- For what purpose was the Association created? What prompted the creation? 

The Association was officially registered on October 8, 2004 at the initiative of journalist Ruslan Kukharchuk. Its primary purpose was to unite Christians who work in the media to spread eternal values via the mass media. The Association’s motto is “Transforming the media – transforming the society”.

- How has the Association developed throughout its first 10 years – the number of members and active participants in its projects, the types of activities of the organization? 

“Novomedia” has 300 members coming from Ukraine, Russia, Canada, USA and Germany as well as close to 100 volunteers and partners. Since the Association’s founding, over 5000 people have attended events organized by “Novomedia”.

-  What is the mission of “Novomedia”; what are its goals? What are you doing to achieve them? 

• To spread eternal Christian values through mass media. 
• To help journalists who are Christians to realize and fulfil their mission in the mass media.
• To reinforce efforts of the church press-services; to help establish communication between Christian churches and the mass media.
• To support dialogue with journalists working in secular mass media outlets; to instill them with a culture of coverage of the topics of faith, church, and Christian values.
• To monitor secular media content for compliance with and violations of the law and standards of journalist ethics.

- What influence has “Novomedia” had on secular (mainstream) media in Ukraine? 

At most of its events, the “Novomedia” Association raises the issue of correct, objective coverage of religious topics. The organization offers its help to journalists to boost their religious literacy, help secular journalists understand the diversity of religious movements, recommend experts for commentaries.

Among students, “Novomedia” has initiated a competition of articles about religious diversity in their area. We were happy to see interest in this event and receive very good responses.

- What influence has the Association had on Christian churches and organizations? 

We regularly hold seminars for church press-centers, and are seeing growth dynamics. We have received positive comments saying that our suggestions and training sessions help the churches begin working with the media, develop church media resources and projects. Head of the “Novomedia” Association” is a member of the Ukrainian Inter-Church Council, where he heads the Committee for Mass Media and Community Service.

- You have published a book recently, aiming to stimulate interest to journalism among the general public. How was the book received? How many people participated in the related training and workshops? What were their comments?

The book “New Journalist. Mastering a Media Occupation” is very popular. It has been presented at 25 Ukrainian universities. We also gave away copies of the book to university libraries around the country. Students of media departments have praised its easy-to-read style of writing and practical value. Department heads have commended its content. Some media outlets and organizations have purchased batches of books for all their members.