The book presents the communication experience of 17 experts who promote the Ukrainian point of view abroad.
The Lviv Media Forum team, together with The Ukrainians Media, has developed an online project “How to Make Friends for Ukraine ’ about the rules of communication in an indifferent or unfriendly environment. The project involved 17 people working in different fields and countries to develop support for Ukraine. This was reported by Lviv Media Forum and The Ukrainians.
“International support for Ukraine did not happen by itself. This is the result of the efforts of thousands of ambassadors who call, remind, and prove that repelling Russian aggression and Ukraine’s victory in the war for independence are in the interests of the civilised world, “ the media outlet noted.
The project has collected principles, tools, success stories, and practical recommendations from seventeen people who defend the Ukrainian point of view in conversations with foreigners. The project’s protagonists come from different fields: art, business, charity, human rights, media, psychology, etc. They find a common language with Americans, Swedes, Belgians, Danes, French, Italians, etc. The tips and examples collected here can be a guide, a bank of ideas, or a source of inspiration.
“The idea for the project came from the Lviv Media Forum team as a continuation of the LMF 2024 conference, dedicated to finding common ground in a polarised world. Ukrainians often complain about the wall of misunderstanding on the part of foreigners in response to calls to support our fight against Russian aggression. But are we doing everything we can to be heard and understood? We decided to find people who have learned to open windows in this wall and can teach others how to do so,” commented Otar Dovzhenko, Creative Director of Lviv Media Forum.
Among the heroes of the project:
- Oleksandra Matviychuk, human rights activist, head of the NGO Centre for Civil Liberties, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.
- Sofia Terlez, clinical psychologist.
- Yulia Yurchuk, historian, translator from Swedish.
- Olya Myrovych, head of the Lviv Media Forum.
- Yaryna Grusha, publicist, lecturer at Milan State University.
- Denys Dovhopolyi, entrepreneur, co-founder and managing partner of GrowthUP Group.
- Lesia Orobets, politician and public figure.
- Vladyslav Rashkovan, financier, Deputy Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund since 2017.
- Olha Sahaidak, Head of the Board of the NGO Coalition of Cultural Figures.
- Oleksandr Snidalov, Vice President of the telecommunications company emnify.
- Marianna Dushar, writer, anthropologist, cuisine researcher.
- Natalia Popovych, founder of One Philosophy, head of Ukraine House in Denmark
- Svitlana Romanko, lawyer, founder and executive director of the international organisation Razom We Stand.
- Lyuba Shipovych, president of the Dignitas Foundation, founder of the NGO Razom for Ukraine.
- Maria Zolkina, expert at the Democratic Initiatives Foundation.
- Alevtina Kakhidze, artist.
- Natasha Mueller, blogger, researcher of effective communications.
The project’s heroes were asked the same questions, but their answers revealed a variety of experiences and approaches, unique stories and flavour: from generalised recommendations to cautionary tales, from international finance to borsch and bread.
‘We understand that the number of correct answers to the question “how to make friends for Ukraine?” is not limited to this, and we encourage readers to look for their own know-how and share it,’ says Otar Dovzhenko. ‘ This is just the beginning of the conversation: we are planning a series of meetings dedicated to tools for advocating your opinion in an environment that is not sufficiently supportive of Ukraine.
The project was supported by the International Renaissance Foundation and implemented on its platform The Ukrainians Media.
Source: Detector Media
