Mr. Steinecke, in February 2009 a European jubilee was celebrated at the Federal Foreign Office: the 10th anniversary of the German-Ukrainian Forum. At its foundation in 1999 it was said that this institution would act as a “new bridge”. What are the foundations upon which this “bridge” is built?
Until today the foundations for this friendly cooperation have not only been the economic and political relations that have developed very positively in the last ten years, but also city twinning agreements, higher education partnerships, cultural exchange as well as hundreds of aid transports and thousands of bilateral meetings.
Today the German-Ukrainian Forum is the largest nationwide civil society organization dedicated to promoting relations between the two countries. Why does civil society play such a great role in this?
Today our association has some 125 members in both countries. In addition to numerous private individuals, politicians and researchers, our membership also includes companies, foundations, Ukrainian societies and local municipalities. The activities of the German-Ukrainian Forum are equally multifaceted. However, it was always clear to us that the development of a democratic and pluralistic society is unfeasible without a strong civil society. That’s also why the German-Ukrainian Forum has initiated seminars for journalists and conferences for associations and NGOs as well as launching the Ukrainian programme of Deutsche Welle. Although civic involvement was in many ways a foreign concept in Ukraine ten years ago, today people are active in their city districts and villages, establish local campaign groups, launch social projects and protect the environment.
What kinds of civil society links exist between Germany and Ukraine?
Meanwhile in the field of German-Ukrainian relations there are some 200 partnerships involving associations and initiatives as well as roughly 30 twin city programmes. They are responsible for most of the aid projects and citizens’ encounters. Church parishes are often also involved as well as organizations such as the Red Cross, Caritas and Diakonie. There are also a large number of school and 100 university partnerships. Democracy and pluralism ceased being just empty words at the latest with the advent of the Orange Revolution in 2004/05.
How closely networked are the civil societies of both countries?
Let’s look back in time a little. When the then Federal President Roman Herzog visited Ukraine in February 1998, civil society as we understand it in Germany was largely unknown. In the meantime, however, this “delicate little plant” has been able to grow, has developed shoots and is partially already bearing fruit. In many cases, the impetus to found associations or neighbourhood and social centres came from Germany. Most of these contacts still exist today. Additionally, there is a project of the Association for International Education and Exchange (IBB) in Dortmund to expand on these bilateral contacts by networking these initiatives. We at the German-Ukrainian Forum welcome that very much, because it leads to interchange and often to mutual support. Incidentally, the same applies to trilateral encounters, for example with the involvement of Polish partners or with initiatives in Belarus. In that area, however, we are still very much only beginning projects. That is one of the tasks for the coming years.
How can Germany help Ukrainian partners and NGOs?
Financial support is certainly important here. I would also be pleased if in future the German Federal Government did not only support development cooperation between states, but more strongly assisted cooperation between civil society projects. But I would like to refer to something else here. This year we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Basic Law and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. Both jubilees demonstrate the potential that we would also like our Ukrainian friends to enjoy. Just consider the Basic Law and the associated pluralistic society with a democratic parliamentary system. Some of today’s problems in Ukraine are based on unclear and also contradictory provisions in its constitution. Additionally, autonomous local government is insufficiently developed. The same applies to the legal situation of non-governmental organizations and financial support from state institutions. Eastern German experiences from the time of the peaceful revolution and the transition from socialism to western democracy, from a planned economy to a free market economy could also help our Ukrainian partners. All these represent opportunities, ways that Ukrainian NGOs could benefit from our German experiences.
German-Ukrainian economic relations have developed rapidly since the collapse of the Iron Curtain. To what extent is Ukrainian civil society profiting from this, especially with regard to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts of German businesses?
It is not very common for companies to support civic or social projects. As far as I am aware, that is above all due to a lack of tax relief opportunities. German politics could report on our experiences in this area and encourage similar regulations – that would help Ukrainian civil society. Especially in the current economic crisis, German firms should increase their involvement. This country with its 45 million inhabitants is an interesting future market. And growing prosperity also improves the starting conditions for Ukrainian NGOs.
