First ever Bucha Journalism Conference: Journalism's role in time of wars and crises

On 19 May, the first ever Bucha Journalism Conference: Journalism's Role in Wars and Crises will take place. This is a joint event of the Media Development Foundation public organisation and the Ukrainska Pravda online news outlet.

The one-day conference will be a platform to discuss the role of professional media in covering war crimes and human rights violations. It will also focus on the ethical aspects of a journalist's work during a full-scale war.

The organisers chose Bucha as the venue for the event, a city where Ukrainian and international journalists witnessed the war crimes of Russians in the spring of 2022, after the liberation of Kyiv Oblast.

The conference aims to protect the historical memory of Ukraine as well as call on media professionals around the world to continue to cover the events of those tragic days.

In the context of full-scale Russian aggression, media professionals should be reminded of the importance of establishing justice and accountability of those responsible for these crimes.

To become a participant of the conference, please fill out the form.

In total, the organisers expect to invite about 300 participants from among journalists, students, representatives of civil society and international partners.

The journalists from various international media outlets, such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Voice of America will be among the speakers at the conference. 

The Ukrainian media community will be represented by media managers of leading independent editorial offices as well as war correspondents of Bihus.info,  Hromadske and Donbas Frontliner.

The language of the event is Ukrainian. Simultaneous translation into English will also be available.

During the day, participants will have the opportunity to participate in four panels:

Panel 1: Ethics on the battlefield: the responsibility of the media in covering the war

On this panel, participants will discuss the ethical aspects journalists face when covering war crimes in a war zone.

Speakers will talk about the impact of propaganda and disinformation, as well as the role of independent journalism in providing reliable and unbiased information.

The discussion will be attended by Natalia Humeniuk, the Ukrainian journalist, documentary filmmaker, and executive director of the Laboratory of Public Interest Journalism; journalist Yanina Sokolova; as well as Yevhenii Spirin, the editor-in-chief of Babel.

Panel 2: Telling the History of Ukraine: Challenges for Foreign Media

Participants will learn what security risks foreign journalists face in the war in Ukraine, how they overcome challenges in accessing information sources, and how to understand the complex social and political contexts in the country.

Among the invited speakers are Isabelle Khurshudyan, the head of the Ukrainian bureau of The Washington Post and Matthew Luxmoore, a special reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

Olha Rudenko, editor-in-chief of The Kyiv Independent, will moderate the discussion.

Panel 3: Witness of War: The Media's Key Role in Documenting Atrocities and Crimes

Participants will discuss coverage of war crimes committed during the full-scale war in Ukraine. The focus of the discussion is on working with witnesses and methods of documenting war crimes.

The discussion will be attended by Bihus.info journalist Anna Kaliuzhna and TSN correspondent Natalia Nahorna.

Hromadske journalist Nastia Stanko will moderate the discussion.

Panel 4: Panel of Editors: The Role of Journalism in Wars and Crises

During this panel, editors of the country's leading media outlets will discuss how the war affected the media and how to survive in such conditions. It will also focus on the role of Ukrainian journalists in shaping the nation.

The panel will be attended by editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda Sevgil Musayeva and ex-editor of Suspilne Movlennia Angelina Kariakina.

The panel discussions will be followed by awarding journalists with a special conference award for their ethics and professionalism in covering war crimes.

In addition, Bellingcat researcher Michael Sheldon will conduct a seminar for journalists, where they will gain skills in working with OSINT [open-source intelligence - ed.] and fact checking, as well as learn how to work with misinformation.

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