Ukraine Media Project (U-Media) Annual Report October 1, 2012 – September 30, 2013

The project was implemented by Internews from October 1, 2012, to September 30, 2013, and was a continuation of the eight-year USAID media support program, Strengthening Independent Media in Ukraine. The project's objectives were to support and promote freedom of speech and media independence, increase the variety of news sources and improve news quality, improve the enabling environment for media and freedom of speech, and improve the organizational capacity of Ukrainian media civil society organizations. Key accomplishments during the reporting period included the launch of a media literacy program by the Academy of Ukrainian Press (AUP), which was recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science in March 2013. The AUP's media literacy program provided college and secondary school teachers with the skills they needed to instruct their students in media literacy. Twelve of the 36 pedagogical colleges participating in the program had included the media literacy course in their 2013-2014 curricula by September 2013. The program continued to offer support for teachers through regional training centers in Kharkiv and Crimea, as well as through resources on the AUP website. The Center for Investigative Journalism (Crimea) conducted two investigations on land issues, which resulted in investigations by the General Prosecutor's Office in Crimea. The IPC's investigation on the illegal closure of Black Sea beaches to public use in Crimea led to a General Prosecutor's investigation and helped Crimean citizens regain access to several beaches. The Center also investigated collusion between authorities and developers to clear Simferopol's publicly-owned forest to make way for housing developments, resulting in a promise from the Crimean Chief Prosecutor to stop corrupt land development schemes. The "Ukrainian House" NGO, in cooperation with Chernomorskaya TV, produced six 10-minute documentaries featuring EU integration case studies, which demonstrated to a Crimean audience how EU membership promotes reforms in all sectors and how citizens can make an impact on important decisions about the future direction of Ukraine. The documentaries premiered on the Chernomorskaya TV channel and were shared through U-Media partner Independent Association of Broadcasters' content-sharing system, the Nonprofit TV and Radio Courier. The Kyiv Investigative Reporting Agency published an investigative story about the misuse of UAH 2 billion allocated under the Kyoto Protocol for renovation of hundreds of schools, kindergartens, hospitals, and elder care houses. The report revealed that the contractors chosen by the Government of Ukraine to do this work were close to President Yanukovych, procurement prices were over-estimated by several times, and most of the renovations were never done. Politicians took note of the investigation, and the Parliamentary Committee on Fighting Against Crimes and Corruption established a temporary investigative commission to investigate the case. U-Media also pioneered the innovative SATT/OSS Self-Assessment Program, which equips partners with the skills they need to evaluate their own institutional capacity beyond the U-Media project. The program was launched in March 2013, when U-Media organized a training in monitoring and evaluation systems and organizational development.