Ukraine: new players, old game? The role of civic activism and media

Join us for a panel discussion on the new Ukrainian reality

When: Tuesday, 19 November 2019 from 9:30 – 13:30 (registration at 9:00)

Where: EED, Rue de la Loi 34, 1040 Brussels

RSVP: events@democracyendowment.eu by Thursday, 14 November

Ukraine has entered a new political era since the election of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The recent parliamentary elections have meant that new faces have joined politics, including a number of civic activists. While reform is very much on the agenda, democratic accountability remains challenging. Civil society and the media are now reviewing their role within this new status-quo.

Full Programme

9:00 - Registration

9:15 - Breakfast

9:30 – Intro | Richard Tibbels, Head of the European External Action Service Eastern Partnership Bilateral Relations Division  

9:45 - Panel 1| ‫‫‫‫‫From activists to politicians and back? Re-thinking the role of civic activists

Three quarters of the new Ukrainian MPs have been elected for the first time. Many are former activists either at the national or local level. While activists can protest, push and demand changes, politicians must accept compromise and take different interests into account. Will civic activists be successful drivers of change? Will they serve as a bridge between government and the wider society? Is Ukraine’s civil society sufficiently independent, or has it become too politicised with quick transfers from civil society to parliament and government and back?

Speakers: 

• Valerii Pekar is an entrepreneur and lecturer at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School and Lviv Business School. He is the co-founder of The New Country Civic Platform. When Valerii was member of the National Reforms Council (2014-2016), he also served as the adviser to ministers of economic development and trade during that time. In addition to being a consultant for various state institutions in managing organisational change, Valerii is an analyst and columnist, as well as author of blog ‘Ukraine: The European frontier’.

• Yuliy Morozov is a public figure, civic activist and cultural manager with extensive experience of leading international and local projects, primarily in his home of Kryvyi Rih. He is one of the co-founders of the Union of Responsible Citizens and the ecological coalition ‘Stop Poisoning Kryvyi Rih’, as well as the founder of the independent media platform ‘Expert-KR’. In 2015 July, Morozov joined the political party ‘Syla Lyudey’ (the Power of People) and became a deputy in the Kryvyi Rih city council. In 2016-17, he was manager of the communications department of the party at the national level.

• Halyna Yanchenko is a Member of Parliament of Ukraine, the deputy chairman of the ‘Servant of the People’ faction and the deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy. In 2014, she founded and headed the NGO Anti-Corruption Headquarters as an anti-corruption policy expert and public figure. Halyna was a deputy of the Kyiv City Council.

11:15 - Coffee break

11:45 - Panel 2 | Find the politics behind the PR: the role of media in the changing political landscape

Zelensky’s team’s media campaign played an important role in the election outcome, although for many, it seemed to be more PR than substance. Both Zelensky’s and Poroshenko’s political strategies were controversial during the elections. Can journalists continue to dig out the truth? How can traditional and new media become or remain advocates for democratic reform in Ukraine?

Speakers:

• Diana Dutsyk is the Executive Director of CSO ‘Ukrainian Media and Communication Institute’ and a lecturer at the Kyiv Mohyla School of Journalism (course ‘Text in multimedia age’). She also holds a doctoral degree in Philology. She possesses a long journalistic experience at the regional and national levels. Today, Diana is the Editor-in-Chief of a number of printed and online media including Glavred-media holding, the website PiK and newspaper Bez tsenzury).

• Andriy Kulykov has almost 40 years’ of experience in press, TV and radio. He is also a lecturer in journalism at the Mariupol State University. His preferred media platform is radio, evidenced by the fact that in 2013 he co-founded Ukraine's independent talk radio station Hromadske Radio, owned by the eponymous public organisation. 

• Roman Kulchynsky is Chief Editor and Co-Founder of Texty.org.ua. He has 20 years of experience in journalism. He worked as Chief Editor for the journal ‘Ukrainian Week’ and was political correspondent of the journal ‘Contracts’.

The panels will be moderated by EED and DRI.

13:15 - Light Lunch

This event is co-organised by DRI and EED.

The Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a Berlin-based NGO that promotes the political participation of citizens and accountable democratic institutions around the world. DRI’s Ukraine country office focuses on helping grass roots initiatives monitor and advocate for reforms and engage with local policy and decision makers.

The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) is an independent, grant-making organisation, established in 2013 by the European Union (EU) and its member states as an autonomous fund to foster democracy in the European Neighbourhoods and beyond.