“Suspilne”, which means “public” in Ukrainian, is a success story of public broadcasting. The Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine, known as Suspilne, was founded with the support of the Council of Europe and since then has become one of the most trusted media in Ukraine. The Explanatory Memorandum to the recent Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe mentions Suspilne as an example of good European practice.

A Strategic Session for the Members of the Supervisory and Management Boards of Suspilne was organised in co-operation with the Council of Europe Project “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Media in Ukraine” (SFEM-UA).

During the Session, held on 20 February in Lviv, the representatives of Suspilne discussed the preparation of three strategic documents: the "Concept of sports broadcasting," the "Main areas of activity," and provisions "On the competition for the election of the chair and members of the board of the company". The participants also benefited from the exchange with Ms Francine Raveney, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), who presented the work of the Council of Europe in the field of sports broadcasting, and Ms Sophie Valais, Deputy Head of Department for Legal Information, the European Audiovisual Observatery, who covered the European good practices collected in the Observatory’s report "Governance and independence of public service media: management and oversight boards". The Suspilne’s key documents will be finalised considering the good practice of the European broadcasters, as well as the expert support provided through the Council of Europe Project.

Mr Erlend Falch, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine: “I wish to convey my admiration for the remarkable work you and your colleagues undertake every day, including those who venture into the heart of conflict at the frontline, ensuring the world sees the true face of Russia's war against Ukraine”. Mr Falch also praised the longstanding and close co-operation between the Council of Europe and the Public Broadcaster with the aim of building a robust, independent and professional public service media, and confirmed the Council of Europe’s readiness to continue supporting Suspilne in these efforts.

Ms Svitlana Ostapa, Chair of the Supervisory Board of Suspilne, thanked the Council of Europe for supporting the broadcaster: “You were with us at all stages of the reform, even when few people in Ukraine believed in the adoption of the law on Suspilne.”

Next day, participants of the event joined by representatives of the Office of the Council of Europe in Ukraine also visited Suspilne’s Lviv branch. During the meeting, they had an opportunity to witness the conditions under which the team worked from the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, learn about the current needs of the branch team, and tour the new studio.

The Council of Europe Project “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Media in Ukraine” (SFEM-UA) is implemented by the Council of Europe’s  Division for Co-operation on Freedom of Expression, within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026).