In a modern community, a Charter is more than just a legal document defining individual rules of local self-government. It is a potential tool capable of making interaction between local authorities and residents clearer, more open, and more effective.
This is particularly relevant for the Uzhhorod Urban Territorial Community - the administrative centre of Zakarpattia, a city with a multicultural history, a border location, and a diverse population.
To explore what role a modern Charter should play, assess the state of local democracy, and identify the community’s needs, we spoke with Uzhhorod Mayor Bohdan Andriiv. His perspective is important for the process of updating the Charter of the Uzhhorod Urban Territorial Community.
A Charter That Reflects the Realities of Modern Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod already has a Territorial Community Charter, adopted in 2000. Certain amendments were introduced in 2014. According to the Mayor, legislation, the composition of the population, methods of communication, and public expectations have all changed significantly since then.
For this reason, he believes the document requires a comprehensive update.
At the same time, the new Charter should take into account Uzhhorod’s particular characteristics: its border location, multicultural character, historical and architectural heritage, as well as the differing needs of the city’s neighbourhoods.
“The needs of the city centre, Bozdosh, Novyi Raion, Radvanka, Horiany, Domanyntsi, and Dravtsi are different,” Bohdan Andriiv notes.
For this reason, he believes that some issues should be discussed not only at the citywide level but also directly with residents of particular neighbourhoods.
The Pulse of Local Democracy
Uzhhorod residents actively respond to issues that directly affect their everyday lives. Urban development, tree cutting, public transport, parking, street repairs, the condition of residential courtyards, and the work of municipal enterprises generate the most discussion.
The community is also home to homeowners’ associations, civil society and charitable organisations, as well as volunteer, youth, environmental, cultural, and professional initiatives.
However, residents often become active only after a specific problem has already emerged.
“People become actively involved when a problem has already arisen, but they participate less frequently in the preparation of strategic documents, municipal programmes, or budget priorities,” the Mayor says.
A significant share of public discussion has moved to social media. On the one hand, this demonstrates people’s willingness to express their views. On the other, it highlights the need to make official participation mechanisms simpler and easier to understand.
From an Electronic Petition to Real Influence
Today, Uzhhorod residents can use a variety of participation tools: submit individual and collective appeals, attend personal appointments with officials, contact city council members, submit electronic petitions, and take part in public and online consultations.
The community also has several digital tools, including the Uzhhorod Resident’s Account, the “Open City” platform, and the open data portal. The Community Initiative Budget also operated previously, but was suspended in 2022 due to the full-scale war and changes in budget priorities.
However, the mere existence of a participation mechanism does not automatically make it effective.
“The effectiveness of any form of participation is determined not by the number of events held, but by whether residents’ proposals influenced the final decision,” Bohdan Andriiv emphasises.
This is one of the key principles that should be taken into account when updating the Charter: participation should result not merely in an opportunity to express an opinion, but in a clear outcome and meaningful feedback.
What Prevents People from Participating?
One of the main barriers identified by the Mayor is a lack of trust in the outcome. If a resident submits a proposal but does not know whether it was considered or what decision was made, their motivation to use official participation mechanisms in the future decreases.
Another barrier is the complexity of procedures.
“Public hearings or a local initiative should not require residents to have specialised legal knowledge,” Bohdan Andriiv believes.
The timing and format of consultations are also important. If they take place only during working hours, some people are physically unable to participate. And when the public is involved only after the main version of a decision has already been prepared, the discussion may be perceived as a mere formality.
What Should a Charter That People Can Actually Use Look Like?
According to Bohdan Andriiv, the Charter should be legally precise while also being written in clear and accessible language.
It should define residents’ rights, the principles governing the community, forms of participation, and the responsibilities of local self-government bodies. More detailed procedures, meanwhile, can be set out in annexes or separate regulations.
For every participation mechanism, it is necessary to clearly define who can initiate it, what documents must be submitted, how many signatures need to be collected, who is responsible for considering the initiative, and within what timeframe a decision must be made.
But the text of the Charter alone is not enough.
“A resident should be able to understand how to use a mechanism provided for in the Charter without having to seek outside legal assistance,” the Mayor emphasises.
For this reason, he believes that practical guidance and document templates should accompany the Charter.
From a Formal Requirement to Rules That Work
The new Charter should do more than simply comply with legal requirements. It should establish consistent and predictable rules for interaction between residents, city council members, the Mayor, and the executive bodies of the city council.
“People need to know how they can influence decisions. Officials need to understand how and within what timeframe they are required to respond,” Bohdan Andriiv says.
In his view, clear rules will help reduce conflicts, prevent selective treatment of civic initiatives, and make decision-making processes easier to understand.
The Values of a Modern Charter
Among the fundamental principles of a modern Charter, the Mayor identifies legality, openness, accountability, responsibility, equality, and respect for human dignity.
For Uzhhorod, respect for cultural and national diversity, preservation of historical heritage, accessibility, security, and sustainable development are of particular importance.
Bohdan Andriiv also emphasises the importance of involving residents at an early stage of decision-making. Discussions should focus not only on a completed draft, but also on the problem itself, possible solutions, and the consequences of each option.
Such an approach can change the very culture of interaction between local authorities and the community - moving from informing people about decisions that have already been prepared towards jointly identifying the best possible solutions.
Which Participation Mechanisms Should Be Enshrined?
According to Bohdan Andriiv, a modern Charter should establish procedures for general meetings and conferences of residents, public hearings, local initiatives, electronic petitions, and public consultations.
It is also important to regulate residents’ participation in the budget process, the activities of consultative and advisory bodies, bodies of self-organisation of the population, and public evaluation of the performance of local self-government bodies.
Youth participation is another important area. This can take place through a youth council, school and student self-government, youth consultations, and project competitions.
Importantly, this is not merely about listing possible forms of participation, but about establishing complete and understandable procedures for using them.
The Voices That Are Harder to Hear
One of the particular challenges facing modern local democracy is ensuring the participation of different groups of residents.
According to the data cited in the interview, as of July 2026, almost 29,000 internally displaced persons were registered in Uzhhorod. They include children, persons with disabilities, pensioners, and working-age people with a wide range of needs.
There are also other groups whose voices may not be sufficiently taken into account: teenagers and young people, persons with disabilities, older people and residents with limited mobility, residents of outlying neighbourhoods, veterans, parents of young children, and people who do not use the internet.
“Publishing an announcement on a website is not enough to hear these groups,” Bohdan Andriiv emphasises.
Outreach consultations, mobile reception services, surveys, and cooperation with educational institutions, healthcare providers, social protection institutions, and civil society organisations are also needed.
Digital Services - Yes, but Not Instead of Face-to-Face Dialogue
Uzhhorod already has a considerable number of electronic tools for interaction. According to the Mayor, the next step should be to coordinate and integrate them into a clear and understandable system.
“A resident should not have to search for the necessary form or information across several different platforms,” he says.
At the same time, digitalisation should not replace personal communication. For some residents, in-person consultations, telephone communication, written appeals, and meetings directly in their own neighbourhoods remain important.
The most effective approach is therefore to combine both formats: digital tools for rapid communication and collecting proposals, and face-to-face engagement for discussing important issues.
How Can We Make Sure the Charter Actually Works?
Updating the document alone does not guarantee change. Therefore, according to Bohdan Andriiv, an implementation plan should be adopted together with the Charter.
It should identify the responsible departments, timelines for launching procedures, necessary electronic services, document templates, and the resources required.
Training city council staff and elected council members is equally important so that the new procedures are applied consistently.
The effectiveness of the Charter should also be measured using specific indicators: the number of consultations and hearings held, the number of participants, the number of initiatives submitted, the time taken to consider them, and the proportion of proposals that were fully or partially taken into account.
What Could the Community Look Like in 5-10 Years?
Looking ahead, Bohdan Andriiv sees Uzhhorod as “a safe, resilient, accessible, and competitive European community.”
A community that makes use of its border location, develops international partnerships, and attracts resources to modernise its transport, municipal, educational, and healthcare infrastructure.
A city where young people have opportunities for education, employment, and professional development, and where veterans and internally displaced persons are fully involved in economic, civic, and cultural life.
In his view, the main outcome of the new Charter should be highly practical: people should not only know that they have the right to influence decisions, but also be able to exercise that right through a clear and understandable procedure.
Clear. Effective. Unifying.
The three words Uzhhorod Mayor Bohdan Andriiv uses to describe the future Charter are clear, effective, and unifying.
Clear - because it should be usable not only by lawyers and public officials, but by all residents.
Effective - because every right provided for in the Charter should have a specific procedure, a timeframe for consideration, a responsible official, and a clear outcome.
Unifying - because the Charter should establish equal rules for different groups of residents and reinforce their shared responsibility for the development of Uzhhorod.
This is precisely where the potential of the Charter as an instrument of genuine democracy lies: not simply in recording residents’ rights on paper, but in creating a clear mechanism through which those rights can be exercised in practice.
For Uzhhorod, updating the Charter is an opportunity not only to bring the document into line with current realities, but also to develop a new culture of interaction between local authorities and the community — one in which residents’ participation begins not when a decision has effectively already been made, but much earlier, at the stage of identifying the problem, exploring possible solutions, and setting priorities.
The project “Community Charter as an Instrument of Genuine Democracy” is implemented by CAHR Vested together with the Faculty of Law of Uzhhorod National University, the Research Institute for Fundamental and Applied Studies of European Territorial Cooperation, and the NGO “Grassroots Institute”, in partnership with the Uzhhorod and Irshava Urban Territorial Communities and the Kamianska and Zarichanska Rural Territorial Communities, with financial support from the International Renaissance Foundation.
This material represents the views of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the position of the International Renaissance Foundation.