The goal is to radically accelerate and reduce the cost of humanitarian demining
A strategic session of the Civic Center for Support of the Humanitarian Demining Program in Ukraine (CCHP) was held. The participants focused on the strategy of uniting and coordinating the efforts of entrepreneurs and authorities at all levels, preparing an operational action plan for further fundraising, coordinating developments and improving technical tools and regulations for humanitarian demining.
In their activities, the Center’s members face a number of challenges: farmers and other entrepreneurs trying to clear fields and areas around their businesses on their own, difficult and expensive access to the status of a certified mine action operator, high risks of losing trained personnel due to mobilization, etc. In addition, demining regulations seem to be too slow and non-transparent, and the whole complex of problems leads to numerous casualties in the demining process. In addition, there is a lack of overall coordination of humanitarian demining activities and uncertainty about the regulations for monitoring the territories after demining.
Given the analysis of the situation, the participants agreed on the mission of the CCHP – to promote the introduction of technologies to radically (100+) accelerate and reduce the cost of humanitarian demining; to attract grant and investment funding for these works; to resolve issues of staffing the humanitarian demining program (regional projects); to involve stakeholders in the work on the Humanitarian Demining Strategy and its implementation programs.
Participants of the strategic session also formulated the organization’s vision and values, as well as identified goals and projects to be implemented.
“The goal of the Center is to unite most industry representatives interested in solving humanitarian demining problems, to become a center of competence for the Ukrainian market of these services in cooperation with investment structures of regional blocs, the UN, and other interested stakeholders. We strive to become an effective platform for interaction between business, government and the public,” commented Anushavan Harutyunyan.
“The Center is designed to stimulate cluster cooperation, become a center for new developments in the field of humanitarian demining, support the creation of new training centers and technologies, fundraising and consulting. I am convinced that we will be able to provide high-quality consulting services in cooperation with government agencies and humanitarian demining operators, support the growth of Ukraine’s international reputation in this area, advocate for the interests of entrepreneurs, and facilitate investment and budgetary (co)financing of projects,” Anatoliy Dolynnyi said.
The center’s plans for 2024 include holding a programmatic conference, creating an information service on humanitarian demining, facilitating the launch of new training centers, launching regional pilot projects, and more.
The strategic session was attended by representatives of a number of NGOs and business associations: NGO Ukrainian Association of Humanitarian Demining Operators, Association of Private Employers, Charitable Foundation “Crown of Hope”, Expert Center for Economic Security, Ukrainian Cluster Alliance, Association of Industrial Automation Enterprises of Ukraine, Kharkiv Cluster “Engineering – Automation – Mechanical Engineering”, Kyiv Hi-Tech Cluster.
