Ukraine Media Project Annual Report October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016

The project follows the eight-year USAID media support program, Strengthening Independent Media in Ukraine, also known as U-Media and implemented by Internews. U-Media is administered according to four program objectives: Support and Promote Freedom of Speech and Media Independence; Increase the Variety of News Sources and Improve News Quality; Improve the Media Enabling Environment and Freedom of Speech; and Improve Organizational Capacity of Ukrainian Media CSOs. Internews highlights key accomplishments for the reporting period. One notable achievement is the production of four 20-minute documentaries, Return, featuring stories of soldiers who served with the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine, suffered injuries fighting pro-Kremlin separatist forces, and are now striving to return to normal lives. The documentaries focus on the resolve and determination of citizens and soldiers to persevere and ultimately triumph under the worst of conditions. The Internews Ukraine production team completed four stories, including the story of a soldier who lost most of his vision in the conflict and a woman volunteer who transported food for elderly people in the villages of the Luhansk region and lost both legs after a car explosion. The documentaries premiered on June 15, 2016 at the Zhovten cinema in Kyiv and drew over two hundred people, including representatives of the international business community, diplomatic corps, civil society organizations helping Donbas veterans, and media organizations. It was covered extensively by the news media. All four documentaries were broadcast on UA:Pershy and Channel 5 during the summer, with 44,141 viewers watching all four documentaries on UA:Pershy, while 800,000 viewers watched two or three of them, and 199,600 viewers watched at least one of the documentaries on Channel 5. Another key accomplishment is the organization of the 9th International Digital Forum on December 2, 2015 in Kyiv, which gathered more than 100 participants and speakers, including Peter MacAvock of the European Broadcasting Union and Ilham Ghazi of the International Telecommunication Union. The forum served as an important and effective platform for comprehensive discussion of digitalization issues, the challenges they may present for Ukraine during the digital transition, and ways to address them. In addition, the Independent Media Council (IMC) was founded on December 28, 2015, which serves as a public monitoring and advisory body on issues involving the news media. The Council's activities include promoting professional journalism, assessing compliance with media legislation and international standards, and providing recommendations to executive government bodies and other stakeholders on media regulation. CEDEM drafted the statutory documents and currently administers IMC. The Ukraine Media Project also supported the development of media self-regulation, with the establishment of the Independent Media Council (IMC) serving as a key achievement. The IMC is a public monitoring and advisory body on issues involving the news media, promoting professional journalism, assessing compliance with media legislation and international standards, and providing recommendations to executive government bodies and other stakeholders on media regulation.