Veteran Voice and Media Literacy as a Component of Community Resilience

What has been done

The Hromada. Group local media network practices creating separate editorial spaces for authors who are also veterans. For instance, the newsroom started a special blog for a veteran of the Russia-Ukraine war, writer Mykhailo Filonenko, who was seriously injured in combat in the Kharkiv oblast and lost his hands and partly his eyesight. The author thus obtained his own information platform, where he fulfills his creative ideas, publishing materials about Ukrainian folklore, memory, and the connection between generations through traditional images.

In addition, Hromada. Group carries out systematic work with future journalists and young university students. The media network serves as a platform for media students to acquire practical experience, including those from S. Kuznets Kharkiv National Economic University and the Kharkiv Culture Academy.

The newsroom points out they are interested in engaging young journalists more, but they were forced to let go of some young professionals due to the loss of funding from USAID. At the same time, the team has plans to expand the network and create new offices in communities if funding resumes or new funding opportunities arise.

The newsroom also engages in combating disinformation and attempts of the Russian special services to recruit young people. This is done both through analytical journalistic materials and through editors’ participation in thematic trainings. In July and August 2025, Hromada. Group representatives participated as speakers in joint Ukrainian-Lithuanian workshops dedicated to combating the recruitment of young people by Russian special services. These events were aimed at young Lithuanians and Ukrainians and were attended by journalists, civil society organizations, and educators from the Krasnokutska community of the Kharkiv region. Like Ukraine, Lithuania sees attempts to recruit young people, both locals and Ukrainian immigrants, for subversive activities.