The Bakhmut City Military Administration, as part of its cooperation with its Latvian sister city of Saldus, participated in a seminar organized by the Association of Local and Regional Councils of Latvia titled “Municipal Resilience and Continuity of Service Delivery During Crises: Latvia’s Experience and Lessons from Ukraine,” which took place in the Kuldīga region.
Oksana Karpets, Head of the Education Department of the Bakhmut City Council, and Natalia Otyunina, Head of the Municipal Development Department of the Bakhmut City Council, shared their experiences in providing educational services and supporting teachers’ work during wartime, and also discussed support programs for community members living in various regions of Ukraine and abroad.
The Latvian partners were interested in practical issues regarding the organization of civilian evacuations, conducting classes in compliance with safety protocols, developing response plans for crisis situations, and ensuring the continuity of service delivery.
As part of the visit, a meeting was held with the leadership of the sister city of Saldus, during which the Latvian delegation received a letter of appreciation from Oleksii Reva, head of the Bakhmut City Military Administration, for three years of support in organizing health camps and visits for local children to Latvia.
Representatives from Bakhmut also visited a school in Broceni, a preschool, a center for social and educational support for children with special educational needs, and the local ice arena, where they spoke with Ukrainian families about issues related to the education, socialization, and integration of children abroad.
The parties discussed next steps for cooperation between the communities of Saldus and Bakhmut to support students from the Donetsk region.