Women in Media NGO, with the support of International Media Support (IMS), is launching the second stage of Women Leaders in Media: Building a Sustainable Community of Media Leaders through Ukraine–Nordic Exchange program. The initiative is aimed at developing women’s leadership, professional mutual support, and the exchange of experience between Ukrainian and Swedish media.
The new stage aims to strengthen the professional community of women leaders of Ukrainian media formed during the program’s first wave, as well as to create opportunities for exchanging experience with colleagues from Sweden and introducing new practices in newsrooms.
Liza Kuzmenko, Head of Women in Media, notes that one of the initiative’s priorities is supporting the community of women media leaders and creating space for further professional exchange.
“Sweden has considerable experience in developing women’s leadership and implementing gender equality policies in the media. We want to get to know these practices, discuss them with colleagues, and identify which approaches could be useful for Ukrainian newsrooms. At the same time, we also want to share the experience of Ukrainian media, which have been working in wartime conditions since 2014 and, since 2022, under Russia’s full-scale invasion, and continue to develop,” Liza Kuzmenko said.
“We especially value our partnership with Women in Media, which invests systematically in the development of women leaders in the media. The professional exchange with Sweden is an important step toward strengthening the role of women in decision-making and developing a more resilient and inclusive media sector in Ukraine,” said Gohar Khodjayan, IMS Programme Manager for Ukraine and Head of the IMS Representative Office in Kyiv.
The second stage will bring together graduates of the first phase of the Women Leaders in Media program, which Women in Media implemented in 2025 together with the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) with the support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany:
- Mariya Frey, Suspilne — member of the Managing Board;
- Oksana Ostapko, StarLight Media — Deputy Director for Legal Affairs;
- Yelyzaveta Nechyporuk, The Kyiv Independent — Head of Social Media;
- Marharyta Buhaichuk, The Ukrainian Week — Editor-in-Chief;
- Aliona Yatsyna, Kordon.Media — CEO;
- Ruslana Brianska, Hromadske Radio — Executive Director;
- Kateryna Sereda, MykVisti — Editor-in-Chief;
- Anastasiia Ravva, Espreso — General Producer;
- Viktoriia Beha, Hromadske — Deputy Editor-in-Chief;
- Maryna Synhaivska, LB.ua — Deputy Editor-in-Chief.
As part of the second stage of the program, the participants will take part in strategic meetings in Ukraine, as well as in a professional exchange that includes a working visit to Stockholm in October 2026.
“Taking part in the first stage of the program was a very valuable experience for me. For the first time, I found myself in the company of such different women who run media outlets, teams, or their own projects. What stayed with me most wasn’t even the individual lectures or meetings, but the conversations between the participants — the chance to hear how others go through similar challenges, make difficult decisions, develop their teams, and find their own style of leadership. Conversations like these are very inspiring, and they give you the feeling that you’re not alone,” said Yelyzaveta Nechyporuk, Head of Social Media at The Kyiv Independent.
According to Yelyzaveta Nechyporuk, from the Swedish part of the program, she expects new knowledge and practical approaches to women’s leadership and media development. In particular, she’s interested in how to build strong teams, work with audiences, adapt to changes in content consumption, and ensure media development even in difficult conditions.
Anastasiia Ravva, General Producer at Espreso, notes that the trip to Berlin made it possible to see how European media and civil society institutions work, and also helped her better understand the place of the Ukrainian media market in an international context.
“For me, the greatest value of the program was the community of women leaders of Ukrainian media. In day-to-day work, there’s often not enough time to stop, compare notes with colleagues, discuss shared challenges, and find support among people who understand your context well. That’s exactly what the program gave. It also opened up access to new approaches in media development, leadership, fundraising, working with teams, and international partnerships. The conversations about media resilience, inclusion, gender equality, and the financial independence of newsrooms were especially important to me,” Anastasiia Ravva said.
According to Anastasiia Ravva, from the Swedish stage of the program she expects above all practical solutions and the chance to see how leading Swedish newsrooms and civil society organizations implement equality and inclusion policies, promote women to leadership positions, and use data to monitor gender balance.
Marharyta Buhaichuk, Editor-in-Chief of The Ukrainian Week, also recalls last year’s meetings, the strategy session, the trip to Berlin, and the webinars within the Women Leaders in Media program with gratitude. But the most important thing, she stresses, turned out to be that the program managed to create a community of women who share similar values and beliefs, are going through certain professional transformations, are learning new things, and are sharing their own experience:
“I’m extremely happy to join the second stage of the Women Leaders in Media program this year. It’s a chance to come together again and discuss the challenges facing women journalists in wartime, and to learn more about colleagues’ experience in covering complex and sensitive topics.”
Women Leaders in Media – a Ukrainian-European Support Program, carried out in 2025, resulted in the participants’ joint work — Girls Just Wanna Have Voice: Strengthening Women’s Leadership in Ukrainian Media Policy Paper.
In the document, the authors emphasize that Ukrainian media continue to operate amid war, uncertainty, and high public pressure. In these conditions, women often combine professional, managerial, and caregiving responsibilities while at the same time ensuring the resilience of newsrooms and the development of media.
The policy paper stresses that developing women’s leadership is a necessary condition for the resilience and recovery of the Ukrainian media sector. The document contains recommendations at the levels of personal support, editorial practices, industry standards, and state policy, aimed at reducing inequality, improving the safety of women journalists, and creating conditions for their professional development.
The second stage of the program is intended to help put these recommendations into practice through professional exchange between Ukrainian and Swedish media, study visits, the joint development of solutions, and the further growth of the network of women leaders.
Women in Media NGO will also announce a new open call for the program soon. Follow our announcements so you don’t miss the chance to join the community of women leaders of Ukrainian media.