Learn how to tell the truth!

Ukraine needed a quarter of a century finally to proceed to the basic stage in the building of the European state: proceeding to denationalization of the media, creating an entirely new design of communities, authorities and journalists communication system and making use of the experience of developed countries of the European Union!
As is generally known, since the summer of this year, the media house «Bürgerhaus Bennohaus» (North Rhine-Westphalia) and the media center «OK Ludwigshafen» (Rhineland-Palatinate) supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany and in collaboration with the European Association of non-governmental media “Youth4Media Network”, the NGO “Forum of Ukrainian Journalists” (Volyn) and the Institute of Journalism of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv started a project of theoretical and practical training for local journalists, students, scholars and scientists, public figures and representatives of local government at various levels under the slogan “Civil media for intercultural and political dialogue.”
The workshops and scientific conferences took place in Ukraine and Germany during that time. As a result, 10 representatives of various regions of Ukraine (from Volnovakha and Chernihiv to Odessa and Lviv) not just got the decent level of knowledge of the civic media functioning principles in Germany, but also gained experience in training new specialists, who will be able to create interesting and veracious videos and photographs and present text information both in print media and on the Internet without the help of government or private business.
On the other hand, the experience of interaction between local authorities and media in Germany was studied during the productive visit of the representatives of Volyn. The deputy of the regional council, chairman of the NGO “Center for Reform” Igor Chornuha, the deputy Lutsk Mayor Taras Yakovlyev and the director of “Reform Office” in Volyn region Anatoly Parkhomyuk visited several lands in Germany in September.
In late November the final stage of a unique project passed in the capital of Ukraine. It allowed not only to create the whole network of media representative offices in Ukraine but also to start really filling the content of powerful information resource on the portal Infocenter.com.ua (in Ukrainian and English) using modern technology.
Why the emergence of this kind of media resource is extremely necessary for our society?
The fact that over 25 years of Independence Ukraine only now started the first stage of media denationalization at the request of the EU shows that it is just the first step towards a truly free and independent media. However, the law “On the reform of state and municipal print media”, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 24 November this year, is still under consideration of the President Poroshenko, and, unless something extraordinary happens, the President will sign it. Nevertheless, the pilot project will include not all publications as the local authorities can sabotage some of them (for example, the extraordinary contrivances of interim head of the regional government administration Volodymyr Hunchyk towards “Volyn newspaper” are well-known); so the real results of changes can be awaited not earlier than in five years.
Neither society nor the country has the luxury to live that long in half-truth, half-information and half-freedom of the media. So changes are needed right now.
The German experience shows that the effective system of objective and professional media may function not only when the social networks, public or private Internet portal, television, radio, newspapers and magazines exist. One more component of democracy is needed in mass media sphere, namely civil media.
In Germany, they exist as self-sufficient media centers in all regions of the state and what is the most important (!), they are financed by German taxpayers regardless of government or business. In our, altogether poor country, which is currently still in a state of war, hardly anyone will dare to talk about some additional taxes on the development of civil media, and only self-murderer will suggest development and adoption of suitable draft law. Therefore, attracting foreign expertise and resources, combined with home initiative and qualified personnel aims at solving this problem soon. Then every citizen will be able to place an image, story or news, which they want to share with others, in the global mass media sphere without any censorship or dictatorship. Thus there is the main advantage over the popular now social networks: this product will be designed properly by qualified employees, twenty of which have been trained in Ukraine by German and local coaches.
The ceremonial debriefing seminar “Civil media for intercultural and political dialogue” shows that this program really deserves attention and it will have the continuation. The seminar was attended by the First Secretary of the Embassy of Germany in Ukraine Matthias Conrad, the chairman of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine Oleg Nalyvayko, the head of media house “Bürgerhaus Bennohaus” and president of the European Association of non-governmental media “Youth4Media Network” Joachim Musholt, the director of media center «OK Ludwigshafen» Wolfgang Ressman, the director of the public organization “Forum of Ukrainian journalists” and the editor in chief of “Volyn newspaper” Volodymyr Danylyuk and the Deputy Director of the Institute of Journalism of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Vitaliy Korneyev.
It makes no sense to retell everything they said. The leading idea is that Ukrainians will never change their society without reformatting in the minds of people who have to be Europeans not for their place of living, but for their way of thinking and behavior. The media, which are independent of the state and big business, have to be that ‘bridge’ that will help once and for all to break off with the totalitarian past and feel as a trustworthy partner and interlocutor among the main states of the European Union. And Germany, as one of the key elements of the EU, will continue to keep abreast of changes, assist improvements in every way and prevent of possible errors.
The evaluation of the project by its participants is equally important.
“It is very useful for me to take part in such kind of project. I work as an assistant professor in the Institute of Journalism in Kyiv, and have the experience of working with large groups of students. However, now I have an opportunity to work more practically and apply the teaching methods that have become commonplace for our Western colleagues”, said Olga Suhomlyn.
“The fact that I was invited to a series of theoretical and practical training is important for my further journalistic work. Ukrainian and German experience will allow me to work much better. All the more, I work as a head of local newspaper in Donetsk Volnovakha, sister city of Lutsk!” says Aliona Merzhevska.
A lot of such approving reviews may be heard. Actually, this was said not only during the training but also during the visits of project participants to the main office of the Capital Police as well as to the leading studios of national TV channels.
Yurij Yakovyuk.
Photo by Denis KRYVOPALY.