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Donbas Media Forum 2024
● Kyiv, October 18-19
Donbas Media Forum is an annual conference that brings together journalists and media managers from Ukraine and the world, providing an opportunity to discuss current issues of the profession and establish communication. It was founded by the media organization DII-Ukraine in 2015.
Focus Topic
Borders vs frontiers: the role of regional media in the protection of freedom of speech in the conditions of prolonged war
War tends to blur both geographical and moral borders, disguising aggression as liberation and promoting the idea that “not everything is so clear-cut.” On the frontier, everything seems uncertain, lacking the clear values, principles, and irrefutable facts that society relies on. Media workers from the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine acutely feel this, understanding the value of quality information as the only safeguard against propaganda. Russia is turning defined borders into shifting frontiers, affecting Ukraine and inciting internal conflicts within our society, as well as influencing other countries and global institutions by polarizing, intimidating, and manipulating them.
This blurring of boundaries creates a gray zone where concept substitution, manipulation, and the undermining of truth are allowed. Freedom of speech, as a hallmark of a mature society, can (and should) act as a safeguard against this blurring.
Independent media and their self-regulation help define clear boundaries and adhere to them, understand and respect the responsibility for their words, and fulfill their true mission, rather than becoming tools in a global hybrid war. While the Defense Forces fight to restore the state’s borders, the media must protect vital societal values to preserve democracy.
During times of upheaval and dynamic societal maturation, freedom of speech is both a value and a challenge. Our country is currently undergoing this trial, facing external and internal challenges. Various pressures on the media, self-censorship, financial and operational difficulties, and increasing societal polarization are our daily realities. In this environment, we must find the strength not only to endure and defend ourselves but also to stop the spread of the gray zone, where nothing is defined, and everything is ambiguous. Defining moral boundaries within the country crystallizes the rules of the game. The most vivid example is where martial law restrictions end and unlawful influence on the media begins.
Thematic Areas for DMF 2024
DMF 2023 in numbers
Donbas Media Forum 2023 was the largest event in its history.
It was also the largest media event of the year.
683
participants
Almost 700 participants attended the two-day conference
33
panel discussions
A total of 7 hours of the programme were spent in the shelter due to a prolonged air raid alert
+100
speakers
Among them were Ukrainian and foreign journalists, representatives of NGOs, government officials
8
documentaries
During the Forum, documentaries about the war in Ukraine were presented to the participants
How it was
Donbas Media Forum 2023
The first Donbas Media Forum was held in Kyiv and became a platform for a safe dialogue between journalists separated by the war.
In 2014-2015, several dozen regional newspapers and TV channels ceased to function in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and websites and radio stations were shut down. Armed Russian and pro-Russian militants seized editorial offices and imposed censorship on the occupied territories, which led to complete information isolation of the local people.
For the first time, we gathered to discuss the problems and seek international and domestic support for Donbas media during the crisis. We also studied the international experience of media in local armed conflict and raised the issue of media in exile. In 2015, 247 media representatives gathered in Kyiv, and a "Propaganda Kiosk" was presented to demonstrate how propaganda works on Russian-language television.
Donbas Media Forum 2021
The seventh DMF was held online for the second time with elements of a talk show in a TV studio. During the two days of the Forum, 14 discussions took place in the studio in Kyiv, and before that, another regional one in Kramatorsk.
In total, about 100 people were able to join the Forum in a mixed format of online and talk show, including participants from the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Nicaragua. The total number of views of the online broadcasts of all the discussions reached more than 28,000.
Donbas Media Forum 2020
The Forum program included 18 discussions and workshops by Ukrainian and foreign experts from 14 countries: Great Britain, Georgia, Hungary, Estonia, France, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, Bosnia, Croatia, Australia, Nicaragua, El Salvador. All events had simultaneous interpretation in Ukrainian, English and sign languages. All discussions took place online in the hromadske.ua studio.
Another special event took place online from Kramatorsk — a press discussion with two heads of Donetsk and Luhansk regional state administrations.
Donbas Media Forum 2019
On September 5-6, Kharkiv hosted the anniversary 5th "Donbas Media Forum", which was organized by the NGO "Donetsk Institute of Information". The main theme of this year's Forum is "Time to choose journalistic standards." This landmark media event gathered more than 600 participants from Ukraine and the world, including leading media experts and representatives of national and regional media.
The tasks of the Forum this year were:● reducing the level of manipulativeness of the mass media, which distort objective reality or distract from it,● helping to reduce the vulnerability of audiences to manipulation by certain political forces and non-professional journalists.
Donbas Media Forum 2018
The 2018 Donbas Media Forum became a kind of continuation of an already established tradition. This time special attention was paid to regional media. Over the course of two days, new challenges and opportunities faced by regional media were discussed in Kharkiv. Separate panel discussions were devoted to the problems of denationalization of the media, establishment of local mass media, preservation of independence in the process of pre-election and election campaigns, monetization and sources of financing of journalistic work, trust of the residents of the country and in particular of Donbas in the mass media and in the state as a whole, tolerance and gender challenges of today.
Among the forum participants and guests who took part in discussions, round tables and master classes were journalists Andriy Kulikov, Maria Davydenko, Anastasia Stanko, Natalya Humenyuk, Andriy Dikhtyarenko, Gennadiy Chabanov, Natalya Kurdyukova, Vyacheslav Petrovskyi, Oleksandr Bilinskyi, Olga Simanovych, Kyrylo Lukerenko, Vitaly Golubev and many others. They shared the experience of surviving in market conditions of competition, finding sources of financing, monetization, contacts with communities, independence from local authorities, working on the demarcation line, etc.
Donbas Media Forum 2017
During the project implementation, “Donbas Media Forum”, the major media event in the region, was prepared and held (the town of Sviatohirsk, June 28-29, 2017). 285 representatives of media and other home and foreign organizations took part in it. The participants represented 14 regions of Ukraine, 92 editorial offices, 22 Ukrainian and international organizations, 13 Ukrainian institutions of civil society, including media NGOs. About 70 people were from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (including 20 from Mariupol, 24 from Kramatorsk), about 70 — from Kyiv (IDPs from uncontrolled territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, representatives of national and local media, NGOs and charity funds).
Besides representatives of local MM of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, there were journalists and editors from Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzha, Dnipro, Chernivtsi, Odessa, Volyn, Cherkasy and Lviv regions among the participants.
Donbas Media Forum 2016
DMF 2016 was the second forum organized by DII-Ukraine. In 2016 we gathered 254 representatives of Ukrainian media and international organizations in Mariupol.
Three major panel discussions took place during the two-day conference:
- Information Aggression. Combatting disinformation. Countering Russian propaganda.
- Media survival in the liberated territories. Denationalization: how not to lose media
- Journalists in the frontline areas: establishing a dialog. Overcoming hate speech
In total, DMF 2016 was attended by representatives of 67 editorial offices, more than 100 participants from Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Donbas Media Forum 2015
The first Donbas Media Forum was held in Kyiv and became a platform for a safe dialogue between journalists separated by the war.
In 2014-2015, several dozen regional newspapers and TV channels ceased to function in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and websites and radio stations were shut down. Armed Russian and pro-Russian militants seized editorial offices and imposed censorship on the occupied territories, which led to complete information isolation of the local people.
For the first time, we gathered to discuss the problems and seek international and domestic support for Donbas media during the crisis. We also studied the international experience of media in local armed conflict and raised the issue of media in exile. In 2015, 247 media representatives gathered in Kyiv, and a "Propaganda Kiosk" was presented to demonstrate how propaganda works on Russian-language television.
Media organization that organizes the annual Donbas Media Forum.
Our mission: To be a driving force for the unification and resilience of Ukrainian society through quality journalism and dialogue.
The main areas of our work include: combating disinformation and propaganda that actively influence the residents of the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine; ensuring the information reintegration of the population from the temporarily occupied territories; and promoting the development of high-quality and independent regional journalism in the country.
Free dialogue will help media professionals openly discuss current challenges and develop strategies for future actions so that freedom of speech is not only an abstract value but also a practical tool that strengthens society.
Liubov RakovytsiaHead of NGO DII-Ukraine,Head of DMF organising board
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