“Freedom of Speech, Journalistic Ethics, and Communications about War: The Aspen Institute Kyiv Seminar for Media Specialists”

On November 29-December 3, 2023, the Aspen Institute Kyiv held the third seminar, “Media and reality: measures of responsibility,” in the Zakarpattia region. OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine supported the organization for the duration of this seminar.

One of the event’s goals was to allow participants to take a broader view of professional challenges through the experience of dialogues with professionals with different backgrounds and perspectives.

Teresa Ribeiro, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Pierre Baussand, Head of the OSCE Support to Ukraine Program, and Denis Poltavets, Director of Program Development at the Aspen Institute Kyiv, welcomed the participants.

Based on classical and contemporary texts, journalists, editors, media experts, teachers, media lawyers, and communicators discussed various aspects and challenges of modern media in detail. 

The issues of freedom of speech, media regulation, information security, responsibility and ethics of journalists, journalists’ work during the war, and the challenges faced by the media community in times of accelerated development of new technologies were the main topics of discussion at the seminar.

As part of the seminar, a dialog session named “Global Perception: Strategies for Effective Communication about the War in Ukraine” was organized with the participation of:

• Taras Shevchenko, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine for European Integration.
• Bettina Ruigis, Senior Adviser, Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media 
• Andriy Kulikov, Head of the Commission on Journalistic Ethics, journalist, TV and radio host, and co-founder of Hromadske Radio.
• Olga Rudenko, chief editor of the Kyiv Independent.

Speakers and seminar participants discussed maintaining the international community’s attention to Ukraine, balancing diplomacy and patriotism, adhering to journalistic standards, creating compelling narratives, and engaging international partners.

Denіs Poltavets, Director of Program Development at The Aspen Institute Kyiv, and Andriy Kulakov, Program Coordinator of the Aspen Institute Kyiv Community, moderated the seminar. 

Olena Fomina, Policy Program Director at The Aspen Institute Kyiv, coordinated the event.

We are grateful to the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine for its partnership.