The laureate of the Georgiy Gongadze Prize in 2021 became Miroslava Barchuk.

Miroslava is a journalist and TV presenter, worked on Channel 5, TVi, Espresso, was the editor of the magazine Welcome to Ukraine. Currently, she hosts the socio-political talk show "Countdown" on the UA: First channel.

In her speech, she emphasized the crucial role of independent and professional journalists:

"There are things that we [journalists — ed. note] have no right and should never come to terms with: dishonor, lies, humiliation of human dignity, and shame. We should not come to terms with this for money, fame, or to appear on screen. Because our position invisibly creates in millions of viewers and listeners the feeling of their concrete right to have their own position, dignity, and truth."

In addition to Miroslava Barchuk, this year's finalists of the Prize were Marichka Paplauskaite (The Ukrainians) and Borys Davydenko (LIGA.net).

The award ceremony took place on May 21, the birthday of Georgiy Gongadze. The winner was announced by Maksym Dyadyk, one of the 18 patrons of the Prize and a graduate of the Presidents' MBA kmbs. He explained why he, along with other managers, supports the award:

"We [patrons — ed. note] share responsibility not only to our own families and businesses but also to society and the nation. We all want to see Ukraine as a liberal, democratic country, not remnants of an archaic empire. I believe that there is no nation without common meanings, and meanings are created not only by philosophers and politicians but also by journalists. Therefore, the Georgiy Gongadze Prize should promote the development of journalism, and journalism — the development of our state."

Photo: Valentyna Naumenko

Miroslava Barchuk became the laureate of the Georgiy Gongadze Prize 2021