Two projects by Suspilne Ukraine — the development of a hyperlocal correspondent network and an escape room for teenagers — have been shortlisted for the EBU Academy Learning Awards 2026. The finalists were announced on 26 June during the European Broadcasting Union General Assembly in Prague.
Suspilne’s hyperlocal network development project was shortlisted in the Impact Award category, while the Public Media Academy’s escape room Unlock The Truth was shortlisted in the Innovation Award category.
Suspilne’s hyperlocal network* is a network of correspondents working in communities across Ukraine, including those located far from regional centres. Its goal is to reduce the number of “blank spots” on the country’s information map and to systematically tell, through Suspilne, the stories of people and communities that often remain outside the focus of national media.
As part of the network development project, implemented in three stages from 2021 to 2025, Suspilne held communication tours to communities, searched for and trained future correspondents, and developed the online course Journalism 360: Tools and Techniques from Suspilne Ukraine on the Prometheus platform. In total, the team visited 146 communities, around 2,500 participants joined the meetings, and 1,111 applications were submitted by people interested in becoming hyperlocal correspondents.
“When we launched this project, our goal was to find and train people in remote communities — those who live with the stories and challenges of their villages and towns. That is why being shortlisted for the EBU Academy Learning Awards is recognition of the extensive, systematic work of a large Suspilne team. Together, we created not just training for community residents, but a comprehensive system — from offline workshops and mentoring to an online course on a national platform. As a result, new journalists in communities are now creating quality content that attracts significant audiences, and during the war their work on the ground has become especially important,” said Yevheniia Haifer, project manager at Suspilne.
Unlock The Truth** is an interactive media literacy escape room developed by the PMA Juniors. Participants go through a scenario in which they must identify manipulation, verify sources, and make critical decisions in conditions close to a real digital environment. Over six months, the initiative reached more than 4,000 teenagers in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa, and was also presented at international forums in Germany, Italy, Colombia, Bolivia and Namibia.
“For us, it is especially valuable that the Time Loop escape room has received international recognition. It is not only a popular format, but also a truly effective way to teach media literacy to teenagers. Over the past year, we have received many requests from Ukrainian and international organisations regarding the adaptation of this product. So it is gratifying that colleagues from the European Broadcasting Union will now learn about this experience as well. The more effective educational projects public service media create, the stronger their impact will be on the development of media literacy, critical thinking and audience resilience. For Suspilne, this is another example of how we can not only create quality content, but also generate meaningful impact,” said Oleksandr Dmytrenko, Head of the Public Media Academy.
The winners of the EBU Academy Learning Awards 2026 will be announced on 22–23 October in Lisbon during the EBU Academy Learning and Development Workshop, hosted this year by the Portuguese public service broadcaster RTP.
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.
*The project was implemented within and thanks to the project Support for the editorial and digital transformation and development of the corporate culture of public service media in Ukraine, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida.
**The creation of the interactive room is part of a joint media literacy project by the Children’s Academy of Suspilne and DW Akademie, financially supported by the European Union and the German Federal Foreign Office.
