The international scientific and practical conference themed “Resilient Communities – Stable Future: Ukrainian-Polish Experience in Crisis Response” took place at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute from 18 to 19 November 2025. It was devoted to contemporary challenges to the functioning of socio-economic systems, the promotion of sustainable development in local communities, and the implementation of effective crises response models.
The event was held within the framework of the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme, project G6119 entitled “Increasing the Capacity of Local Communities to Counteract Crisis Situations”. The project is led by Poznan University of Technology, with Kyiv Polytechnic acting as a partner institution.
Anatolii Melnychenko, Rector of Kyiv Polytechnic, opened the conference. Senior staff and scientists from the Kyiv Polytechnic’s Institute for Applied System Analysis, the Faculty of Management and Marketing (FMM), the Faculty of Sociology and Law, and the International Collaboration Department took an active part in it. Over the course of two working days, 26 reports were presented by participants from Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and China. A total of nearly 90 participants attended the event.
The conference featured the following topics: “Ukrainian realities of society’s ability to respond to crises,” “Model of resilience: how Polish municipalities adapt to new challenges,” “Good governance and digital resilience of communities,” and “Data science to counter threats to communities’ development”.
Important issues discussed during the conference included community governance in wartime, psychological preparedness of the population for emergencies, crisis communication, digital transformation, and strategies for ensuring local security. In addition, particular attention was paid to strengthening social cohesion, adapting management models, and developing resilient social systems in times of war and global challenges.
Prof Serhii Voitko, Head of the FMM Department of International Economics and Project Co-Director representing Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, emphasised that a vital component of the joint activities is facilitating international support for Ukraine’s efforts to achieve victory. He noted that the conference demonstrated the international community’s awareness of the existential threats facing humanity at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century.
The purpose of the project is to formulate basic principles for enhancing the efficiency of the crisis management system in local communities, capable of anticipating adverse situations (threats, accidents, and disasters) and preparing the necessary resources to address them. Accordingly, the conference laser focused on analysing standard acts applied by local authorities, exploring the experience of overcoming crises in Ukraine and Poland, pinpointing efficient and inefficient crisis management practices, as well as considering the phenomenon of self-organisation of local communities, among other things.
The three-year joint activity under this grant funding project involves studying the ability of decision-makers at community, regional or state levels to exert social influence, legitimise authority and ensure social resilience in crisis management processes in Poland and Ukraine. The final beneficiaries of the project are local communities in the Poznan Poviat of the Wielkopolska Voivodeship (Poland) and in the Bucha District of the Kyiv Region (Ukraine).