Media and communications
We support independent, professional and locally rooted media as an important part of Ukraine’s democratic resilience. Our work strengthens media institutions, journalistic capacity, public-interest reporting and the role of local media in fostering dialogue, accountability and civic participation.
Empowering Local Media in Ukraine (ELMU) project
NIRAS is working with the Ukrainian Media Business Association (UMBA) and Swedish media and democracy experts to strengthen the role of local media in Ukraine’s recovery and democratic development. Through Empowering Local Media in Ukraine (ELMU), the partners are supporting newsrooms in hromadas to move beyond essential day-to-day wartime reporting and play a stronger role in facilitating community dialogue, cooperation and accountability.
The initiative is supporting 15 local media outlets to work with residents, local authorities, civil society and businesses to develop civic campaigns addressing practical issues affecting everyday community life. By creating spaces for different voices to be heard and local actors to work together on solutions, ELMU aims to build trust, strengthen civic participation and contribute to more resilient communities.
Supported through the Swedish Institute’s Ukraine Cooperation Programme, ELMU builds on NIRAS and UMBA’s earlier cooperation under the Sida-funded International Training Programme for Media Development.
International Training Programme (ITP) on Media Self-Regulation in a Democratic Framework
ITP Media strengthens participants’ and their organisations’ capacities to contribute to functional and up-to-date systems and structures for media self-regulation in coordination with organisational and legal structures in each participating country. NIRAS organises this ITP in cooperation with International Media Support, Fojo Media Institute/Linnaeus University, and Global Reporting Sweden AB. The Eastern Europe cohort comprises participants from Ukraine, Moldova and Armenia.
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