The Sunday Show: Asset Declarations, The Kemerovo Fire, Doing Business in Ukraine

✅ New Asset Declaration Act Pressures Civil Society

April 1 is not a day for laughter for many Ukrainian civil society members. It was set a deadline for them to file their asset declarations. International members of the supervisory boards of state-owned enterprises and anti-corruption activists are among those who have to go through this burdensome process intended to hold the government officials accountable. No such practice for civil society sectors exists in the West. Hromadske speaks to Sasha Drik. the head of the Declarations Under Control civic watchdog, and Oleksandr Kalitenko, Senior Analyst at Transparency International Ukraine to make sense of this situation.

Sasha Drik

Head of the Declarations Under Control civic watchdog

Oleksandr Kalitenko

Senior Analyst, Transparency International Ukraine

✅ The Deadly Fire in Russia’s Kemerovo, Explained

On March 25, a deadly fire broke out at the Winter Cherry leisure center in the Siberian city of Kemerovo. It left 64 dead including 41 kids. Two days after, on March 27, thousands sweeped the streets of Kemerovo to demand answers from their local government: who is responsible for the tragedy. Alice Bota, a journalist at Die Zeit who is currently in Kemerovo, joins us via Skype to discuss the impact of this tragedy on the Russian government and nation as a whole.

Alice Bota

Journalist, Die Zeit

✅ The Ups And Downs of the Ukrainian Economy

Ukraine’s economy emerged from recession in 2016 but has seen only modest growth in the past two years. Failure to move forward on key agreements with Western authorities, including the law on privatization and the anti-corruption court, have led to a halt in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund in 2017, contributing to lower levels of foreign investment. Analysts say improvement in the investment climate is key to economic growth. But is the government willing to move forward on key reforms? Hromadske speaks with The UkraineBusiness Journal Editor-in-Chief about what’s in store for Ukraine’s economy in 2018.

James Brooke

Editor-in-Chief, The Ukraine Business Journal

✅Katerynivka: Inside The Frontline Village Declared Ukrainian Twice

Liberated twice. Katerynivka in Ukraine’s war-torn Luhansk region has been declared back in Ukrainian control twice.The first time was in 2015, right after the Minsk agreements were signed. It was announced that the Ukrainian Armed forces had taken control of the village. The second time this was at the start of February 2018. They said it was no longer part of the “grey zone.” Hromadske traveled to the small village to see whether the residents feel liberated.

✅ Attracting the Young to the Voluntary Sector

The young have always been the driving force of volunteerism. U-Report is a fairly new project in Ukraine, launched by UNICEF. Its goal is to encourage the youngsters to speak out on development issues, child rights and other societal aspects. Recently it was joined by a famous Ukrainian singer Taras Topolya to help inspire even more youngsters to join the project. We speak with Richard Herts, the National Consultant on Youth Engagement and Partnerships for U-Report Ukraine, about the importance of young people’s volunteerism and volunteerism in general in Ukraine.

Richard Herts

National Consultant on Youth Engagement for U-Report, UNICEF