Berlin: Ukrainian and Russian NGO election observers get training on dealing with the world press

The one-week training course in Berlin tackled a variety of topics relevant to those monitoring the vote in Ukraine, including communicating with the international press and highlighting topics of interest to them, writing press releases and scheduling press conferences. Workshop participants included representatives from the Ukrainian NGOs OPORA and the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) as well as members of the Russian NGO GOLOS.

Marcus Heithecker, head of the political desk at the German daily Die Welt, had practical advice for those who will be watching the polls and reporting back on what they see. "Give us regular short summaries of everything you're observing, whether it’s violence, intimidation or irregularities," he said. "We have correspondents on site and you should contact them directly."

"Keep it simple!" says Marcus Heithecker speaking with the group

Heithecker advised each NGO to choose a spokesperson fluent in English who can give the media brief updates with the latest information instead of long, drawn-out analysis. "Keep it short and simple!" he stressed, also recommending that each organization hold a press conference one week ahead of the vote.

"I was struck when they said we should open a second Twitter account for western journalists with information aimed specifically at them," said Roman Udot, GOLOS co-chairperson. He added that he was also surprised to learn during a group conversation with Stefan Voss from Germany's dpa news agency that Facebook is actually not a very good platform for communicating with journalists in instances like these.

Confident and professional appearance

Election observers from Ukraine and Russia

Germany's Federal Foreign Office initiated the week-long training course which offered participants a compact, in-depth look at some of journalism's central guidelines. Very few of those who attended were trained journalists. Most had their roots in civic movements with an aim to help spur a transformation in their own region.

"The world is expecting changes in Ukraine and the elections are a great opportunity," said Iryna Shevets from the Ukrainian NGO OPORA. "They're a great opportunity for us as well. As election observers it's important that we appear competent, communicate professionally and are taken seriously."

One focus of the workshop was overcoming language barriers. "Speaking English on-camera isn't easy," said Milena Zherdii, 27, from the Ukrainian NGO CVU. "But stumbling on air can jeopardize the message I'm trying to get across." For two days participants were able to practice looking and sounding confident and professional in front of the cameras and microphones with DW Akademie trainers Susanne Wieseler and Thomas Kohlmann as well as DW-TV host Meike Krüger.

Over the past few years, the demands placed on national election observers have risen significantly. Whereas observers once looked for potential violations during the actual elections, nowadays they also need to analyze the way candidates present themselves, their programs and promises to the public well ahead of the polls.

As elections draw nearer, observers are frequently being asked to do more interviews and make more TV appearances, for example on the program "Before You Vote." Produced by Ukraine's public broadcaster together with OPORA, the program takes a critical look at the election campaign.

"The audience and journalists respect and trust us," said Zherdii from the CVU, adding that observers need to be able to make complicated issues understandable to viewers in a short space of time.

Understanding their own role

Election observers will receive additional media training after the initial workshop in Berlin

During the workshop, the participants also discussed the roles they themselves play during the monitoring work. While Shevets has been with OPORA for the last ten years, the workshop trainers stressed that she should speak to the media as an election observer - not as an NGO activist.

CVU, OPORA and GOLOS are among 13 civil society organizations which belong to the "European Platform for Democratic Elections" (EPDE), an association funded in part by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office and the European Commission. All members are committed to observing the votes that take place in their own countries and supporting democratic election procedures throughout Europe.

"Just bringing young Russians and Ukrainians together at a time like this can be seen as a success in itself," said Petra Bornhöft, a former correspondent for the German weekly Der Spiegel and a trainer with years of experience behind her. "We showed participants how western media work, but also practiced how they can better make sure they are actually being heard by those media outlets."

While the workshop in Berlin lasted one week, the support by DW Akademie will continue. Trainers will be on the ground in Kiev during the elections providing assistance and advice to the participants as they put what they learned in the seminar room into real-world practice.