Hello Andrew Schenkel, doctor and assistant professor at the Stockholm School of Economics and co-project leader for the SI-funded project UNITED! You are in the starting blocks of training Ukrainian diplomats and civil servants. How is it going?
Firstly, we have seen great interest in participating in the project. Initially, the target group was limited to Ukrainian diplomats, but the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine has broadened it to also include civil servants from the relevant ministries.
The planning for our first in-person meeting in Ukraine is going very well, considering the turbulent global situation and the uncertainty that comes with it. We are travelling to Ukraine on 10 March, and we will begin by training the participants in various classic negotiation models – from win/lose and win/win or “expand the pie” negotiations. There will be five sessions, each lasting three hours, with an expected 50 participants in each group.
We are very proud to have developed something unique for the participants. We have taken real cases from the EU accession processes and transformed them into Harvard-style dilemmas. The participants will step into the protagonist’s shoes, consider how they would solve the issue, and then compare their solutions with what actually happened. Poland is one example we will be working with.
What is your role?
We see ourselves as educators, not advisers. As adult educators, our role is to facilitate knowledge and tailor it to the participants’ context. Each accession process is unique, but by studying real cases, such as Poland’s journey, participants can learn valuable strategies and techniques – both those that led to success and those that did not.
What are your hopes for the future?
We are planning for three online workshops which the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga will organise. These will focus on Latvia’s EU accession process. During these sessions, participants will have the opportunity to speak directly with persons who have been involved in their accession process. Additionally, in June, we are planning for a workshop on advanced negotiation techniques in Kyiv.
In the longer term, we would like to expand this project to Moldova. It is important for Ukraine and Moldova to go through the accession process together, hand in hand. When candidate countries communicate and learn from each other, it creates a shared strength – an important process for the countries themselves, for the EU, and for democracy.
Facts
The United project was granted funding in the first call for applications under the SI Ukraine Cooperation Programme. Through this programme, Swedish actors and their partners in Ukraine can apply for grants to jointly implement projects aimed at supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction, reform efforts, and EU integration in areas such as inclusive economic development, entrepreneurship and trade, as well as human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and gender equality. The programme is carried out within the framework of the Swedish government’s Strategy for Sweden’s reconstruction and reform cooperation with Ukraine 2023–2027. A new call for applications for the programme will open on 14 March.
SI also has other programmes that facilitate cooperation with Ukraine. Currently, the SI Baltic Sea Neighbourhood Programme has an open call for applications for two types of grants – cooperation projects and seed funding, which will close on 4 March. The programme funds projects where Swedish organisations work together with organisations from EU countries around the Baltic Sea and countries within the EU’s Eastern Partnership to address cross-border challenges and opportunities.