Faculty of the Department of Economics, Management and Finance Attended the Scientific and Practical Forum“Financial Support for Sustainable Development of Territorial Communities”

On 19 November 2025, the faculty members of the Department of Economics, Management and Finance — Associate Professors Kateryna Lemish, Olena Tokarenko, Tetiana Sydorchenko, and Senior Lecturer Viktoriia Shvachko — took part in the Scientific and Practical Forum “Financial Support for Sustainable Development of Territorial Communities”, organized by the National University of “Ostroh Academy”. The event brought together leading scholars, public finance experts, and representatives of state authorities and local self-government.

During the Forum, participants discussed a wide range of issues related to the financial capacity of communities and the challenges of reconstruction in the wartime and post-war periods. Among the key presentations were: Challenges and Issues of Financing Sustainable Regional Development in Ukraine (Prof. Nadiia Davydenko, Prof. Valentyna Martynenko). The speakers presented a detailed analysis of the financial resources of local self-government, the dynamics of revenues and transfers from 2015 to 2024, highlighted the influence of the UN Sustainable Development Goals on local policy formation, and emphasized the crucial role of communities in ensuring quality education, healthcare, urban development, and reducing inequalities. Financial Decentralization 2.0 and the Potential of RWA Tokenization.(M. Riabokin, Ye. Kotukh). This presentation outlined the current state of financial decentralization in Ukraine and additional wartime challenges such as infrastructure destruction, demographic changes, and declining economic activity. The speakers also showcased an innovative model for attracting investment through tokenization of real-world assets, opening new opportunities for communities to finance infrastructure projects.

These thematic blocks formed a meaningful basis for discussions on community financial resilience, development tools, and the need to modernize approaches to managing local budgets.

A particular area of interest for our department was the presentation by Tetiana Tymoshenko, PhD, Associate Professor at KNEU, President of the Federation of Ukrainian Federation of Employers in Tourism, and a stakeholder of our educational program.

In her talk “Business Models for Community Recovery and Sustainable Development: The Role of Tourism in Mobilizing Private Capital”, she highlighted opportunities of social entrepreneurship to support women, veterans, youth, and IDPs; cooperative models such as a “bed-place bank” and artisan hubs, which help local businesses formalize their activities; the role of crowdfunding and community funding in financing social and tourism projects; the importance of developing value chains (from local raw materials to tourism products); the potential of public–private partnerships in restoring cultural and historical heritage sites.

Although tourism was not the central topic of the Forum, it was presented as an important component of community development strategies. For our department, which implements the educational program “Management of Hotel, Resort, and Tourism Services”, this presentation offered a valuable example of integrating tourism into the economic model of territorial recovery and reaffirmed the relevance of training specialists who can work effectively in this field.

Participation in the Forum enabled the faculty members to explore current trends in public finance and decentralization; analyze modern tools for financing community recovery; strengthen cooperation with stakeholders of educational programs; integrate the acquired insights into bachelor’s and master’s curricula of the department.

The Forum once again highlighted the importance of synergy between academia, government institutions, and local self-government in building financially capable and resilient communities in Ukraine.

Prepared by the Department of Economics, Management and Finance