Suspilne Ukraine in the framework of the technical cooperation project of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) — the “Project for Capacity Development of the Public Service Broadcaster of Ukraine”*, together with partners from the Japanese public broadcaster NHK Foundation has launched a new three-year phase of cooperation. This phase involves developing a network of regional hubs—with a focus on the northeastern hub (Chernihiv, Poltava, Sumy)—finalizing the Business Continuity Plan, as well as study tours and workshops. Moldovan public broadcaster TRM is joining the project for the first time, and Suspilne Ukraine will share its own experience with them. For security reasons, some of the workshops with Japanese experts will be held in Moldova. The first working meeting of the project’s new phase took place in Chisinau on April 12–18.
During consultation sessions, training webinars, and expert meetings, participants reviewed the work completed in previous phases of the project and agreed on the next steps for cooperation. Participants shared their experiences regarding ensuring the resilience of broadcasters in crisis situations, developing news broadcasting and fact-checking systems, and paid particular attention to the topic of countering information manipulation.
“We shared our own experience working during a full-scale war amid an unprecedented flood of information, including Russian disinformation campaigns, UGC, and anonymous Telegram channels, using specific examples such as coverage of the mobilization process or life in the occupied territories. It was also helpful to hear from colleagues at TRM about how they dealt with Russian narratives during the elections in Moldova,” said Khrystyna Havryliuk, chief producer of the Information Broadcasting Department at Suspilne Ukraine.
Since one of the goals of this collaboration is to strengthen the capacity of regional hubs, we analyzed the experience of Suspilne Ukraine using the examples of the Suspilne Northeast Hub and Suspilne Chernihiv.
Andriy Titok, editor-in-chief of the Suspilne Ukraine Northeast Hub and Suspilne Chernihiv, and Olga Konopatska-Plekhova, production manager, spoke about the hub’s structure, work in frontline territories, documentary production, the hyperlocal network, and the broadcaster’s audience.
“It’s gratifying that the Japanese delegation—experts with extensive experience in news and documentary production—highly praised the quality of the content our hub produces. We talked a lot about how our news and documentary production is structured, presented our achievements, and discussed what we need to improve in our hub’s operations,” shared Andriy Titok.
The seminar provided a detailed analysis of the interaction between the hubs and the central office, particularly in documentary production. Kei Matsui presented the NHK Foundation’s approaches to documentary filmmaking through collaboration between local editorial offices, hubs, and the central office, while Haruhiko Iguchi shared his management experience.
The meetings also addressed how to ensure business continuity (Business Continuity Plan), as well as the steps developed during the second phase of the JICA and NHK Foundation project for Suspilne Ukraine.
“It was an honor for me to share my experience in building continuous technology services with my Moldovan colleagues. I hope that the practical solutions developed under wartime conditions, combined with those used by the Japanese broadcaster NHK Foundation during natural disasters, will enable our colleagues to develop their own organizational and technical response measures for emergencies. The next area of development for the business continuity plan, with the support of JICA, is strengthening digital streaming capabilities—the concept has been agreed upon and the specifications for server equipment have been developed,” said Andriy Brusnikin, Director of the Department of Technical Standards and Services at Suspilne Ukraine.
Participants also worked in groups, analyzed work processes, identified weaknesses, and developed practical recommendations. On the final day, Japanese experts presented their conclusions based on the results of the joint work. The recommendations will enable public broadcasters to strengthen their ability to operate consistently and provide reliable information even in crisis situations. The team will also work on strengthening the system of regional hubs to ensure uninterrupted, high-quality operations under any circumstances.
*For reference, on 17 November 2025, representatives of Suspilne Ukraine and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed an agreement on Phase III of the “Project for Capacity Development of the Public Service Broadcaster of Ukraine”. The new phase continues the long-standing cooperation between Ukraine and Japan aimed at modernising Suspilne’s technical infrastructure and strengthening the capacity of its team.
Suspilne Ukraine is an independent media company with a strong presence across all platforms: the TV channels Pershyi, Suspilne Kultura, Suspilne Sport, and a national network of local channels; the radio stations Ukrainske Radio, Radio Promin, Radio Kultura, Radiotochka. Find only verified news on suspilne.media, as well as on our national and local digital platforms. We broadcast in minority languages, represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest, develop the children’s platform Brobaks, and train media professionals through the Public Media Academy. Our Suspilne Mediateka platform offers unique video and audio archives dating from the 1920s to today. Defending freedom in Ukraine.
