From 17 to 20 November 2025, delegations from Chernihiv and Kyiv regions paid a working visit to the Île-de-France region. The Chernihiv region delegation included representatives from the Department of Economic Development of the Regional State Administration, the Regional Development Agency, the Chernihiv Regional Centre for Advanced Training, and Chernihiv Polytechnic National University.

The delegation included the head of the Department of Economics, Accounting and Taxation, Zh.V. Derii. The visit took place at the invitation of the French side as part of the “Kalyna” project. For the Chernihiv region and the university, such cooperation is an opportunity to strengthen partnerships and gain support for the region’s recovery.

Since February 2022, the Île-de-France region has launched a number of programmes to support the Chernihiv region. In particular, the “Kalyna” project, which is scheduled to run until 2027, aims to train representatives of local government and state bodies in Chernihiv to use European financial management tools so that they can directly apply for European grants and more effectively attract donor and loan funds from the European Union.

During the visit, the “Kalyna” project partners exchanged experiences on project activities and learned about European fund management practices in France. The participants found visits to the Europa Experience information centre, the Campus Cyber project office and the Perqo start-up incubator particularly useful.

The project aims to train specialists who will develop and implement training programmes for local communities and organisations working with EU funds, and who will work with them during the development of relevant projects.

The project “Kalyna: United for European Project Management Skills” is being implemented by the Région Ile-de-France in partnership with the regional administrations of Chernihiv and Kyiv regions, the National Agency for Adult Vocational Training AFPA, the Scientific and Technical Support Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Public Policy in the Paris Region Institut Paris Region, and the Kyiv School of Public Administration.