Lutsk City Council delegation has visited partner city of Chełm in Poland
On 5-7 July 2024, the city of Chełm (Republic of Poland) held official events to celebrate the City Days. At the invitation of President of Chełm Jakub Banaszek, a delegation from Lutsk City Council attended the event. The delegation included Head of the General Department Nadiya Bortnik, Head of the Service for Children Fedir Shulgan, and Chief Specialist of Project Activities Division of International Cooperation and Project Activities Department Anastasiia Klushyna.
The official events started at the Maria Paulina Orsetti Public Library in Chełm. During the City Days celebration, the audience was addressed with welcoming speeches by Deputy Mayors of Chełm Radosław Wnuk and Dorota Cieslik, newly elected Secretary of Chełm City Council Dorota Rybachuk, Deputy Secretary of Chełm City Council Malgorzata Sokół, as well as Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Chełm Stanisław Adamiak and Consul General of Ukraine in Lublin Oleh Kuts.
In April, the city of Chełm held local elections, including those for the City Council. In order to acquaint the newly elected councillors for the 2024-2029 term with the city's international partnerships, representatives from the invited delegations provided presentations about their communities. These included cities from Ukraine (Lutsk, Kovel, Mykolaiv, Kamianets-Podilskyi), Lithuania (Utena) and Palestine (Beit Sahour). Delegation representatives provided an overview of various aspects of life in their cities and the outcomes of their cooperation with the city of Chełm as part of the established partnerships. This was followed by discussion panels to explore plans for potential cooperation in the areas of culture, youth, education, entrepreneurship, project implementation, etc. with expert groups from the city of Chełm.
During the official opening of the Chełm Days, the President of Chełm Jakub Banaszek, expressed his gratitude to the delegations from partner cities for their arrival, especially those from countries currently facing war. He noted that their visit is very important for Chełm. In turn, the representatives of partner cities greeted the residents of Chełm and extended their best wishes.
The delegations were also offered a tour around the local chalk dungeons, that are a unique world-class tourist attraction, as the underground hallways carved into the chalk rock stretch across the entire Old Town, with chalk deposits occupying several ‘floors’ underground.