Three years of the full-scale war: IMI invites you to discuss freedom of speech on February 21

The Institute of Mass Information (IMI) will hold a public discussion “Three Years of Resistance: Freedom of Speech in the Face of Russia's Full-Scale Invasion”, dedicated to the realities faced by the media working in Ukraine, on Friday, February 21. New data on Russian crimes against the media will be announced and the challenges faced by Ukrainian media in wartime will be outlined at the event. Participants will discuss the role of the media in maintaining the resilience of Ukraine's democracy and in fighting Russia's aggression.

Date: February 21, 2025
Time: 11:00
Duration: 1.5 hours
Location: to be shared with registered guests

Please register for the event by following the link. No livestream planned.

The public discussion will be joined by:

• Oksana Romaniuk, Director of the Institute of Mass Information;
• Karol Luczka, Eastern Europe Advocacy Lead at the International Press Institute;
• Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech;
• Kateryna Dyachuk, chief of freedom of speech monitoring at the Institute of Mass Information;
• Yevhenia Kravchuk, Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy;
• Oleksiy Boniuk, chief of criminal law policy and investment protection at the Prosecutor General's Office;
• Kateryna Kobernyk, Babel chief editor;
• Natalia Lyhachova, Board Chair at the NGO Detector Media;
• Serhiy Nikitenko, the IMI representative in Kherson oblast and Most chief editor;
• Hanna Krasnostup, chief of information policy and information security of the MCSC.

Representatives of Ukrainian media organizations, journalists, and chief editors will also be able to join the public discussion.

The dicussion agenda:

• Key results of the Monitoring Study of Russia's Crimes Against Journalists and the Media. Presentation of new data by the IMI.
• The 2024 media freedom situation in Europe and Ukraine. Report by the IRI.
• The future of independent journalism in Ukraine: ensuring the media's sustainability in the face of war and economic instability.

The Institute of Mass Information (IMI) is a Ukrainian non-governmental media organization that has been operating since 1996. The IMI defends the rights of journalists, analyzes the media field and covers media-related events, fights propaganda and disinformation and has been providing media outlets with safety gear for trips to the combat zone since the start of the Russo–Ukrainian war in 2014.

The IMI carries out Ukraine's only freedom of speech monitoring and keeps a list of high quality and sustainable online media outlets, documents Russia's crimes against the media committed in the course of the war on Ukraine. The IMI has representatives in 20 oblasts of Ukraine and a network of "Mediabaza" hubs to provide journalists with continuous support. The IMI's partners include Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House; the organization is a member of the International Organization for the Protection of Freedom of Expression (IFEX).