Enhanced work on the information front, journalists’ solidarity, and international support were discussed during the meeting of President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) Sergiy Tomilenko with the active regional organization of the NUJU, local media, and colleagues from the Kharkiv and Donetsk Regions, military correspondents, and university teachers.
The meeting took place during the visit of the NUJU delegation to the Dnipropetrovsk Region on March 7.
“The year of the war became a difficult test for all of us,” said Oleksii Kovalchuk, the chairperson of the board of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Organization of the NUJU. “Today, everyone in their place is working for victory. Since February 24, our regional journalist organization has had almost 1,100 members and has been actively working to counter Russian aggression. Members of the Union decently hold the information front. In addition, they are actively involved in volunteering, become donors, and accept immigrants. Besides, I want to thank those media workers who stood up for the defense of our country with weapons in their hands.
As Sergiy Tomilenko noted, the NUJU has operated in the “fire team” mode for the past year. The Union focuses all its efforts on helping Ukraine overcome the enemy; it tries to cover the most pressing needs of journalists in wartime, strengthens cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), and establishes cooperation with the authorities. One of the latest successful results of the NUJU is the suspension of the membership of the Union of Russian Journalists in the International Federation of Journalists.
“For us, of course, the priority is the safety and rescue of journalists. But at the same time, as a large corporate organization, we are trying to support journalists who continue to fulfill their professional duty of bringing true information to Ukrainians,” said the Union’s President. “Thanks to the close cooperation of the NUJU and the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany in partnership with the Academy of the Ukrainian Press, we can help our colleagues with equipment.”
In particular, military correspondent/freelance photographer of the Associated Press agency Roman Chop, publicist and photographer from Kharkiv Leonid Lohvynenko, correspondent of the Dnipro city site Horod.dp.ua Kostiantyn Shrub, and TV and Radio Company Rudana from Kryvyi Rih received cameras and sleeping bags.
Laptops for technical reinforcement and improvement of work efficiency were provided to the newsrooms of the newspapers Mezhivskyi Merydian (the town of Mezhova), Novi Rubezhi (the town of Krynychky) and Zmiyivskyi Kurier (Kharkiv Region). Another laptop was given to Valentyn Khoroshun, a journalist from the Volnovakha District of the Donetsk Region, who found temporary shelter in Dnipro.
The NUJU Secretariate honored the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Organization of the NUJU, journalist of Ukraine/commander of the combined company of the Dnipro-1 battalion Viktor Ozhohin; head of the sports and health journalist center Trygol of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Organization of the NUJU Volodymyr Soroka; editor-in-chief of the Nikopol-based newspaper Pivdenna Zoria Inna Shvydka; and the team of the Kryvyi Rih-based television and radio company Rudana with the Information Front 2023 awards for dedication to the profession and journalists’ solidarity, contribution to the fight against enemy propaganda.
The diploma of a partner of the online course for journalists entitled Crimea In Focus was awarded to the Faculty of Systems and Mass Communication of Dnipro National University, named after Oles Honchar, and the Department of Journalism of the University of Customs Affairs and Finance.
NUJU Honorary Certificates went to the teams of the media holding Vidkrytyi [Open] and Telekanal D1 [TV channel D1] for their significant contribution to the fight against Russian propaganda. To strengthen the work, they also received large-capacity power banks.
“I am proud that there is such a friendly team of journalists in the region,” said Oleksii Kovalchuk, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Organization of the NUJU. “We will always support each other, there is professional competition, but there is no enmity, and that is very important. Perhaps this is the merit of our journalistic wisdom, talents, and perhaps our journalist experience.”
“Colleagues, incredibly proud of you all! I thank the team of the regional Union of Journalists and the Dnipro Journalists’ Solidarity Center for their collaborative work. Journalists are important!” stressed Sergiy Tomilenko.
NUJU’s Dnipropetrovsk Regional Organization
