrainka Town Council
- Official Facebook page
- A collection of photos by Vladyslav Sodel taken in the territory of the Novoukrainka Urban Territorial Community within the framework of the USAID DOBRE project, provided to the executive committee of the Novoukrainka Town Council for free use.