Media in Conflict 2.0

The second part of Media in Conflict took place amid lock­downs and travel bans, which posed chal­lenges to inter­na­tional colla­bo­ra­tion. Yet, during the past week four German-Ukrai­nian duos came toge­ther to exch­ange ideas, discuss, and tell stories about press freedom, iden­tity, and diver­sity in the media.

An intense weekend packed with work­shops, spea­kers, and discourse started off the project, which was orga­nized in coope­ra­tion with the Centre for Civil Liber­ties Ukraine. Not only the orga­ni­zers, but also the parti­ci­pants worked colla­bo­ra­tively. Toge­ther, the German-Ukrai­nian editor tandems exch­anged ideas, conducted inter­views, and finally wrote down their findings in reports, portraits, and feature articles here, on the poli­ti­ko­range blog. ​„I look forward to reading the final articles – they are all very diffe­rent,“ said editor Lilian Sekkai about the results of the project.

Lear­ning toge­ther

Over the course of the weekend, the parti­ci­pants were joined by Ukrai­nian jour­na­lists who talked about their work, about press freedom in the Ukrai­nian media land­scape, and about the impact of war on jour­na­lism. The digital barrier did not stop spea­kers from enga­ging in a lively dialogue and impres­sing our editors with their insights. ​„It was three days of disco­very,“ said editor Liidia Moshenska about the weekend.

Throug­hout the program, parti­ci­pants bridged culture and language barriers, and learned about media in conflict in Ukraine. ​„I gained know­ledge about Ukraine and about writing in another language,“ said editor Benjamin Müller. ​„I found out that I enjoy writing in English.“ Even the Ukrai­nian parti­ci­pants left the project with new insights. ​„I learned new things about Ukraine. Now I under­stand my country a little bit better,“ said editor Yuliia Ivan­chenko.

Values of multi­cul­tural colla­bo­ra­tion

However, this project was not only about gaining know­ledge or jour­na­li­stic expe­ri­ence. It was also about cultural exch­ange. ​„Getting to know the Ukrai­nian parti­ci­pants and espe­ci­ally my tandem partner made me more inte­rested in Ukraine,“ said editor Nicole Kauer. The project helped streng­then coope­ra­tion between young people inte­rested in media affairs during such chal­len­ging times. The 8 parti­ci­pants worked on their articles toge­ther, and each team included parti­ci­pants both from Germany and Ukraine. This approach was crucial for multi­cul­tural exch­ange, to deepen the connec­tion between two media commu­ni­ties, and enrich the under­stan­ding between parti­ci­pants from two count­ries.

2020, the digital year

Working toge­ther online was a chall­enge for all parti­ci­pants and orga­ni­zers. It felt diffe­rent and a little weird, sitting alone in an empty room in front of an empty Zoom screen right before the project started. But as more and more smiling faces popped up on the computer screen, the awkward­ness faded away and made room for a relaxed and welco­ming atmo­sphere. ​„Even though we are on Zoom, it feels like we are offline. It is so immersive,“ said editor Hanna Nyzhnyk.

Discus­sing, writing, and getting to know each other is harder if your coun­ter­part is some thousand kilo­me­tres and even a time­zone away. Despite occa­sio­nally unstable internet connec­tions, ever­yone made the best out of it. ​„All of us learned how to coope­rate with each other, even though we never met in person,“ said editor Liidia Moshenska.

Inter­na­tional teams, after coming through a cycle of the online lectures and trai­ning, were asked to choose the topic they continued to work on. The teams were also supported with edito­rial consul­ta­tions during the week of writing. As people from diffe­rent cultural groups work toge­ther, they unite the best from their values and commu­ni­ties. The main goal of the trai­ning was to create the bridge for part­ner­ship and higher under­stan­ding, despite the inter­cul­tural diffe­rences. Rather, our strength is in our diver­sity.

One last thing

Our Ukrai­nian editors wanted you to know that when writing about the Ukrai­nian capital, you should use Kyiv instead of Kiev. The word Kiev is derived from the Russian pronun­cia­tion of the capital. It symbo­lizes the so-called ​‘Russi­fi­ca­tion’, the ban of the Ukrai­nian language by Impe­rial Russia, and the Soviet Union that was used to streng­then their poli­tical posi­tions in Ukraine. To empha­size Ukraine’s inde­pen­dence, use the city’s name in Ukrai­nian language: Kyiv.

The project was funded by Stif­tung ​„Erin­ne­rung, Verant­wor­tung und Zukunft“. The publi­ca­tions do not repre­sent an expres­sion of opinion by the Foun­da­tion. The authors are respon­sible for the content of their state­ments.