MediaSlovo at the journalism department: students win All-Ukrainian competition

The Department of Journalism participated for the first time in the All-Ukrainian Media Culture Competition “MediaWord” named after Alexander Ponomarev – and won two prizes!

The competition took place on October 14 on the occasion of the birthday of the outstanding linguist, educator, Honored Professor of Kyiv University, Doctor of Philology Oleksandr Ponomarev. The competition was organized by a special committee of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Journalism of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, as well as specialists from other universities that prepare students for work in the media sphere.

The aim of the competition was to promote the Ukrainian language, demonstrate the importance of correct speech in the media, and pay tribute to Professor Ponomarev. Participants included not only students from higher education institutions, but also media professionals: journalists, editors, bloggers, advertisers, and publishers.

The competition was held live at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, as well as online in the auditoriums of other partner institutions. During the competition, participants had 90 minutes to complete the tasks. An expert commission will evaluate their work and publish the results on the official website of the event within ten working days.

At Uzhhorod National University, the competition took place in the auditorium where future media professionals                                                                      study. Before the start of the event, Galina Shapovalova, associate professor of the Department of Journalism, familiarized the participants with the rules for completing the tasks, explained the format of the competition, and wished all students success and inspiration. “This competition named after Oleksandr Ponomarev is timed to coincide with his birthday and is intended to honor his memory. It is being held right now because today is the anniversary of the professor’s birth. It should be noted that this is the first All-Ukrainian competition, and we hope that it will continue and that we will be able to participate in it next year,” said Galina Valentynivna.

Yaroslava Shebeshtyan, associate professor of the Department of Journalism, also took part in organizing the competition at UzhNU. She has a positive opinion of such competitions: “To love and respect the language means to know the official language well, because journalists are professional speakers and examples of language use. When you study English or French, for example, you pay attention to all the components of the language and observe the work of professionals, such as BBC journalists. Similarly, our journalists should be a benchmark for the audience, especially in the current environment, where there is a struggle for national identity.”

Six students from our university took part in the competition: representatives of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of all three educational programs: Journalism, International Journalism, and Advertising and Public Relations.

 

After the introductory speech, the main part began – the completion of the competition tasks. The students worked thoughtfully on the tasks, and the auditorium was filled with silence, concentration, and support.

Vanessa Koryak, a second-year student in the journalism department specializing in advertising and public relations, shared her impressions: “The competition gave me the opportunity to remember the rules of the Ukrainian language and repeat what I had already forgotten a little. The most interesting task was to find a Ukrainian equivalent for the word ‘gossip’. Another exciting task was with the word “birdwatcher,” where we had to explain the meaning of this foreign word. The most difficult task was where we had to come up with two sentences with the words “of course,” “I hope,” and “on the contrary,” so that in one it would be a part of the sentence, and in the other it would be an interjection.”

The All-Ukrainian MediaSlovo competition named after Oleksandr Ponomarev showed that the Ukrainian language is not only a means of communication, but also a powerful tool for professional self-expression for future media professionals. The Ukrainian language is alive and relevant, and such events inspire young people to develop their skills and use words professionally.

A few days later, the results were published on the official page of the event, and UzhNU media professionals were among the winners! Third-year student Sofia Skyba won first place, and fourth-year student Daria Maksimova won third place. Congratulations to the girls, and we wish them further success!

Maria Smereka, student of the Department of Journalism