The relationship between Athens and its sister city in Ukraine, Ostroh, continues to grow as both cities collaborate on ideas and programs.
The partnership began in June when both cities met over a video conference to sign an agreement to legally mark Ostroh and Athens as sister cities, according to a previous Post report.
The agreement entailed how the two cities planned on supporting each other and exchanging ideas, commerce and other information, Mayor Steve Patterson said.
A few similarities Patterson said he has noticed between the two cities include a forestry program and youth engagement throughout the city.
“I'm fascinated with their forestry conservation program (and) that they have, basically all grade levels that are involved in different ways,” Patterson said.
Sam Crowl, Athens city council president, was the third ward council member at the time the agreement to become sister cities was made official and said he believes the program will help each city learn about the other’s culture.
“Specifically, from a governmental standpoint, it's a way to learn about how our individual cities are run, and I'm really interested in how they do things,” Crowl said.
Crowl said he is hoping to be more involved with the program in his new position by showing support to Ostroh and Ukraine in general during the country’s ongoing war with Russia.
“There's been a number of local organizations which have been trying to get needed goods,” Crowl said. “Trying to get shipping containers of needed supplies, medical supplies, clothing and all sorts of things to physically, materially help them.”
One way Patterson plans on connecting further with Ostroh is through an eight-day visit to Ukraine sometime in February.
“I’m going over so that I can meet the government officials and better understand their commerce, better understand their educational system and better understand the university,” Patterson said.
Patterson will be traveling with Svitlana Ramer, senior communications manager for Ukraine projects at DAI Global, who originally paired Athens and Ostroh within the sister cities program.
"I am actually accompanying Mayor Patterson on the trip to provide logistical support, interpretation support, communication support as well as sort of local context interpretation support," Ramer said.
The trip will include meetings with Ostroh city administration that will revolve around projects and areas of interest within each city. Ramer said the trip will include a meeting at Ostroh Academy where Patterson will give a lecture on local politics.
"We definitely talked a lot about youth and collaboration between the universities but also youth in the communities," Ramer said. "Youth councils working together and sharing respective expertise and how they want things in their different cities and how they do programming."
Both cities also plan to collaborate on projects involving green space and tourism.
"We also identified farm tourism or green tourism as an area that's interesting to both communities and especially things like farmers markets and farm-to-table concepts," Ramer said.
While the mayor is away, Crowl will serve as acting mayor during council meetings. Councilmember Jeff Risner will take over as acting council president because he is the longest-serving member.
"Nothing will change in terms of what the city needs to get done, and we just hope that the mayor has safe travels and returns and we all get to play the roles that we were elected to," Crowl said.
Upon Patterson's return, he said he plans on bringing some new ideas back to the city government as well as Ohio University.
"After I come back from the trip (I want to meet) with the Student Senate and to see if there's interest in having a subcommittee or a group start to help me cultivate a dialogue between the university students at the Ostroh Academy," Patterson said.
Crowl said he believes the trip will help bring both cities closer together and expects the program will help make the world a smaller place.
"I just feel like humanity needs more communication, more love, outreach and understanding," Crowl said. "Anytime you reach across cultural boundaries to sort of do that, you're helping yourself and you're helping those people who are doing that outreach with, so I just think it makes the world a smaller place.”
