On April 15-16, 2024 a meeting of the ERIM project partners took place in Ukraine. Liza Kuzmenko, the Head of Women in Media NGO, presented the project’s successes and shared the challenges that female journalists in Ukraine face in their everyday work.
IREX Europe (doing business as ERIM) has longstanding experience providing anti-burnout psychosocial and legal support. Since 2020 ERIM have been systematically offering this support in civil society programs including psychological counselling, anti-burnout training and team retreats.
In 2023, a year after the full-scale invasion, ERIM put a large emphasis on psychosocial support in our work in Ukraine, offering grants to organizations running such activities.
One example is Women in Media NGO (WiM) who organized psychosocial support for female journalists. This included individual psychological consultations for female journalists, informational materials published on social media and online/offline group sessions with topics ranging from how to allow yourself to rejoice in the conditions of war and how to overcome fears for the future, to dealing with imposter syndrome and a fear of change.
WiM reached a total of more than 80 people with the activities.
WiM also organized an antiburnout retreat for 15 journalists. Participants were also allowed to bring children if they preferred in order to make the event as inclusive as possible, and feedback was very positive. One participant said:
“when you unexpectedly find yourself far from rocket and shelling attacks… with mothers and children, alongside fellow female journalists and media professionals… it’s in those moments of distance that you can be truly honest with yourself and those around you about how challenging it can be, and how vital it is to connect and move forward together… because we are stronger when we’re not alone… and understanding that is crucial…”