Canadian Embassy representative Diane Tisdall visits NUJU

The meeting between the leadership of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and a representative of the Canadian Embassy, ​​Diane Tisdall, took place in the central office of the NUJU.

Diane Tisdall‘s visit is not just a diplomatic courtesy but a deep dive into the reality of the work of Ukrainian journalists in wartime conditions, the Union notes.

“During the meeting, we presented the activities of the NUJU and our network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers (JSC), which have become key hubs of support for media workers in wartime conditions,” said NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko. “Our network is a joint initiative of the NUJU, the International and European Federations of Journalists, and UNESCO headquarters. These centers work in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia, providing comprehensive assistance to journalists.”

During the meeting, Sergiy Tomilenko and the First Secretary of the Union, Lina Kushch, talked about the key initiatives of the NUJU: the revival of front-line newspapers, documenting russia’s war crimes against journalists and the media, holding training events on the coverage of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV).

Particular attention was paid to the safety of journalists and the need for protective equipment. They also discussed the issue of the release of Ukrainian journalists from russian captivity, in particular veteran journalist Iryna Levchenko from Melitopol.

The participants in the meeting noted the work of the Zaporizhzhia JSC, on the basis of which an informal club of journalists from the temporarily occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia Region was formed.

“Our colleagues from Zaporizhzhia are extremely active in actions of solidarity with their colleagues who are held captive by russia,” stressed Sergiy Tomilenko.

Canada actively supports Ukraine and is interested in the fate of imprisoned journalists.

NUJU leaders also talked about working with Canadian journalists, including Mark MacKinnon of The Globe and Mail, who was helped with local sources of information during his trip to Izium. And also about the Union‘s contacts with colleagues from the Canadian Association of Journalists.

“This visit was a response to our invitation to the Embassy to get acquainted with the work of the Kyiv JSC,” noted Sergiy Tomilenko.

NUJU Information Service