Anastasiia Hudyma, Head of the Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities Department at Suspilne Ukraine, took part in Mindspiration Days 2026, a Deutsche Welle forum held in Bonn on 6–7 October.
As part of the Freedom. Innovation. Dialogue discussion, Hudyma presented “Keeping DEI Alive in Times of Crisis,” exploring how diversity, equity and inclusion can be sustained and advanced amid war, crises, structural change and shrinking resources.
Her presentation focused on Suspilne Ukraine’s experience during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. She discussed how changes in society reshape audience needs and influence approaches to accessibility, engagement with national communities, gender equality and the representation of different groups in media content. She also highlighted how access to information during wartime can directly affect people’s safety, while language, representation and the presence of diverse voices in public service media help build trust and a sense of belonging.
Anastasiia Hudyma’s presentation
“DEI should never be treated as a standalone project that can be put on hold until better times. These issues become even more important during crises. A crisis can rapidly change people’s lives and create new needs: some lose their usual access to information, some acquire disabilities, some return to civilian life after military service, others relocate, and entire communities find themselves in new circumstances. For media organisations, this means constantly asking whether we recognise these changes and continue to serve our entire audience, including its smallest and often overlooked groups.
DEI provides a practical framework for doing this. It encourages us to ask: Whom do we see? Whose voices do we hear? Who has access to information? Whose needs are reflected in our decisions, and who risks being left out? This requires a dedicated team to lead the work, drive progress, develop tools and support colleagues, alongside people across editorial departments and other teams who put these principles into practice every day. DEI must therefore be embedded in editorial workflows, team practices, management decisions and content production. When this happens, changes to job titles, organisational structures or budgets do not bring the work to a halt, because it has become part of how the organisation operates,” said Anastasiia Hudyma.
Zahra Nedjabat, Head of the DEI team at Deutsche Welle, with Anastasiia Hudyma, Head of the Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities Department at Suspilne Ukraine
Suspilne Ukraine is already building this kind of system by developing practical guidelines and tools and helping teams integrate DEI principles into everyday editorial decisions and content production. The broadcaster produces content in seven languages spoken by Ukraine’s national communities and tells the stories of diverse people and communities in Ukrainian. Its work also addresses accessibility, veterans’ experiences, gender equality, age and other aspects of diversity.
At the same time, Suspilne Ukraine is developing an internal network of colleagues from different teams who apply these approaches in their work, from internal communications and training to digital formats and editorial decision-making.
As part of preparations for an online connection with the Suspilne Ukraine team, a test call was held. During the call, Iryna Mykolaichuk, an SMM specialist in Suspilne Ukraine’s Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities Department, gave participants a brief virtual look at Khreshchatyk Street and the entrance to Suspilne Ukraine’s Kyiv office.
“It was a pleasure to show our Deutsche Welle colleagues Khreshchatyk Street and the Suspilne Ukraine building, even if only for a few minutes. It was a brief but meaningful and emotional moment. Although we live in different countries and work in different circumstances, we can still find so much in common and share our experiences. It was another reminder that people united by shared values can build bridges between countries,” said Iryna Mykolaichuk.
Iryna Mykolaichuk, SMM specialist in the Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities Department at Suspilne Ukraine
Mindspiration Days brings Deutsche Welle teams together each year to explore journalism, technology, artificial intelligence, audience engagement and diversity.
From left to right: Anne Schulte Holthausen, Editor-in-Chief for Knowledge Exchange; Aylin Karadeniz, Project Lead, Focus Group Racism; Anastasiia Hudyma, Head of the Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities Department at Suspilne Ukraine; Zahra Nedjabat, Head of the DEI team at Deutsche Welle; Rodrigo Abdelmalack, Deputy Head of the DEI team at Deutsche Welle
Earlier this summer, Suspilne Ukraine published its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Concept, approved by its Supervisory Board. The concept sets out the organisation’s strategic approach to equal opportunities, accessibility and respect for diversity, both within the organisation and in the content it produces.
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.
