INTERVIEW: Why Zhytomyr receives international projects

“We never proceed from simply hearing that funding is available somewhere and then inventing a project for it.”

This is one of the principles by which Zhytomyr works with international funding.

As explained by Olha Kruhliak, Lead Specialist at the City Development Agency of the Zhytomyr City Council, the city acts in reverse: it first forms a portfolio of projects needed by the community, and only then searches for opportunities to fund them.

That is precisely why participation in ANEW-LIFE allowed Zhytomyr to focus not on random ideas tailored to a specific donor, but on already established priorities and to consider various models for their implementation.

Out of the ten projects considered under ANEW-LIFE, two made it to the shortlist. One of them is a 3 MW solar power plant with a 9 MWh energy storage system for the water utility company.

This is an approach where international funding becomes a tool for executing the community’s strategy, rather than defining the strategy itself.

The full version of the interview is available on the 100GREEN YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/IzUXFdocwWM?si=03EIgGLAJgBrA0Qm