Serhiy Lovochkin created the New Ukraine Foundation, the primary task of which is to develop the country through support of democracy, reforms and charity projects.

“In the current situation, business people, policy makers and civic activists must lend their shoulder to help the build Ukraine of the future, a new Ukraine,” Serhiy Lovochkin believes.

The main focus of the New Ukraine Foundation is to support NGOs and think tanks developing reform programs and modernization strategies based on Ukrainian and international experience. The New Ukraine Foundation plans to organize events on important areas of reform and development of Ukraine attracting domestic and international experts.

Another sphere of the planned activities of the Foundation is to support community reform initiatives and projects in Ukraine.

The first project of the New Ukraine Foundation is its support for the development plan of five oblasts – the engines of the country’s development – initiated by the New Ukraine Institute. Experts have identified the following growth engines: Kyiv, Odesa, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia and Mykolayiv oblasts. “Today the Foundation provides an opportunity to local experts to study the situation and potential of each of these oblasts, conduct a series of round tables and other events, assess how regional institutions operate, how business works and how people live there, and on this basis work out some concrete plans,” Serhiy Lovochkin says.

Based on this work, experts will develop guidelines for local and central government. “This will include work strategies, legislative reform initiatives at the local and national levels,” the Foundation leader explains his plans. “And we invite both experts, local authorities and business communities in these oblasts to work with us in this project. I am sure that together we can work out an effective recovery program for our country. This is the only way to jumpstart our industry, to give people jobs and fill the state budget to fund social benefits. We need to build a new European and modern Ukraine - for all future generations,” Serhiy Lovochkin is confident.

...

Work on a development plan for five oblasts, which should become the engines of Ukraine’s economic progress will be the first project of the New Ukraine Foundation, the Foundation founder Serhiy Lovochkin announced.

According to the founder, he and his team have been engaged in reforms all their life. “We never abandoned this cause even after we left the government, since we have some serious developments, which have not lost their relevance,” Serhiy Lovochkin said.

He stressed that reforms should continue in the country, but at the same time, a severe political, economic and security situation adversely affected the implementation of reform initiatives. “We must respond to these challenges, lending a helping shoulder to the state. Therefore I decided to establish the Foundation, which would fund not only the development of reforms, but also their implementation and support,” Serhiy Lovochkin said.

He reminded that experts of the New Ukraine Institute for Strategic Studies identified five oblasts, which would become the engines of Ukraine’s economic development. The founder of the New Ukraine Foundation stressed that a package of legislative initiatives would be developed for these oblasts together with local experts. “This will be the first joint project of the Foundation and the New Ukraine Institute,” Serhiy Lovochkin noted.

According to him, the five oblasts - the engines of Ukraine’s economic development include Kyiv City and Kyiv oblast, as they have a great potential, and change in the country must start from its capital city. Serhiy Lovochkin informed that this list also included Kirovohrad oblast, which also was an important agro-industrial region. He added that the deposits of strategic raw materials - uranium ore - should become an important growth point in the oblast, but at the same time there was a need to seek solutions to the problems of high radioactivity that affected people. According to Serhiy Lovochkin, Vinnytsia oblast was the most successful region in terms of local government realization.

He also noted the significant economic potential of Odesa oblast, which after the annexation of Crimea should become a center of tourism infrastructure. “Odesa ports and industry are also an important part of the country’s economy,” the Foundation founder said.

According to him, Mykolayiv oblast should also play an important role, as it can develop transit infrastructure, ports and shipbuilding. “It is an important center of our defense industry, which should also become the forerunner of reforms in Ukraine,” he added.

Serhiy Lovochkin stressed that the New Ukraine Foundation would work with anyone who wanted to promote reform. “We are ready to spend money on this. There is no alternative to reform. If we fail to reform Ukraine into a modern and developed nation, if we fail to take into account current risks and challenges, we shall have a very difficult future,” Serhiy Lovochkin concluded.

Serhiy Lovochkin’s New Ukraine Foundation promotes the development of a new country through support of democracy, implementation of reforms and charity.

The key vectors of the Foundation activities are reforms, charity and public work.

Reforms:

Promotion of non-government organizations and think tanks that develop reform programs.

Charity:

Sponsorship and support for charity projects.

Public activity:

Support for community initiatives and projects seeking to reform the country.