A few hours in the water, fresh air, nature, and colleagues’ company — this is how 15 Chernihiv-based media professionals spent the time during their trip down the Desna on SUP boards and kayaks. The trip was organised by the Institute of Mass Information’s regional hub Mediabaza Chernihiv.
The hub’s coordinator, Pavlo Pushchenko, believes that the opportunity to switch environments, at least for a short while, is no less important today than professional training.
Pavlo Pushchenko remarked that journalists in Chernihiv oblast have been working for over four years in the reality of a full-scale war, which inevitably affected their mental health.
“Constant air strikes, difficult reporting trips, the exhausting information flow and high responsibility for their work inevitably affect mental health. This is why we are trying to create not just opportunities for professional growth, but also a space where our colleagues can talk to one another, support one another, switch environments and at least briefly unwind. Unfortunately, even this time the Russians interfered: as we were making the trip, Chernihiv was targeted with drones,” he said.
Despite the difficult safety situation, the participants admit that the trip still gave them a sense of peace and helped them unwind, at least briefly.
Suspilne Chernihiv journalist Natalia Medvedeva said that she had been really looking forward to taking the trip together with her colleagues.
“I was really looking forward to taking this trip together with some awesome people. Mediabaza Chernihiv effectively united those who rest while working and work while resting. Despite the safety situation, we still managed to unwind. We watched huge fish leap out of the river, admired swallows’ nests, and simply enjoyed the nature. It would seem that we were only there for two hours, but we got as much rest as if we had gone on a real vacation,” she said.
Cheline’s Iryna Ponomarenko shared similar impressions.
“This trip was a real reboot for me. In today’s reality, work often takes a lot of my strength and energy, so a few hours on the water helped me relax, clear my mind, and just breathe. It is moments like these that are most sorely needed sometimes,” she said.
Such get-togethers serve as another reminder that these days taking care to replenish one’s own emotional resource is no less important than professional growth. After all, journalists working in the border region every day and covering the impact of war also need time to recover.
Svitlana Bilous, communications manager at the Institute of Mass Information’s regional hub Mediabaza Chernihiv
