On October 18-19, the ninth Donbas Media Forum was held at Parkovy Congress and Exhibition Center. The conference was attended by 857 participants. This year the Forum was devoted to the topic "Borders vs frontiers: the role of regional media in protecting freedom of speech in a long war."
During the two days of the media conference, 47 activities took place, namely: panel discussions, workshops, presentations, lecture and public interview, and screening of 9 Ukrainian documentaries.
The main program was deployed simultaneously in four zones. Guests were met on the third floor of the complex, where the organizers placed a registration area and partner stands. Thus, for two days, 189 speakers performed on the stage of the
Convention and Concert Hall, in particular:
- Ms. EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova;
- Charge d'Affaires of Japan in Ukraine Yuji Tokita;
- Public figure Oleksandr "Teren" Budko;
- People's Deputy Yevheniya Kravchuk;
- Representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War Petro Yatsenko;
- Deputy commander of "Army TV" Sharlotta Khmelnytska;
- Chairman of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Anton Drobovych;
- Chairman of the Commission on Journalistic Ethics Andrii Kulikov;
- Journalist and publicist Vitaly Portnikov;
- Junior sergeant of the 13th brigade of NGU Khartiia, poet, creative director of Radio Charter Serhiy Zhadan;
- Chairman of the Board of NPTU Mykola Chernotitsky;
- The youngest journalist of Ukraine Kyrylo Peredriy.
Panel discussions were devoted to thematic areas, including: the stability of independent regional media of the East and South during the war and after; the role of media in the process of restoration and rebuilding, Ukrainian media for the audience in the occupation, digital tools and threats.
As a symbolic gesture of memory about media workers and media women who serve in the Defense Forces of Ukraine, are in russian captivity, or died during the war, on the first row in the main hall of the space were reserved special places for those who couldn’t be present.
Given the scale of the event, several panel discussions took place simultaneously. In addition to the main program, participants had the opportunity to attend presentations and workshops in
conference rooms located on both sides of the Convention and Concert Hall. Thanks to the convenient layout of locations, guests could quickly move from one site to another without wasting time and valuable information.
The Forum hosted additional events, including the organized "Security Corner," where participants were provided with free consultations on digital and legal security, and a training session on digital security with a VR component.
In particular, the guests also expected a lecture by journalist and publicist Vitaly Portnikov and a public conversation between Serhiy Zhadan and Andrii Kulikov. Therefore, this part of the forum program was held in a
shelter on the -1 floor, which the organizers arranged in advance with everything necessary in case of an air raid.
Exhibitions were also held in the DMF space: installation from the "Restoration Window": "Window clogged with OSB plate," photo exhibition "This is my home" by Zaporizhzhya photojournalist Kateryna Klochkova, "Shot freedom of speech" from NUJU – an exhibition of artifacts of Ukrainian media workers who suffered or died in the war.
Another location was
Rest Hall Event Space – a technologically equipped hall, where guests were invited to watch Ukrainian documentaries for two days of the forum. Among them: "Bread from the minefield," "On the frontier: the story of the invincibility of the editor of the front-line newspaper," "Fixers in the war," "Chernobyl 22," "Big water," etc. Here, the participants also had the opportunity to listen to a public lecture by Vitaliy Portnikov on "Defending the Truth: Why a journalist should be frank with the reader."
During the event, the participants had the opportunity to join three meetings for colleagues: "Minute of Support" from the 2402 Foundation – a collection for the rehabilitation of military personnel who suffered during the performance of professional duties, a collection for the restoration of a camera destroyed by shelling for the press service of the Separate Presidential Brigade from a media worker from this brigade and on EW for doctors of the Donbass battalion from the speaker of one of the discussions.
Donbas Media Forum was founded in 2015 by NGO DII-Ukraine as a platform for media professionals from Donetsk and Luhansk regions who faced new professional challenges due to russian aggression in 2014.
Parkovy team thanks the organizers and guests for choosing the complex and holding the event and promoting the development of a socially important business. See you later!
