On the eve of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, the society should start a large dialogue with the authorities, the public, international partners, experts and scientists, the aim of which is to sum up preliminary results, celebrate successes and set ambitious goals to move forward together. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a speech at the forum "Ukraine 30. Coronavirus: Challenges and Responses" in Kyiv.
"Congratulations on the beginning of the first day of our first forum. Сalling the forum the first is not a slip of the tongue… Today is the first event, by which we start a series of 30 large-scale forums in Ukraine. This is the start of a great public dialogue with the participation of the authorities, the public, our international partners, our Ukrainian experts, scientists, journalists and all our ordinary citizens of Ukraine," the President said.
According to him, in the coming months, in addition to COVID-19, topics of security and defense, peace and war, Crimea and Donbas, utility tariffs, judicial and anticorruption systems, agriculture, digitization, infrastructure, education, science, culture and sports, issues of medical and social sphere, industry, ecology, local self-government, etc. will be discussed.
The President noted that this year we will mark the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, so the whole year will be filled with a number of events dedicated to this date.
"And the format of the celebration on August 24, believe me, will be unprecedented for Ukraine," the Head of State assured.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that 30 years of independence is a time when it is worth summarizing preliminary results, celebrating successes, admitting mistakes, drawing the right conclusions, setting ambitious goals and moving forward together.
"To do this, we all need a long, thorough, perhaps difficult, but honest conversation. Therefore, every week this place will become a platform for the main topics of the country. A place of dialogue, questions, answers, and most importantly - the search and generation of solutions," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
The President called on all citizens to follow the discussions taking place at the “Ukraine 30” forum, especially in the context of the adoption of the law on democracy and future referendums in the country.
"These forums can give you an understanding of many processes, useful information and answers to important concerns," he said.
"In addition, my initiative and ambitious goal is for Ukraine to create and become a place for new international platforms, formats and institutions that will unite different countries to meet global challenges. By the way, several such formats will appear in Ukraine this year, on the eve of Independence Day," the President said.
According to him, COVID-19 vaccination will start in Ukraine this month.