10 Facts about X LMF

With less than a week left until the milestone conference, we decided to compile 10 facts about this year’s event that you should know.

Fact 1: The focal theme of X LMF is “Common Language for Common Sense: Search For Meaning in Polarized World.”

Fact 2: The venue for this year’s conference will be one of Lviv’s largest bomb shelters.

Fact 3: The program of the anniversary event consists of two threads: Common Language and Common Sense. Over the course of three days, speakers and participants will jointly seek a common language and define the role that media, civil society, international organizations, national authorities, diplomats, and other stakeholders play in these endeavors.

Fact 4: The working language of the conference is English (with simultaneous translation into Ukrainian). The full program can be viewed at the link provided.

Fact 5: The keynote speakers of the X LMF program will be Oleksandra Matviichuk and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. They will deliver speeches on May 16th.

Fact 6: X LMF will bring together media professionals from 36 countries around the world.

Fact 7: Video broadcasts of some panels will be available on the Facebook page of the Lviv Media Forum, and text broadcasts of all events will appear on X (Twitter) of Euromaidan Press, the conference’s information partner. We appreciate your shares and retweets!

Fact 8: Which events can you watch and listen to online?

  • Two keynote speeches by Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, and American literary theorist Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.
  • A discussion featuring Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, author of “Imperial Knowledge” Ewa Thompson, and Ukrainian literary critic Rostyslav Semkiv on the aftertaste of colonialism in language and literature.
  • A conversation between British neurosurgeon and writer Henry Marsh and the head of the Superhumans Center Olga Rudneva.
  • A discussion with American journalist Terrell Starr, Armenian writer Lusine Khachatryan, and Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk about ways to emerge from the shadow of the empire.
  • A public interview of communication expert Yevhen Hlybovitsky with British historian Timothy Garton Ash.
  • A discussion on reporters’ access to the front-line area, organized in collaboration with the Institute of Mass Information.

Fact 9. And another event that will be livestreamed is the presentation and discussion of our new research.

It’s called “The Donor Support Field for Media in Ukraine: State, Opportunities, Needs, Priorities, Issues, and Perspectives.” In short, we thoroughly surveyed and talked to media outlets receiving grants and the donors providing these grants, to find out where their interests and desires align, and where they diverge so far. And we have some ideas on how to improve the situation.

If you are assisting media, working in media, or advocating for media in Ukraine, you should read the report (we will publish it immediately after the conference) and attend the presentation. May 18, 3:30 PM — don’t miss it.

Fact 10. The curator of the cultural program of X LMF is Yevheniia Nesterovych.

Conference guests will have the opportunity to visit three permanent exhibitions:

  • The Nook for the Hideout from the Aza Nizi Maza children’s art studio;
  • The Walls of Europe by the Outriders team;
  • The interactive installation “Common Senses,” where you can reflect on what unites and polarizes the citizens of your country.

More about the cultural program will be shared on the Lviv Media Forum’s social media pages.

Since 2013, LMF has been the largest media conference in Eastern and Central Europe. It is organized by the NGO Lviv Media Forum. Last year, the organizers changed the format and focused on issues critical for international support of Ukraine during the ongoing full-scale war.

If you have any questions about the conference, please write to info@lvivmediaforum.com.