36 projects of the first half of 2023

Russia is continuing its war against Ukraine, but life in Ukraine goes on. The country’s public, private, and non-governmental sectors continue to do their jobs as best they can.

The Internews Ukraine team has put its efforts into supporting and training media workers, fighting propaganda and disinformation, promoting parliamentary reforms, protecting Ukrainians with cybersecurity, and more.

During the first half of 2023, we:

• implemented 36 projects,
• held 118 media events with 3383 participants,
• created 146 videos,
• issued 106 media grants.

We produced creative works which made the shortlists of national competitions, expanded our team, and achieved ambitious goals. Read below to learn more about what our team has achieved.

Strengthened digital security and financial literacy

Together with the Canadian technology organization eQualitie, we started implementing a project on emergency support for Ukrainians in digital security. We jointly launched the first digital security helpline in Central and Eastern Europe, Nadiyno.org. The platform already has 66,000 active users and almost 200,000 site visits. Nadiyno.org operators helped to resolve 1500 queries. They also assisted Divoche.media when their Telegram channel was hacked, and also aided a Donetsk civil society organization to fend off Russian hacking attacks.

• eQualitie, using its own Deflect.ua software, protected 80 media and NGO sites from DDoS attacks (in particular, the site of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate of the Center for Civil Liberties);
• 100 telecom leaders sought solutions to restore the industry at our with eQualitie conference;
• a project team conducted 24 individual training workshops and consultations on digital security for members of NGOs and media outlets, including La Strada-Ukraine, Women of Steel, Aktyvna Hromada, Greencubator, Vector Media, Divoche.media, WAW Media.

Nadiyno.org was promoted by popular YouTube shows, including Bihus.Info, Toronto TV, "Rozmova" (Talk), Tokar.ua, Solovine show, and the Yarema Dukh channel.

"We create an appealing branded product, and we are proud of it. We have been able to test different types of promotions. For example, for the first time we talked about digital security with the help of rap, creating a video in collaboration with the famous rapper Freel," explained project manager Yuliia Babko.

Also, together with CRDF Global, we spread information about cyber threats and the basic rules of cyber hygiene. The project helps Ukrainians take notice of their security online and make cyber hygiene a daily habit.

• Posts about cybersecurity rules reached 1.3 million users.
• About 8.5 million Ukrainians saw the posters in subways, on Ukrzaliznytsia trains, and at the train stations of Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kyiv.
• 656 schoolchildren from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Lviv and Vinnytsia watched cybersecurity lessons.
• Our video with the comedienne group Trio Rizni reached 24,000 views.
• Three videos on cybersecurity rules received 307,398 views.
• 34,625 users played our online game for cybersecurity, ShoTam.
• 620,538 readers read the articles in the media.
• Our special Instagram mask achieved 13,353 views and 332 uses.
• Our Instagram quiz reached 111,774 users.
• Collaborations with influencers like Mamarika, Yaroslava Kravchenko, Daria Bilodid and Maria Kondratenko reached 913,460 users.

"All Ukrainians can fall prey to cyber fraudsters, so our project was aimed at increasing cyber literacy. It reached people of all ages. We spoke to each audience in their language and through different communication channels. We should continue to work in this direction to ensure not only the security of Ukraine’s online space, but also the physical safety of Ukrainians" – Yuliia Vynnychenko, project manager.

During the first half of 2023, we devoted great attention to privacy in the digital sphere by studying how leading service companies protect and respect their customers’ digital rights.

In order to help users safeguard their digital privacy, we:

• released the Index of Personal Data Protection 2023,
• published articles in the national media covering the legal aspects of the topic.

"Ukrainians still do not think much about protecting their personal data. Now, in wartime, society needs to understand what data a company can get after you tick the consent box. That's why we wrote about digital security in simple language and released a study showing how much Ukrainian tech companies comply with privacy regulations" – Pavlo Belousov, digital security expert at Internews Ukraine.

We helped run the #ШахрайГудбай (#ScamsGoodbye) financial literacy campaign from the National Bank of Ukraine. Our communications support helped learn more about fraudulent schemes and methods to safeguard themselves.

"The digital campaign reached 5.4 million. Our appearance on "Snidanok z 1+1" (Breakfast with 1+1) morning TV program was successful and had more than 144.5 thousand views. We hope that this campaign will really help to prevent Ukrainians from falling victim to fraud" – Nadiia Ushchapivska, Deputy Communications Director.

Promoted "new generation" reforms in the Ukrainian parliament

Our team continues to produce results with the USAID “RADA: Next Generation” Program. In order to help Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada become a modern and effective institution for the country’s democratic development, we:

• held public consultations with the participation of Rada deputies and workshops in their districts (organized a Parliamentary-municipal forum, implemented a grant program for Ukrainian NGOs, etc.),
• provided communication and institutional support to the Research Service of the Verkhovna Rada, developed their Training Center, and created an internship program,
• lobbied for the creation of the Normative Drafting Office to improve the quality of draft law preparation: conducted trainings and seminars,
• helped to develop a communication strategy for the Verkhovna Rada, as well as developed communication products about Ukraine for foreign parliaments.

We provided communication support for four Verkhovna Rada committees to improve their communications:

• developed methodological recommendations to improve the committees’ social media communications,
• prepared analytical reports on the popularity of local and national media outlets for 2023 and on the use of Telegram as an official communication channel,
• provided support in conducting 17 offline and online committee events,
• created 174 visual materials for use on committee social media pages,
• conducted practical training for committee secretariat staff on SMM topics, writing press releases, using storytelling, and creating design products in Canva.

"We can pass hundreds of useful laws, but if we can’t communicate about them in simple words or reach people through the right communication channels, no one will know about the Rada’s work. The Rada needs to be a reliable source of information for Ukrainian voters and the whole world. That's why we are conducting workshops for Rada staffers, are developing the body’s social media presence, and are helping with the body’s Communication Strategy" – Andrii Kulakov, Communications Director of the Program.

Defended Ukraine’s informational independence during the Russian invasion

In the first 6 months of 2023, the UkraineWorld Twitter account received more than 111.5 million views. During the same period, the Facebook page reached more than 12.5 million views. UkraineWorld's Explaining Ukraine podcast also reached a substantial foreign audience with 554,265 listens.

The UkraineWorld team started using Twitter Spaces as a new format to reach audiences. We organized three discussions and joined another two. With the help of our short video, we explained Russian propaganda to the Western audiences. Our post with this video reached 43,424 users on Twitter and 304,352 users on Facebook.

In addition, the UkraineWorld team organized visits to front-line zones (Kharkiv, Sviatohorsk, Druzhkivka, and other cities) about which they created videos, articles, and podcasts.

"The main value of the project is the opportunity to show the whole truth about the Russian war in Ukraine to the international community. Producing content in English, Spanish, Italian, French, and German helped us to expand our audience and increase the visibility of the project, in particular in Latin America and Africa" — UkraineWorld Analyst Maksym Panchenko.

Responding to the challenges of wartime, we created the documentary Hostages of Madness. It tells the stories of three people who survived occupation and suffered from the actions of the Russian military in 2022. The project highlights and documents war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine in order to convey this information to a wide audience and provide hope that the perpetrators will face justice.

The film was viewed more than half a million times during the Yedyni Novyni (Unified News) telethon and 11,037 times on the megogo.net platform. The promo campaign on social media reached 277 thousand people.

Organized a journalism school for Ukrainian defenders

In 2023, we held a 2-month course called Voice of War to teach literary skills to war veterans and active servicemen. 20 participants met online twice a week with professional lecturers and outstanding Ukrainian writers including Yuri Andruhovich, Oksana Zabuzhko, Kateryna Babkina, Rostyslav Semkiv, Oleksandr Mykhed, and Viktoria Amelina. A psychotherapist also provided support groups.

Together with their mentors, participants wrote essays about the war. Their works were published on the Voice of War platform. The best essays were published in outlets including The Village Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda, and UkraineWorld.

• Over 70% of participants reported that their participation contributed to their social adaptation.
• 84% agreed that support groups helped them with stress.
• 100% improved their literary skills.
• Graduate Oleksandr Budko has already signed a contract for a book to be published by the Prometheus publishing house.
• Graduate Svitlana Penkova, the wife of a fallen soldier, is also currently working on a book titled Ukrainian Hummingbirds.

Fought propaganda

Our team developed counter-narratives to refute Russian propaganda fakes.

• Posts with responses to the Kremlin's disinformation reached 4,132,887 people.
• Our Russian-language TikTok videos on the @his.facts channel were viewed 110,005 times.
• Videos and posts with influencers received 848,195 views and 102,990 impressions, respectively. On TikTok alone, a video by blogger Tatiana Firley was viewed over 312,200 times. Eurovision winner Jamala's post reached 74,952 users.

"The project has already reached almost 9,000,000 people in three languages on five social networks. It was important to search for the right channels to inform audiences about the Kremlin’s crimes. The value of this work lies precisely in its scale: we have to convey the truth through media products as widely as possible." – Yuliia Martin, project manager.

Russian propaganda crosses the line into being criminal. In order to show the connection between the Kremlin’s genocidal rhetoric and the crimes of the Russian military in Ukraine, we created two platforms:

• Kremlin’s Voice is a database of Russian propagandists. It enables journalists, researchers and the public to more effectively identify and counter Russian propaganda.
• The Book of Memory is an online archive with stories of victims and witnesses to Russian brutality. The project was created to ensure their stories would not be forgotten and that Russian perpetrators are brought to justice.

These platforms help establish an evidentiary basis of the Kremlin's war crimes. In the future, they will help international courts in prosecuting Russia and its officials.

"The project has an overriding goal of documenting Russia’s crimes. The realization that even with small, consistent steps, we can contribute to the broader movement of resistance against Kremlin propaganda motivates us to work better, more creatively, with as many different audiences as possible." – Alyona Hryshko, Senior Analyst.

Trained and supported Ukrainian media

In 2023, we developed the media sector of Ukraine even more actively than before and strengthened digital security for media workers and editorial offices.

• We conducted 3 editorial audits, 2 SEO audits, and 78 expert consultations for the regional media outlets NikVesti, ZMIST, and Tribun. With our mentoring support, their teams produced 14 materials that were viewed more than 180,000 times in total.
• 40 regional media outlets received 86 expert consultations and produced 199 materials with more than 3,000,000 views. A report by Expert-KR garnered over 1 million views on social media.
• In partnership with Khmarochos and Rubryka, we held several webinars on decision journalism. Media workers also took part in a competition for materials on the reconstruction of Ukraine, in which 27 newsrooms received grants.

"This project immerses you in the context of regional media and allows you to get to know them better. It was valuable and exciting to work with the genre of decision journalism and see examples of its impact. I hope that the materials produced by the project participants will also influence Ukraine’s reconstruction." – Oleksandra Panova, team leader of the project unit.

We also helped regional and hyperlocal media to expand their audience and attract new resources. We created our online school How to work effectively during war to help 40 such outlets, and the 20 most active participants received grants.

In order for Ukraine’s regional media to cover the negative impact of the war on the environment, we held a three-day course on eco journalism and recording environmental crimes. We also held a grant competition for regional editorial offices.

• 25 materials created through the project received 130.9 thousand views,
• On April 10, 2023, we published a report by a competition participant dealing with the potential catastrophe that the destruction of the Kakhovska HPP could cause, drawing the attention of Ukraine’s government to this threat.

Another important project in this field was our educational online course Eco journalism without garbage on environmental journalism for journalists from local media.

The project helped to draw attention to this genre, showing the importance of covering Russia’s environmental crimes in Ukraine. As part of the project, we:

• held 9 webinars for 90 participants,
• created two videos with 13,000 views,
• held a competition for participants of the training course.

"It is important for us that these projects were ecologically-focused. As a team, we keep our focus on one topic in which we already have good expertise. It is also important that in 2022, we were among the first to popularize the importance of covering the impact of war on the environment." – Yuliia Kostaschuk, project manager.

Helped municipal communities to improve their communications

In order to improve the communication capacities of Ukrainian communities, we developed and conducted a training course and provided 192 individual consultations for 48 communities.

As a result, each community received a communication plan to make changes. Ukrainian municipal communities learned how to effectively speak to their members about the introduction of garbage sorting, set-up of inclusive playgrounds, reorganization of educational institutions, and the creation of the National Center for Environmental Protection.

"Problems at the local level often arise from a lack of communication. We hope that the work we have done will help local authorities to effectively interact with residents and, as a result, to implement changes in communities quickly and painlessly." – Diana Ishchenko, Creative Director.

Helped to introduce educational reforms

We conducted a communication campaign explaining new professional standards for headmasters of secondary schools, as well as a campaign to promote the state standard of basic secondary education. Both campaigns provided a lot of practical advice to teachers and heads of educational institutions, which contributed to the New Ukrainian School reform program. We created:

• 11 articles for national and specialized online media,
• 92 thematic posts,
• 21 video explainers for social media.

The campaign to explain the new professional headmaster standard reached more than 770,000 people, and the campaign to promote the state standard of basic secondary education reached more than 4 million.

"These projects are based on the NUS reform program and its values. We are happy to work with them, because education is the future of the country." – Kateryna Paryhina, project manager.

We also developed and conducted a nationwide campaign about the role of vocational education training in rebuilding Ukraine, showing audiences the advantages and opportunities this education provides.

• In Kyiv, we held 2 information sessions for 32 journalists, who produced 11 materials.
• In Lviv and Rivne Oblasts, we organized 2 presentations on the best practices of selected vocational and technical educational institutions. 41 journalists took part in the events, and 15 materials were produced.
• Three audio advertisements were broadcast on two radio stations, reaching 3,068,000 listeners.
• Produced 5 short video ads for YouTube, which were viewed 8,854,141 times.
• 150 billboards and 70 city light displays were placed in Kyiv and Lviv and Rivne Oblasts.
• 27 local and national outlets published materials that were read and viewed more than 26 million times.

"This project shows the advantages and opportunities of professional and technical education using real examples to debunk stereotypes about vocational training." – Yaroslava Kobynets, communication coordinator.

Protected Ukrainian public health

To draw attention to the threat of tuberculosis and promote healthy lifestyles among children and their parents, we conducted an information campaign and organized a children's drawing competition called I explore this world. 140 children from all over Ukraine participated.

In total, the campaign reached more than 3.5 million users. We informed them about patient support, prevention, curability and a healthy lifestyle.

We also conducted a media campaign about the work of mobile gynecological teams and mobile social and psychological assistance teams from UNFPA in Ukraine.

We raised awareness about issues of sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, and combating gender-based violence with the help of 55 informational materials and 19 special projects in local and national media.

A video story about one of these special projects received more than 130,000 views on Facebook in less than a day.

"This is a new thematic direction and our team's first experience with this sort of cooperation. We have seen many comments in support of the women at the heart of these materials. We hope that their stories serve as an example for other women and an impetus for them to seek help from specialists." – Dmytro Zinchuk, Team Leader of the Project Unit.

Won recognition for our creativity

In the first half of 2023, we took home several awards from competitions.

The All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition awarded Internews Ukraine rankings 20-26 in its national index of advertising and creative agencies.

Two of our creative concepts were shortlisted for Ukrainian Creative Stories 2023 awards:

• #БезНеїНияк (#NoWayWithoutHer) is a communication campaign to empower female entrepreneurs during the full-scale war in Ukraine.
• МріЯ+ТИ разом (Dream is ME+YOU) is a communication campaign to support national unity during wartime.

Our Voice of War course for veterans and active servicemen was shortlisted at the 2023 Kyiv International Festival of Advertising.