OSCE Project Co-ordinator awards top Ukrainian journalism students

KYIV, 14 November 2005 - An awards ceremony today marked the end of a pilot project by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine providing internships for outstanding journalism students from different regions of Ukraine.

Organized in co-operation with the national Institute of Mass Information, the project arranged month-long internships at leading Ukrainian newspapers, radios, and television stations for journalism students from across the country. Students from eastern regions were placed in western and central Ukraine, while students from western regions interned in the east.

By providing practical experience, opportunities to build networks, and allowing students to live and work in different regions of the country, the project aimed at allaying stereotypes and promoting understanding between the people of Eastern and Western Ukraine.

"This has not just been a valuable work experience," wrote Olga Lytvyn in her competition essay, "this internship has given me many new friends and helped me to know a city I will love for the rest of my life." Ms Lytvyn, who comes from the eastern city of Luhansk, interned in the western town of Lviv, close to the Polish border. She was awarded the top prize during today's ceremony.

Azad Safarov, a student from the eastern city of Donetsk, said, "These internships not only united people with different mentalities, something necessary after the 2004 election, but it also exposed us to the richness and diversity of our country."

In total, 28 students participated in the pilot internship project.