• raise awareness of regional media journalists and social media influencers about EU support for education and youth in Ukraine
• improve information quality and awareness of the target population and general public about educational and lifelong learning opportunities provided by the EU to the education sector and Ukrainian youth
• encourage journalists to explore the topic of EU-Ukraine cooperation and European integration at large.

The contest will run from 08 November to 15 January 2025.

Entry submission deadline – 15 January 2025 at 23:50 local time.

The winners will be announced at the closing event of the All-Ukrainian ‘Together We Learn & Grow’ communication campaign in February 2025.

Also, the Guide for Journalists on the EU’s support to Education & Youth with useful resources and articles of the winners of the contest will be presented there.

Journalists from regional and local print and online media, TV/radio studios, and social media influencers with established communication channels and consistent audiences are invited to apply. Social media influencers should have a minimum of 4,000 followers and demonstrate a high engagement rate on their posts.

The contest accepts text, video/audio materials, publications in social networks that meet the international professional standards of journalism and technical criteria defined for this contest (see the section “Entry requirements”).

The contest will accept entries published during the contest time period or no earlier than 15 April 2024; such entries are expected to address the role and importance of the European Union’s support for Ukrainian education and youth, in particular:

• access to education and safe learning space
• lifelong learning and skill building schemes
• more attractive vocational education and training and new opportunities for young veterans
• supporting sustainable operation and development of universities and colleges
• empowering young people, developing youth leadership, as well as strengthening the role of young leaders in local communities and integrating the younger IDP generation into host communities
• lifelong learning in human capital retention and its importance for Ukraine’s recovery and European integration.

• up to 8000 characters for media items / articles published on online publications
• up to 10 minutes for TV
• up to 10 minutes for radio stories / podcasts
• posts and/or up to 1,5 minutes reels for the social media
• texts/stories should be completely original and contain no adoptions or plagiarism
• entries may be sent via email (scan/link)
• submissions should reflect the author’s awareness and understanding of the nature and scope of EU support to Ukrainian education and youth and the overall context but be based on specific cases from local experiences.

Entries that do not meet the criteria stated above or submitted after the deadline will not be considered by the jury.

You can submit an application through the Google form, where you need to add a link to your material or a photo or scan of the material (in case the link is missing for some reason).

1. Nicolo Gasparini, Press Attaché, EU Delegation to Ukraine – Chairman of the Jury
2. Mariana Kaminska, Coommunication Coordinator, EU Delegation to Ukraine
3. Iryna Zemlyana, Media Expert and safety trainer for journalists at the Institute of Mass Information
4. Galyna Petrenko, Director, NGO «Detector media»
5. Anatoliy Martsynovski, Journalist, ‘Communicating EU to Ukrainians’ project expert
6. Dmytro Zinchuk, Head of the project teamat NGO ‘Internews-Ukraine’

1. Quality and depth of analytics. Does the author show an understanding of the topic? Has the author analysed the impact of EU projects on education development and youth support in Ukraine? How clear and consistent are the insights expressed?
• 0 points: The topic is covered superficially, with no in-depth analysis or clear reasoning. The writing looks like general statements without substance.
• 1 point: Basic understanding of the topic is shown. There is an attempt at analysis, but the conclusions appear to be superficial or not reasoned. Consistency of the narrative is somewhat distorted.
• 2 points: Deep understanding of the topic, partial analysis of the impact of EU projects. The narrative is generally consistent and clear, although there may be minor flaws in the reasoning.
• 3 points: The entry exhibits a complete understanding of the topic, a clear and detailed analysis of the impact of EU projects. The narrative is logical, convincing, and clear.

2. Authenticity and creativity of the narrative. Does the presented piece demonstrate a unique approach to covering the topic? How creative are the formats used (text, story, interview, etc.) to engage the target audience?
• 0 points: The piece does not demonstrate any authenticity, the narrative is conventional and not creative.
• 1 point: A partial attempt to be creative, but the whole thing looks clichéd. The formats used do not appeal to the audience.
• 2 points: The piece contains elements of authenticity, and the creative idea is clearly visible. The formats used have the potential to engage the audience.
• 3 points: The piece demonstrates a high level of creativity, an unparalleled approach to storytelling. Formats are used creatively, effectively capturing the audience’s attention.

3. Practical relevance. Does the narrative emphasise the importance of EU initiatives for the targeted local communities or audiences? Does the piece have the capacity to raise awareness of the opportunities provided by the EU for education and youth?
• 0 points: The piece does not emphasise any practical relevance of EU initiatives, nor does it provide specific examples.
• 1 point: Overall relevance is highlighted, but without specificity or relevance to local audiences or communities.
• 2 points: The piece partially addresses the practical relevance of EU initiatives and provides specific examples, but these are presented without in-depth analysis or emphasis on impact.
• 3 points: The practical relevance of EU initiatives is clearly highlighted and specific cases or examples are presented that convincingly demonstrate their impact on communities and/or young people.

4. Quantitative indicator: The number of views/readers/impressions of the competition material on the online media, website and/or in social networks (indicators for each platform separately). This quantitative indicator of audience outreach is used in addition to the quality indicators and is decisive in the evaluation of shortlisted entries or in the case of an equal number of points at the stage of selection for the shortlist, and provided upon request.

online media, TV, radio, social media content.

In each category, the jury may select three winners to be awarded valuable prizes:

1^st place – Bluetti charge stations

2^nd place – tablets

3^nd place – multifunctional power banks.

The panel has the right to propose additional nominations for those contestants who have not been selected as winners, but whose entries are recognised as valuable in terms of originality and/or other criteria.

Organising partner – Institute of Mass Information (IMI)

Media partner – Detector Media

After the entry submission deadline, the jury will evaluate the entries according to the approved criteria-based scoring scheme.

The entries with the highest scores will be announced as winners.

The contest results will be published on the EU Delegation to Ukraine and its partners’ media resources, as well as in the national and regional media.