A two‑day International Media Literacy Conference, organized by the OSCE, was held in Kyiv. At the opening of the conference, Olha Herasymiuk, Chair of the National Council, spoke about media literacy as a component of the resilience of Ukrainian society in wartime.
The conference was dedicated to information resilience, the role of the media, education, artificial intelligence, the protection of vulnerable groups in the digital space, and the development of media literacy in Ukraine. The opening session was attended by representatives of the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and UNESCO, as well as Ukrainian state institutions, media, and the expert community.
For Ukraine, this conference has practical significance. It is about protecting the information space, supporting journalists, developing critical perception of information, and finding solutions to address new technological challenges – from artificial intelligence to the algorithms of digital platforms.
Opening the conference, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Jan Braathu stressed that Russia’s war against Ukraine is not confined to the frontline. It enters people’s homes, schools, and phones, destroying civilian infrastructure and media. According to him, modern technologies amplify disinformation, propaganda, and manipulation. Their goal is often not to convince people of one version of events, but to exhaust society and undermine trust in facts.
“Media literacy should not teach people what to think. It should help them ask the right questions, understand how manipulation works, how algorithms amplify outrage, and how synthetic content blurs the line between the genuine and the fabricated,” emphasized Jan Braathu.
Petr Mareš, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson‑in‑Office and Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, noted that media literacy is no longer perceived as merely an educational initiative. It has become a strategic investment in democracy, resilience, and the future of Ukraine. He also emphasized that Ukraine’s experience is essential to the international discussion, as Ukrainian society faces daily challenges that other countries do not encounter.
In her remarks, Chair of the National Council Olha Herasymiuk stated that media literacy is a matter of national resilience and the ability of society to withstand information threats from the aggressor.
She thanked the OSCE for its partnership with the National Council. This cooperation combines Ukraine’s wartime experience with international expertise and the practices of democratic countries. For the National Council, it is important that such work provides media professionals with concrete tools.
One of the outcomes was a joint guidelines handbook on media literacy for the media.
Olha Herasymiuk also spoke about the digital security of the media. According to the Institute of Mass Information, since the beginning of the full‑scale invasion, Russian hackers have carried out more than 120 cyberattacks on Ukrainian media. These are only the attacks that media outlets reported publicly; in reality, there are many more. In response to these challenges, the National Council, together with the OSCE, the Cyber Security Situation Center of the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, developed recommendations for media to enhance their level of cybersecurity.
This week, the National Council together with the Security Service of Ukraine presented the results of a project on the cyber‑resilience of local and regional media. Over several months, training sessions were held at 20 regional platforms for representatives from 21 regions. Around 450 journalists and media professionals received recommendations on protecting websites, social media accounts, email services, and messengers.
At the conference, Volodymyr Karastelov, Head of the Cybersecurity Department of the Security Service of Ukraine, spoke about the importance of such cooperation.
“The information front is now no less important than the physical one. Modern technologies make it possible to create content that is difficult to distinguish from the real. Therefore, media literacy is a national security competence that helps society make the right decisions and resist hostile influence,” said Volodymyr Karastelov.
According to him, Ukraine faces multilayered threats in which cyberattacks are combined with information and psychological operations. That is why protecting the information space requires joint efforts by the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Council, the OSCE, and the media community.
“The information space is changing very rapidly. Disinformation is increasingly difficult to detect, and the development of artificial intelligence and manipulative technologies makes its recognition a challenge even for professional communities. Therefore, media literacy must be a continuous effort, not a series of one‑off projects,” noted the Chair of the media regulator.
Another challenge is the influence of major digital platforms. Olha Herasymiuk emphasized that media literacy cannot function fully if the algorithms of global platforms continue to spread disinformation. Therefore, Ukraine needs an effective dialogue with Big Tech at the international level. The OSCE can serve as a platform to help Ukraine defend its information space in this area.
On the first day of the conference, speakers worked in several thematic panels. Discussions focused on information resilience as a component of national security, the Ukrainian media landscape, the role of education in strengthening resilience, and media literacy in the age of artificial intelligence.
The conference will continue on July 3. The program for the second day includes a discussion on gender sensitivity and vulnerable groups in the digital space, as well as on the 2030 Roadmap for the development of media literacy in educational and legal processes.
