From 2017-2019, the Rory Peck Trust led a project to build the resilience of freelance journalists in Ukraine and strengthen their ability to work safely and responsibly.
About the project.
Funded by the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF), the Trust helped freelancers in Ukraine gain the skills and support needed to continue their work, a vital contribution to independent journalism in Ukraine. This was the second RPT initiative to be funded by UNDEF, following the recent project to strengthen skills and improve safety for freelance journalists in Libya.
The two-year project was implemented by RPT alongside Ukrainian partner the Institute of Mass Information (IMI). Freelancers received training through a series of workshops in digital and psychosocial safety, risk assessment and responsible journalism. Free online resources in Russian and Ukrainian were also launched, providing freelance journalists across the country with guidance and information to help them work safely and responsibly – see below to access them.
Freelance journalists in Ukraine are facing threats and violence from multiple sources and in multiple forms – both physical and online. Most freelancers lack the skills, support and resources to adequately protect themselves, making them especially vulnerable. As a result self-censorship is spreading and independent voices are being extinguished.
The Trust’s experience and expertise supporting freelance journalists’ safety and welfare made it uniquely placed to address this issue.