On May 4th ICEA concluded this year's journalism program “Freedom of Press and Journalistic Ethics” symposium, a 10-day educational training in New York, Washington DC and Florida.
The 12 participants of the program came from Kiev, Ukraine and repsented such major media organizations as Unian, Channel 5 and other local newspapers and radio stations.
Yuriy Stets, a secretary of Ukrainian parliament, responsible for the Freedom of Press, also joined the group, which met with their colleagues from the New York Times, National Press Club, Ukrainian Embassy, Washington Profile, US-Ukraine Foundation, World Press Freedom Committee and International Center for Journalists.
The group also visited the newly opened Journalists Memorial at the Museum Of News in Washington DC. This memorial is to honor those journalists “who fallen” while covering wars, disasters or corruption, “killed to be silenced”.


 

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Ukrainian journalists expressed interest in organizing their own “National Press club” and inviting specialist in media laws like Javier Sierra from the WPFC to train their journalists on local media laws. His lecture on “defamation laws” and “insult laws” criminalizing journalism in different countries was enticing. Unlike Spain, Russia and China, it seemed like both Ukraine and United States have strong laws for protection of press and the free speech.
Robert Tinsley with the International Center for Journalists spoke of the training programs available to journalists throughout the world. His organization sponsors such trainings to the selected group of participants from a specific country.
While at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington DC, Ukrainian journalists met with Oleh Shamshur, Ambassador of Ukraine and asked tones of questions raising issues ranging from broadcasting Ukrainian channels in USA to how the embassy helps Ukrainian citizens in USA.
Ukrainian journalists also chatted with Sasha Grigoriev, the Editor in Chief of the Washington Profile, a project of the World Security Institute, a non profit organization designed to providing news service around the world with cultural background and context, helpful to understanding the issue.
At the conclusion of their program, everyone, of course, formed their own opinions, likes and dislikes. But there was one uniting point on the ground. Everyone seemed to agree because of programs like ICEA's, people and cultures are able to understand each other better.
One of the ukrainian journalists said “America is a country of rules. Some of these rules we take as ironic, some we treat with respect, but without people like Elena Seitz (ICEA program director), we would form a wrong opinion of this country.”
Another journalist program participant said people like Lena, Larisa and Oksana are uniting two nations.
 

Watch Video: Gotsulenko Tetyana about ICEA