We are all witnesses of genocide – the illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. The socially important mission of recording the truth about this terrible war is carried out by the volunteer media project “Svidok” (Svidok.org). Content and communications director Olena Kuk told students and teachers of the Department of Journalism and Philology of the FРSC Sumy State University about its activities.

According to her, “Svidok” is essentially a personal diary of the war, in which each of us, if we wish, can safely and securely share and store evidence of atrocities committed by the russians. After all, the guilty must appear before the court in The Hague, receive the verdict of the International Criminal Court. Testimonies of Ukrainians are also important for the investigations of the Prosecutor General’s Office. And “Svidok” for the students of our department is an additional opportunity, another mass media platform where you can successfully prove yourself and start your profession. Therefore, it is not surprising that the participants of the online meeting asked questions to the stakeholder, clarifying the specifics of the professional activity of the online media.

After finishing, mass media students shared their impressions of communication with the guest.

Zakhar Yuvko: “Olena, together with her team, is engaged in an extremely important matter: recording all the horrors that, unfortunately, happened to many Ukrainians. It is important that there is an opportunity to cooperate with the project, which is marked by a professional approach to the verification of the collected evidence. Thanks to such initiatives, the world will learn the truth about Russian aggression in Ukraine”.

Valeriya Pavlyuchek: “This meeting became a kind of vector that oriented us towards the possibility of cooperation with a socially important project. Telling about the war crimes of the russian federation in the format of storytelling is a great offer! I am grateful to Ms. Olena for your attention, because, without a doubt, this is an important, useful experience for future journalists”.

Olena Kuk noted that the project operates with the financial support of charitable organizations, in particular, the American Al for Cood Foundation.

Raisa Stoyan, senior lecturer