4 Years
In 2018, Anastasiia Bakulina, the CEO of Svidomi, told her friends the news in the UCU refectory, during breaks between lectures, and in private messages after classes. She wanted young people - her generation - to understand what was happening in the world and take an active part in the development of Ukraine. However, it got daunting before the 2019 elections: her friends neither understood politics nor knew who to vote for. So Nastia decided to create a blog - an Instagram page - where she would explain important events in the country in simple language so that her friends and friends of friends would understand who worked in the Verkhovna Rada. The name appeared long before the media - Nastia wanted young people to be aware - svidomi in Ukrainian. So, four years ago, she created an Instagram page and began implementing her plans.
Svidomi published five main news stories daily — this concept allowed the media to appear unobtrusively in the stream and inform people while watching anime, friends’ photos and clothes shops. The focus was always on the temporarily occupied Crimea and the Russian-Ukrainian war in the east, civil society, and activists' persecution.
It is how the media outlet provided news until February 24: the team consisted of 13 people who wrote chronicles and analytical materials, edited them, made designs and posted them on Instagram, Telegram, Twitter and Facebook.
svidomi_ua
Ukraine
During this time, the editorial team conducted six broadcasts and recorded three stories with well-known cultural figures about Crimea and Crimean identity: we talked to Akhtem Seitablayev, Nariman Aliyev, Alim Aliyev, Jamala, Emine Dzhaparova about deportation, the history of Crimean Tatars and life on the peninsula.
Akhtem Seitablayev
Nariman Aliyev
Alim Aliyev
Jamala
Emine Dzhaparova
Akhtem Seitablayev
Nariman Aliyev
Alim Aliyev
Jamala
Emine Dzhaparova
We wrote more than 100 analytical materials before and after the 2019 elections: analysed the police reform, dealt with oligarch Khmelnytskyi, covered the events around illegal buildings and showed the activities of the trilateral contact group on the war in the east (remember that?).
We wrote more than 100 analytical materials before and after the 2019 elections: analysed the police reform, dealt with oligarch Khmelnytskyi, covered the events around illegal buildings and showed the activities of the trilateral contact group on the war in the east (remember that?).
In 2020, Svidomi became the voice of civil society that protested in support of illegally imprisoned Andrii Antonenko and Serhii Sternenko. The editorial staff covered every hearing, took photos from under the court buildings, made statements and collected letters, which were sent to the pre-trial detention centre where Antonenko and Sternenko were held at that time.
In 2020, Svidomi became the voice of civil society that protested in support of illegally imprisoned Andrii Antonenko and Serhii Sternenko. The editorial staff covered every hearing, took photos from under the court buildings, made statements and collected letters, which were sent to the pre-trial detention centre where Antonenko and Sternenko were held at that time.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the editorial staff published daily news about the coronavirus and followed the events in the temporarily occupied Crimea and in the east. In 2021 and 2022, the media outlet developed a format of final shows where they discussed the war, Crimea, music, cinema, literature, YouTube, medicine, foreign and domestic policy and activism.
On February 20, 2022, the editorial staff held a strategic session. They determined they wanted to have 100 thousand subscribers from 50 thousand by the end of 2022 and add a reporting department to the analytical department. On February 21, the editorial staff was photographed for the first time as the team that was to change in a few days.
On February 24, around 7 a.m., in a working chat, the editorial staff was waiting for an answer to one question - what are we doing? The answer CEO Nastia gave was: "we are working". It was the beginning of the February change in the work of the media. The "5 news" time was over - the 24/7 stream began. The design of engaging illustrations turned white, and the news came out once every five minutes. The editors only remember some moments from the first two months of the full-scale war: there was always news and work. Then Svidomi enlisted the support of volunteers - about 50 people worked in shifts so that Ukrainians knew what was happening, how to act in different circumstances and what Putin said.
On February 24, around 7 a.m., in a working chat, the editorial staff was waiting for an answer to one question - what are we doing? The answer CEO Nastia gave was: "we are working". It was the beginning of the February change in the work of the media. The "5 news" time was over - the 24/7 stream began. The design of engaging illustrations turned white, and the news came out once every five minutes. The editors only remember some moments from the first two months of the full-scale war: there was always news and work. Then Svidomi enlisted the support of volunteers - about 50 people worked in shifts so that Ukrainians knew what was happening, how to act in different circumstances and what Putin said.
In a few months - from February to May — Svidomi grew to 150 thousand followers on Instagram and reduced to 27 people on the team, whose structure remains to this day: CEO, editor-in-chief, communications manager, community manager, nine journalists, five literary editors, four designers, two translators, two fundraisers and an accountant.
In a few months - from February to May — Svidomi grew to 150 thousand followers on Instagram and reduced to 27 people on the team, whose structure remains to this day: CEO, editor-in-chief, communications manager, community manager, nine journalists, five literary editors, four designers, two translators, two fundraisers and an accountant.
In a few months - from February to May — Svidomi grew to 150 thousand followers on Instagram and reduced to 27 people on the team, whose structure remains to this day: CEO, editor-in-chief, communications manager, community manager, nine journalists, five literary editors, four designers, two translators, two fundraisers and an accountant.
During the eight months of the full-scale invasion, Svidomi wrote stories about the occupation and the struggle for Mariupol; became partners of the Kyiv Critics’ Week and Molodvizh; began to cooperate with INSCIENCE, the Holodomor Museum, the Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, the Memorial "They were killed by Russia"; received support from the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), the Prague Civil Society Center and USAID.
During the eight months of the full-scale invasion, Svidomi wrote stories about the occupation and the struggle for Mariupol; became partners of the Kyiv Critics’ Week and Molodvizh; began to cooperate with INSCIENCE, the Holodomor Museum, the Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, the Memorial "They were killed by Russia"; received support from the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), the Prague Civil Society Center and USAID.
The media outlet has launched an English-language version, as it sees its task as debunking the myths about Ukraine and combating Russian narratives among foreigners. In addition, in October 2022, the editorial board launched the first podcast — The Rain is there to Stay, in which the head of the military direction of the Come Back Alive Foundation talks about the latest news of the current war.
With the development of the media, we realised that we need financial support. Behind every news story, there are at least three people — a news reporter, a literary editor and a designer - who do their job well. We strive to maintain independence and impartiality. Readers' support is a common practice abroad. We do not charge for content because we want everyone to know what is happening in Ukraine and worldwide: from a Ukrainian 11th-grade student to a 65-year-old resident of Brussels.
Therefore, in 2021, first of all, we launched Patreon, where our community already has 332 people who support the activities and development of "Svidomi" every month. It helps to ensure the sustainable work of the team, create new formats, prepare quality materials and analytics, and develop and enter new platforms.
From November 1, we start raising
From November 1, we start raising
From November 1, we start raising
Your donation means analytics about Russian narratives in the Italian press and beyond.
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