The Ideas Residence “A City that Preserves a Child’s Individuality” took place in Lviv, serving as a vital space for sharing experiences, fostering dialogue, and rethinking advancements in the field of child protection.
Over the course of four days, heads and representatives of children’s services, social support centers, and the civil society sector from various Ukrainian communities explored successful practices in developing family-based care and modern approaches to supporting children and families within the community.
The agenda included visits to key local social spaces. In particular, the residence participants learned firsthand about the operations of Ridni Center for Social Support of Children and Families, Ridni Foundation, and the “Spilnota-Ridni” Small Group Home of the Lviv City Council.
A highly valuable aspect of the event was the direct exchange of experiences among regional representatives. Participants had the opportunity to openly discuss local challenges, urgent needs, and current work practices in order to jointly seek effective solutions for supporting children and families.
This residence is primarily about the opportunity to take a retrospective look at the changes that have occurred in the field of child protection and the deinstitutionalization reform since 2018. We are speaking honestly about what we managed to implement, what challenges remain relevant, and what we still need to work on in the future. Separately, as a foundation, it is important for us to demonstrate the format of cooperation between the civil society sector, the city, and government structures. Ridni Foundation has a long history of cooperation with the Children’s Service of the Lviv City Council, and we are glad to share our experience of how such interaction allows for the creation of systemic solutions to support children and families
The residence was organized by the School of Municipal Governance of the Unbroken University, the Lviv City Council, and the Children’s Service of the Lviv City Council, in partnership with Ridni Foundation.
