PTF Europe at Café Kyiv, Berlin | 23 February 2026
Dr. Marie-Carin von Gumppenberg represented PTF Europe at the Café Kyiv conference in Berlin — a high-level gathering bringing together experts, practitioners, and policymakers to explore Ukraine’s reconstruction challenges and opportunities. The central question driving this year’s conference was: How does reconstruction influence social cohesion in Ukrainian municipalities?
As part of the conference, PTF Europe co-hosted a dedicated workshop together with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES): “Beyond Bricks and Concrete: Trust, Transparency, and Social Cohesion in the Reconstruction of Ukraine”. Dr. von Gumppenberg led the session on behalf of PTF Europe, presenting the organisation’s practical work and tools alongside fresh research findings from FES and the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPI).
The workshop opened with evidence from the FES/GPPI joint study on Irpin, which reveals a striking paradox: while citizen solidarity at the community level remains strong, trust in institutions and businesses is declining. The findings confirm that reconstruction efforts, if not carefully managed, can negatively affect the relationship between citizens, business and local authorities. Trust and perceived fairness are decisive factors, and simply creating information portals does not automatically translate into genuine transparency or strengthened public confidence.
Against this backdrop, Dr. von Gumppenberg presented PTF Europe’s hands-on work with small municipalities across Ukraine, carried out in partnership with the Committee of Voters of Ukraine Odesa (CVU Odesa) and supported by BMZ and Czech MFA funding. The project demonstrates that when municipalities receive structured support in reconstruction planning — grounded in the principles of participation, inclusivity, transparency, and accountability — social cohesion at the local level tends to improve. The experience and expertise of CVU Odesa show that with the right support, reconstruction can become a genuine driver of stronger, more cohesive local societies.
She also introduced PTF Europe’s practical Recovery Integrity Toolbox, a set of concrete instruments designed to help municipalities put these principles into action. The toolbox includes:
- Step-by-step guidance applicable immediately
- Recovery Integrity Index to guide municipal planning
- Tools to detect procurement risks
- Practical methods to strengthen citizen participation and civil society monitoring
- Concrete examples and lessons gathered from 10 Ukrainian municipalities
Reconstruction is not only about rebuilding infrastructure. It is about rebuilding trust, fairness, and the relationships that hold communities together, and PTF Europe is committed to supporting Ukrainian municipalities in doing exactly that.
Learn more about the PTF Europe project: https://ptfeurope.org/ukraine-contribution-to-better-standards-in-the-planning-and-implementation-of-reconstruction-at-local-level/
Recent events
September 19, 2023
PTF Europe held its first in-person Annual Membership Meeting after three years of virtual meetings during the pandemic. The meeting was held in the global headquarters of Transparency International (TI) in Berlin, Germany. As in past years, the Chairperson presented the 2023 narrative and financial report. There was also a wide-ranging discussion of ongoing project activities and of PTF Europe’s future strategic direction.
December 15-16, 2022
Hady Fink (PTF Europe) participated in the Second Meeting of the Global Network for Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Accountability in Health Systems. The event was organized by the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss promoting united efforts to combat corruption in the health sector. The event also served as a foundational meeting for the planned LANCET Commission on Corruption and Anti-Corruption in Health, which will convene in 2023-2025.
December 6-10, 2022
Several PTF Europe members, including PTF Europe Chair Haleh Bridi, Deputy Chair Lars Jeurling, Hady Fink, and Christoph Kowalewski, participated in the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) 2022 in Washington, DC. The Conference was held under the theme of “Uprooting Corruption, Defending Democratic Values”, and brought 2,000 people from 126 countries together to discuss anti-corruption issues and initiatives.
November 24, 2022
Hady Fink represented PTF Europe at a UNDP event entitled “Sustaining and Upscaling a Fair Business Environment in ASEAN“. The event was held in Bangkok, Thailand, and focused on strengthening capacity in government institutions as part of a presentation of the Guide on Strategic Programming for Anti-Corruption Agencies. The event speakers included representatives from government anticorruption agencies from several countries in the region.
November 17, 2022
Christoph Kowalewski represented PTF Europe on a panel at an event entitled “How Corruption Corrodes Democracy” in Berlin, Germany, organized by Antikorruptionsverein Berlin e.V. (Berlin Anti-Corruption Association). He discussed the relationship between democracy and corruption, the gateways to corruption in Germany (and their implications for national security), and potential ways for a country to counter corruption. This includes private sector entities designing compliance management systems to empower the most vulnerable employees as well as whistleblower systems.
May 3-6, 2022
Hady Fink (PTF Europe) participated in The 12th Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa and addressed its opening ceremony. The Conference brought together various stakeholders, international organizations, CSOs, and policymakers on the topic of achieving SDG16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) in Africa. The theme for the conference was “Combating Corruption for Good Governance and Sustainable Development in Africa”.