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Internews and UNICEF Call Upon Local Media to Join National Solidarity Campaign - Internews Ukraine

29.05.2020, 16:43
Internews-Ukraine
Internews-Ukraine

Internews and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine call upon local media outlets to join a national solidarity campaign, launched by UNICEF and its partners to show Ukrainians the human face of the pandemic and motivate them to express gratitude and support: with words or deeds, as Internews Ukraine reported.

Journalists can support the campaign and those on the “frontlines” of the pandemic by collecting and reporting personal stories of these people in their communities using campaign messages (#підтримую_словом) and branding.

The campaign is designed to showcase the human faces of the situation as Ukraine is approaching the end of the third month since confirmation of its first Covid-19 case: health and social workers, police officers and security guards, retail and delivery people, community leaders and volunteers, people recovering from Covid-19 and their loved ones who supported them through the recovery process, elderly people cut off from their relatives during lockdown, families who lost their regular income and many others who found themselves affected by the pandemic in Ukraine.

The national campaign will give everyone the opportunity to express solidarity and say important words —  of gratitude, support, help. Solidarity is key to overcome the secondary impacts of the pandemic, including stigma associated with the disease, disinformation seeking to confuse people, and financial hardships faced by families that lost their regular income.

“There is no doubt that every single one of us represents a face of the pandemic. Some have been affected more than others. Yet, this pandemic is an experience that all of us are living through together and now it is up to us to address its impact as one community. Journalists everywhere can play a critical role in inspiring such solidarity and actions of support by telling the stories of those most affected,” said Lotta Sylwander, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine.

“During a pandemic we need reliable information about how the government and medical professionals are handling the situation, but more than that we need to hear the personal stories of how people are being affected, so that as a community we can respond and help. The media are key to identifying the problems and finding the solutions,” added Gillian McCormack, Internews director in Ukraine.

Journalists and outlets interested in joining the campaign are invited to gather and publish personal stories of the faces of the pandemic and consider the following tips:

  • Showcase personal features and experiences of the individuals chosen outside of their COVID-19-related experience.
  • Verify information and ask medical and other relevant experts to comment. Internews and UNICEF stand ready to connect you with the experts to interview.
  • Provide readers with practical advice on how to support a particular person depicted in the story or individuals in similar circumstances, for instance through a local NGO.
  • Provide information about existing local or national government programs in place to support people in similar circumstances.
  • Use campaign branding available at this link on one the photographs in your story to link it to the national campaign and send it to [email protected]  for further promotion and dissemination by Internews and UNICEF through campaign channels.

More information and guidelines on Covid-19 related reporting is available at Internews-supported website Anticovid. 

Note: No specific grants for media are envisioned in the framework of this initiative.

Internews is an international non-profit organization. It empowers people worldwide with the trustworthy, high-quality news and information they need to make informed decisions, participate in their communities, and hold power to account. For 35 years and in more than 100 countries, Internews has worked to build the capacity of local media and information partners.

Learn more about our activities in Ukraine here.

Internews-Ukraine

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