Research and practical conference “Revolution, War and Church in the Media Dimension” will take place on September 10 in Kyiv. Symbolically, the event will be hosted in the very heart of the city – the revolutionary Independence Square, the Maidan.

Ever since November 2013 Ukraine has remained in the epicenter of global media coverage. First, a public protest against Viktor Yanukovych rule (the so called EuroMaidan), then the Revolution of Dignity, later – the annexation of Crimea, and now – the war in Donbas for retaining territorial integrity of the country. Beyond all doubt, never before in the 23 years of its independence did Ukraine experience the time as dramatic as this.

With this in minds, conference organizers aim to study and generalize the events and processes that took place in Ukraine within the last year. But this analysis will be very targeted and unique in its close consideration of the church life factor and the media factor.

Among the announced discussion topics are: “Church – Government – EuroMaidan: a polylogue in the new media context”, “The role of the church during the wartime in Eastern Ukraine”, “Hostility or peacemaking: choices faced by the Ukrainian media”, “Ukraine’s future after the revolution and war: the role of the media and church”, etc.

Speakers of the conference will be journalists, theologians, and public activists. Among them are Yuliana Lavrysh, journalist of the Day newspaper and a Ph.D. student of Ivan Franko Lviv National University; Taras Semeniuk, journalist and editor of Ukrainian Pravda news portal; Oleksandr Kholod, department chair at the Journalism Institute of Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts; Andriy Oliynyk, Ph.D. in theology, full professor at Ukrainian Catholic University; Pavlo Valenchuk, pastor and public activist; and many others.

“In the past months, Ukraine has seen several conferences that aimed to analyze the recent revolutionary and military events. However, the idea to study the joint role of the church and the media in these processes is innovative,” says Ruslan Kukharchuk, president of Novomedia Journalists Association. “We hope that together with journalists, scholars and church ministers we will be able not only to analyze our recent past but also develop a peacekeeping roadmap for our country.”

Event organizers are International Journalists Association Novomedia and the public movement “All Together!” based in Kyiv. The conference is held under the auspices of the partner organization The Media Project represented by Rev. Dr. Arne H. Fjeldstad, CEO.