94 A SHOW OF SUPPORT
Jo Ruddock speaks to Sonya Chakarova, Phillip Covell and Daniella Weigner, the team behind the IBC Special Award-winning Support for Ukrainian Media Professionals
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the industry sprang into action to help in any way it could. One initiative was Support for Ukrainian Media Professionals, which, with backing from broadcast vendors and integrators, identified employment opportunities for refugees, helped people leave the war-hit country, assisted those still in Ukraine and more. It was recently recognised with an IBC Special Award for its incredible efforts.
Congratulations on winning the IBC Special Award. How did Support for Ukrainian Media Professionals come about? Chakarova: I was really affected by the war in Serbia and Bosnia. I created Support for Ukrainian Media Professionals simply because I could not live in peace knowing that 2000km from my house bombs were falling and people were dying. I had known Daniella since 2011 and knew she had people in Ukraine, so I contacted her to offer help and to see what we could do, so she supported me from early in the journey. Weigner: When I saw what Sonya had set up, I was immediately on board. We have many krainian colleagues, as we have an office in Zhytomyr, so the situation is very personal to us all at Cinegy. All of us wanted to do something, and I started by activating my LinkedIn network. Sonya and I have been friends for over 10 years and I really admire her passion, she has always been ready to help people. Covell: Sonya invited me to join the group very early on, and I thought it was a great idea. When I joined, I set out to network and promote the group – basically, to make things happen and give the group a voice in the industry. Building relationships with industry organisations was a big part of that strategy. We now have relations with the IABM, IBC, NAB and PACT, Filmmakers for Ukraine and other initiatives, and we are building on this.
What has the response been like from the industry? Covell: The response has been pretty amazing, though it can always be better! We now have over 400 members from more than 280 companies. We have also built relationships across the industry, as well as with other initiatives set up to aid Ukrainian media and Ukrainians. However, to put it into perspective there are over 860 IBC exhibitors and countless industry organisations and individuals, so we can all do more…
L-R: Sonya Chakarova is Business Development Manager at PlayBox Neo; Phillip Covell is a UK-based consultant; and Daniella Weigner is Managing Director and Co-owner, Cinegy
Chakarova: Everyone was very open and often already trying to help refugees or clients in Ukraine, and happy about joining the group. NAB, IBC and other organisations wanted to help and contacts also asked how they could help.
Can you provide some examples of the support you’ve been able to offer? Chakarova: Playbox Neo has provided support to keep several TV channels on air, including the Ukrainian national broadcaster, and some channels have become virtually mobile. Colleagues have been helping refugees at the border and driving minibuses, and so many companies have offered help finding obs and even homes for refugees. Weigner: As a company, Cinegy has customers and sales partners in Ukraine. It was very important to us to continue to offer technical support and practical assistance regardless, to them, but also to any other broadcast or production company that needed to stay on air. We provided additional licences and any assistance we could. By the way, while all of this is going on, my team in Zhytomyr were still working! They were doing their jobs in cellars and bunkers, all the while some of our female staff were readying themselves to leave the country with their families. At such a difficult time, I am more overwhelmed by how everyone just carried on. I am happy to say all of our female staff made it out a few days later. It really didn’t matter where you worked any more, we helped everyone – and still do – as much as possible. Covell: I think it’s important to emphasise that the group isn’t a centralised organisation, at least not yet, but that it is a hub where everyone in the industry that wants to support Ukraine can come together, which makes it easier for Ukrainian media and individuals to reach out for help. If we can collectively help solve a particular problem,
as companies or individuals, that’s fantastic. We have subsequently connected with, promoted and made introductions to some great initiatives.
Are there any areas you’re still looking for support with and if so, how can people in the industry get involved? Covell: Obviously, we’d like more people from the industry that support Ukraine to join the group, and for everyone to keep offering help… not just coming up with and supporting solutions to personal issues, such as jobs and somewhere to live, but also to technical and equipment issues. Keeping Ukrainian media on air is very important to us. The biggest danger for the group is apathy! The next challenge is to rebuild Ukraine’s media infrastructure, because what have become semi-mobile TV stations will need to be rebuilt conventionally at some point. We literally need every type of company in the supply chain and systems integrators to put their hands up and be ready, and not just view things as a potentially sizeable contract but something more than that, we will be rebuilding a culture. Chakarova: I would like to see greater organisation of companies that want to be involved in Ukraine after the war, maybe an association level of organisation. I’d also like to see a centralised jobs space for Ukrainian media professionals, training for young engineers from Ukraine and tech internships. Demands for experience frustrate many candidates, especially the young. There are so many things we can do together as an industry, and not just in Ukraine. Weigner: We need to keep awareness of the situation at the forefront. The industry will need rebuilding in Ukraine, and we need to remain engaged and organise ourselves to help drive that. I am very grateful for the recognition of the group’s efforts with this award, in keeping the awareness of the challenges facing Ukraine to the fore.
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