Kyiv Media Law Institute Founded
Wednesday February 2, 2005
The Kyiv Media Law Institute was founded, February 1, 2005. As a non-governmental organization, the Kyiv Media Law Institute (MLI) will support the development of media law and strengthen democratic standards of freedom of speech and access to information in Ukraine through legislative work, research and education.
The Institute will actively engage in discussion and development of solutions to media problems, specifically in regards to the current legal issues such as the creation of public broadcasting, print sector privatization, development of a new state information policy, assessment of the effectiveness of government activities in the sphere of mass media, and development of new regulations on media. Using international and European standards of freedom of speech, MLI will monitor and comment on draft laws brought forth at Parliamentary hearings. The Institute will develop, publish and institutionalize new curricula on media and information laws for law and journalism schools, and will actively cooperate with Ukrainian and international organizations in activities which support the protection of freedom of speech and journalists’ rights.
The MLI will also function as a resource center for U-Media partners and other organizations, including media associations, media outlets, journalists, state institutions, universities, and students, providing support in the form of analysis, legal commentaries, and publications.
The Media Law Institute was established by media lawyers with support of Internews Network’s U-Media Project, USAID Award No. 121-A-00-03-00004-00. Taras Shevchenko, Director of Media Law Institute, holds a master’s degree in law from the Kyiv National University, Ukraine. Mr. Shevchenko studied Human Rights at Birmingham University, UK in 2002, and Media Law at the Oxford University, UK in 2003. He has been working as a media lawyer at Internews since 2001 and he currently teaches Media Law in Institute of Journalism at the Kyiv National University.