As part of our "Supporting the resilience of Ukrainian media" program, 18 media outlets in the east and south of the country have been equipped and trained in mobile journalism. The use of the smartphone as a production tool has become crucial in this war-torn country. A novelty for most of the trained journalists, it will now enable them to cover events in images.

In times of war, the media must adapt to survive and continue to inform their audiences. The majority of media benefiting from the "Supporting the Resilience of Ukrainian Media" program come from the print media. Since the outbreak of hostilities, they have not been able to fully maintain their circulation. Many have migrated to digital platforms, where production and broadcasting techniques require different skills.

These training courses, financed by Swiss Solidarity and private foundations is implemented with our local partner, the International Institute for Regional Media and Information (IRMI), were held from June 12 to 21. Two sessions were organized, in Odessa and Ivano-Frankivsk, in which 18 journalists from media outlets in the east and south of the country took part. The group comprised 10 women and 8 men. Two trainers, two translators and the project coordinator were also involved.

After familiarizing themselves with the material received, the participants alternated between theoretical approaches and practical exercises. The aim is to familiarize them with technical and editorial aspects that are new to these journalists, who mainly come from the print media.

Image and sound recording, as well as script writing and editing, were all covered during the week. At the end of each training week, each participant produced a report on crucial topics in their coverage areas: internally displaced persons and social cohesion.

Watch the videos to find out what the participants of both sessions had to say about the training: