THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
Telling The World About Ukrainians’ Invincibility was the slogan of the 13th All-Ukrainian contest of students’ creative works called I Am A Journalist! Its winners will be awarded in Kyiv on April 28. These are children of war: high school students who, with their works, photographs, and videos, strive to convey the truth about the war in Ukraine to the world.
“I have no apartment there anymore. In its place, only gunpowder and dust from a fire and a rocket that hit back in the spring,” says 15-year-old Anna Zubreichuk from Kharkiv. She is from Pivnichna Saltivka District of Kharkiv. In her work, the girl talks about how she visited her native district twice during the year of the war.
“All that resembled an exclusion zone, as if life had left that part of the city,” Anna recalls her first trip in the summer of 2022. “It was creepy, sad, and quiet there. This silence was frightening, even though occasionally explosions could be heard from the Kharkiv Region and border areas, which still reminded us that the enemy was close and the evil was still there. I thought I might never return to my native 3 Pivnichna [street]… In the fall, I went to Saltivka in a less cheerful mood. I was again afraid to see the same thing I saw in the summer. When I drove into my neighborhood and saw the first houses at 3 Pivnichna Street, I was very happy because I saw the light in some windows. Driving further, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a bus. Its route had recently been launched. Sure, there are not as many people there as before, before the war, but still, they live and use public transport, go to work or shopping….”
Another resident of Kharkiv, Oleksii Ozerov, talks about how, since February 24, 2022, he has been living with his parents, puppet theater actors, in the theater building. He recalls his first impressions of his new home:
“I see packages and boxes appear on the stage instead of decorations. Adults, who until recently were deciding how to feed everyone on this ‘Noah’s Ark,’ are beginning to act actively, creating a humanitarian hub L.OB. With my father and his friends, we unload, assemble, pack, and send humanitarian cargo to those needing it. The city trembles from explosions and becomes deserted in the evening, but flowers are planted on the streets. I am glad that I can also help in some way. My mother feeds my father and me late at night, and her eyes shine. No, she is not crying; she is strong. I fall asleep in the dressing room where we now live….”
Oleksandr Kononenko from Mykolaiv lost his father in the war. He was killed in Donbas even before the start of the full-scale invasion. Last year, Oleksandr dedicated his contest work to him. I didn’t think a full-scale war would force me to return to the topic from a new angle… Here’s what he says about it.
“My father, Volodymyr Kononenko, was killed in the anti-terrorist operation zone on February 2, 2019. He served as a senior combat medic. The years without a father made me take care of my mother and little sister, who was seven months old on the day of his death. I was 12 at the time. I tried to live so that my father, far away, would not worry. I didn’t quit sports; I was preparing to enter a construction college because that’s what my father wanted. And even though the war could not destroy my life, I wanted to be strong for him. I could not think that one day my friends would also receive terrible news about the death of relatives, and I will support them. The fate of my girlfriend’s family, media worker Marharyta Kupchenkova, is similar to that of mine. Her family received the news of the death of Oleksandr Maksutov, Margarita’s father, a month after the start of the full-scale war….”
The invincibility of military personnel, volunteers, educators, doctors, energy workers, journalists, and all those who, with joint efforts, brings our victory closer and is what every contest work focuses on. Among the winners are students from all over Ukraine, from Bakhmut to Uzhhorod. Together with their teachers and parents, they will come to Kyiv on April 28.
The unique family atmosphere of celebrating the winners and the soulful life stories of its participants and heroes are the signature feature of the I Am A Journalist! contest. This all-Ukrainian contest for young authors of photo and video works has been held since 2009. This year, 808 high school students from all regions of Ukraine, those who currently live in Ukraine, and 12 other countries, from Norway to Turkiye, from Georgia to San Marino, participated in the contest.
The founder of the contest, journalist and National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) Secretary Vitalii Holubev, says: “By supporting young colleagues, he seeks to show them that their work is needed in Ukraine, and these children have prospects in our country. I was a junior high school student myself, and I know how important it is at the age of 14-15 to feel the support and understanding of society, to get an impetus for further development,” says Vitalii. According to his conviction, nowadays, when many children do not have the opportunity to study to communicate directly with their peers and teachers fully, the involvement of schoolchildren in such contests, where they have the opportunity to reflect on their own traumatic experience and at the same time talk about examples of the invincibility of their compatriots, is not just another educational project. This is a component of strengthening the Ukrainian information space and national information security.
In 14 years, the I Am A Journalist! contest has gone from a regional contest (with “registration” in the city of Rivne) to a regional one and later to the All-Ukrainian event. This is a pure volunteer project: not a single penny of budget funds has been used for its implementation in all 14 years. Also, political forces do not finance the contest; it is non-commercial and is not associated with any party. The lion’s share of the costs of the contest is borne by its founder and through patrons’ assistance. And this year, everyone who wanted to participate in awarding the winners thanks to the collection, which was opened on their initiative by the winners of previous years, who are no longer participating in the contest.
We invite fellow journalists to cover this event. By doing so, not only will you support gifted youth, but you will also contribute to the creation of an excellent Ukrainian society, spreading positive examples of the invincibility of Ukrainians. Awarding of the All-Ukrainian contest winners of students’ creative works I Am A Journalist! will be held in the conference hall of the NUJU at 27 Khreshchatyk Street (Kyiv), 2nd floor, April 28 (Friday) at 11 a.m. The event’s duration is two hours. You will be able to communicate with the students who won the contest of the current and past years, their teachers, and parents and receive comments from the founder and partners of the project.
Contacts of the contest founder:
Vitalii Holubev
050 339 39 85 (also Telegram)
098 500 47 60 (also Viber)
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