The winners of the journalist competition “Decentralisation reform: achievements and current challenges” were awarded at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Centre. “There were a lot of interesting works about hromada life, really high-level materials. I would like to wish the journalists’ works to be more dynamic and informative. I would like journalists to be more serious about presentation of the material, its content and the way this material can affect hromadas,” said Vyacheslav Kozak, journalist, member of the Supervisory Board of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine, who joined the event via Skype.

According to Serhiy Sharshov, Director of the Department of Local Self-Government and Territorial Organisation of Power of MinRegion, the greatest enemies of any reform are populism and time. “Unfortunately, we are pressed for time, and there are plenty of populists, who earn their rating points. Quick and precise actions of the authorities, as well as highlighting of the reform progress, are the recipe for solving these problematic issues. Without interaction between the authorities, as well as without the interaction with the media, that should fairly cover the processes taking place in Ukraine, it is virtually impossible to implement any reform in the state.”

About 100 works took part in the competition. 56 of them reached the final, of which 9 winners were chosen – three in each nomination (“Printed and online publications”, “Radio materials”, “Video materials”). Most reports came from the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, while the Kirovohrad and Kherson Oblasts occupy the second place. The least number – only 6 works – came from the Kharkiv Oblast.

The full version is available in Ukrainian – please click HERE