ICEA and Open World hosted Media Literacy Program, Chicago, IL
UKRAINIAN LEADERS EXAMINE THEME
Media Literacy
In Round Lake, Illinois, and surrounding areas
The Open World Leadership Center, an agency of the U.S. Congress, sent a delegation of Ukrainian Media Professionals to Round Lake, Illinois from November 15-23, 2019. The delegation consisted of five professionals and accompanied by a bicultural facilitator and an interpreter. While in Round Lake and surrounding areas, the Open World program participants were hosted by International Cultural Educational Association (ICEA). The This program was designed by Larisa Koval, ICEA president.
The Open World guests were:
1. Vasylchuk, Liubov Vasylivna, Project Manager, IREX Ukraine;
2. Huza, Yuliia Oleksandrivna, Project Coordinator, International Charitable Fund “Ukrainian Press Academy”;
3. Malynka, Volodymyr Yevheniiovych, Journalist, NGO “Detector Media”;
4. Aliieva, Viktoriia Murvativna, Visiting Researcher, Kyiv School of Economics, Head of the Communications Department NGO “Amazing people” (Dyvovyzhni – Ukraine.);
5. Krasovska, Zoia, Instructor, Ukrainian Catholic University.
Accompanying them was Larisa Koval, ICEA president. Sergey Likhovid, Executive Director, Oksana Koval, ICEA Programs R&D, interpreter Svitlana Mefford and facilitator Krystyna Dobrovolska.
Prior to their arrival in Round Lake the participants completed an orientation in Washington, D.C. Delegates had policy meetings with Members of Congress(office Congressman Brad Schneider, Representative IL, 10th District), including Jessica Bernton, Legislative Director (office Congressman Brad Schneider, Representative IL, 10th District).
In Chicago and Round Lake delegates collaborated on best practices for Media Literacy. The highlights of the delegates’ program included meetings with educational institutions and professionals: Medill School Northwestern University (Ceci Rodgers, Lecturer, Global Journalism Learning Faculty Adviser, Society of Professional Journalists, Kathleen Louise Lee, Student Services at Northwestern University), Columbia College of Chicago(Yonty Friesem, Media Education Lab,Suzanne McBride, Communication Department Chair, Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, Solution Journalism, Elizaveta Friesem, Media Literacy Smartphone, Curtis Lawrence, Chronicle students’ Newspaper,Travis Truitt, Chronicle students’ Newspaper.), Lake Forest Academy(Tom Johnson, Dean of Faculty, Kristine Von Ogden, Dean of Curriculum and Innovation, Mikel Seidl, Help Desk Administrator, Jessica Gimber, History and Social Science Department Chair, and Rita MacAyeal, Librarian and Archivist.), Adlai E Stevenson High School (Wendy Custable, Director of Applied ArtsTim Foley, Assistant Director Communication Art Division, Media/ Journalism teachers), management of WorldChicago (Brian Peckrill, Vice President of WorldChicago), Media Group of newspaper „Daily Herald”(Robert Y. Paddock Jr.,Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President, Jim Slusher, Deputy Managong Editor/Opinion, John Lampinen, Senior Vice President – Editor, James W. Baumann,Vice President – Managing Editor, Diane Dungey, Senior Deputy Managing Editor, Madhu Krishnamurthy, Staff Writer Diversity Committee Chair), Free Spirit Media Young journalists (Creative Workforce Manager Tracee Stanford and program coordinator Lee Edwards) and Grayslake Public Library staff (Jill N. Alfrejd, Public Relations, Outreach & Adult Programming Coordinator).
This group of Ukrainian Media Professionals focused on the spectrum of Media Literacy during Skype conference with Julie Smith (Webster University in St Louis, Missouri), author of the book “Master the Media: How teaching Media Literacy Can Save our Plugged-In World” and discussed the problem of misinformation, disinformation, “fake news,” hoaxes, propaganda and what media-makers can do to avoid creating and spreading misinformation.
They also participated in BookDiscussion Club at Grayslake Library “Russian Roulette” by Michael Isikoff.
Delegates had a meeting with Jack Lockhart, District Director State Senator Ann Gillespie, 27 District, staff of Round Village and Round Lake Police Department (Deborah Perlini,Village Clerk, Russell Kraly, Trustee, Wayde Frerichs, Director of Finance, Michael J.Gillette, Chief of Police), General Consul of Ukraine in Chicago Larysa Gerasko and local leaders in Chicago Metro area Kevin Lampe (Chicago strategic communications firm).
The delegation stayed in the homes of local residents who served as hospitality hosts in order to experience American family and community life. Special Thank You to the hosting families: Oksana & Miguel Silva, Yevdokiya & Ilya Bunin, Sergey & Lena Likhovid, Dmitriy Zverev and Olya Yashchenko.
The cultural component of the program included meeting with Ukrainian communities at the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago (Lydia Tkaczuk, President and Maria Klimchak, Curator), at Ukrainian Radio “Ukrainian Wave”, and tour of Chicago – downtown historical area and suburban areas.
More than 27,000 current and future leaders from post-Soviet era countries have participated in the Open World program. Open World offers one of the most effective U.S. exchange programs to promote mutually beneficial options for depolarized engagement between future national leaders.
International Cultural Educational Association (ICEA) is a nonprofit organization with 501(c) (3) status. ICEA mission to advance education, culture and science with the focus on: international cultural and educational exchanges; cultural diplomacy; professional development in cultural and educational fields. ICEA has more than 17 years of experience hosting international groups and visitors, mainly from Ukraine (Ukrainian Journalists, Architects, Student Administrators, Municipal Workers, Bankers, and Educators). For more information, visit: www.incea.org. Find us on the Facebook @INCEA.ORG
Open World’s 20th Year
Founded in 1999 by Congress, the Open World Leadership Center maintains a vast network of more than 28,000 alumni in strategic countries including Russia, Ukraine, and others in the Balkans, Caucuses, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Open World supports legislative diplomacy efforts for Members of Congress by conducting exchanges that establish lasting professional relationships between emerging leaders and their U.S. counterparts. Program participants are provided with extensive exposure to American politics, accountable governance, and citizen diplomacy, while being home hosted by American families. To learn more about Open World, please visit www.openworld.gov/