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Before the start of the conference:
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2026-05-14 03:00 pm
Reality Under Attack: Flight, Freeze, or Fight?
May 14–16, 2026
Lviv
About the conference
The international LMF conference has been held in Lviv, Ukraine, since 2013. Last year, it brought together participants from more than 26 countries around the world. The conference is designed for everyone operating within the international information space: media professionals, researchers, policymakers, communications specialists, public intellectuals, representatives of the public sector, and international organizations.
The focus theme of LMF 2026 is “Reality Under Attack: Flight, Freeze, or Fight?”.
The focus theme of LMF 2026 is “Reality Under Attack: Flight, Freeze, or Fight?”.
Terms of participation
This year, participation in the conference is available with a charitable donation, which will support the work of Lviv Media Forum. Veterans and active-duty service members are welcome to attend free of charge.
All events within the LMF 2026 program will be held in English, without simultaneous interpretation. Due to the format of the conference, the organizers are required to limit the number of participants.
Submitting an application does not guarantee participation, and the organizers reserve the right not to disclose the reasons for their selection decisions.
All events within the LMF 2026 program will be held in English, without simultaneous interpretation. Due to the format of the conference, the organizers are required to limit the number of participants.
Submitting an application does not guarantee participation, and the organizers reserve the right not to disclose the reasons for their selection decisions.
Frankly Spoken
15:00-15:30
Opening ceremony
Welcome Remarks
Ola Myrovych, Head of Lviv Media Forum
Tetiana Berezhna, Minister of Culture of Ukraine
16:00-17:00
Public Talk
Getting off the Sedative: Can Societies Handle the Truth in the Age of Crises?
In Partnership with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and Government of Canada
17:00-18:00
Public Talk
Get Complicated. How to Counter Autocracies Through the Philosophy of Bildung
Frankly Spoken
Smartly Done
10:00-11:00
Discussion
From Informating to Sensemaking: How Public Media Guide Societies in the Eye of the Storm
In partnership with Sweden and IMS
10:00-11:00
Case study + Q&A
The 3D Challenge: How to Reach Distant, Distrustful, and Disengaged Audiences
11:00-11:30
Coffee Break
11:30-12:30
Live streaming
Discussion
Culture as a Target and Tool of Genocide: How Media Can Catch the Moment
11:30-12:30
Discussion
Donors to Media: Customers or Social Investors?
12:30-13:00
Coffee Break
13:00-14:00
Public Talk
Beyond Clicks and Cash: Measuring Journalism With a Different Ruler
13:00-14:00
Case study + Q&A
AI for the Business of News: Local Media Cases
In Partnership with DW Akademie, Deutsche Welle
14:00-15:00
Lunch
16:00-16:30
Coffee Break
16:30-17:00
Presentation of Public Interest Journalism Lab
How Ukrainians Define Democratic Boundaries in War
16:30-18:00
2-level aquarium
Ukraine Speaks: What Works, What Fails, What Scales
17:00-18:00
Live streaming
"Sociology Says" Podcast | Live Recording
War vs. Democracy: Can You Have Both?
Frankly Spoken
Smartly Done
10:00-11:00
Public Talk
Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: Can Media Make Truth Matter Again?
10:00-11:00
Case study + Q&A
The Reality Check: How Technology Helps Media Defend the Truth
In Partnership with DW Akademie, Deutsche Welle
11:00-11:30
Coffee Break
11:30-12:30
Discussion
The Autocracy Trap: Is Transition to Freedom Still Possible?
11:30-12:30
Duscussion
The Kill Zone Challenge: Rethinking War Reporting
12:30-13:30
Lunch
13:30-14:30
Discussion
Not Sympathy but Infrastructure: Building Leverage in Nations Defending Freedom
13:30-14:30
Case study + Q&A
From Testimony to Narrative: How Methods Shape Understanding
Christopher “Kip” Hale & Peter Pomerantsev
Sasha Dovzhyk
Tetiana Symon
Anastasiia Loza
Moderator: Ray Baseley
14:30-14:45
Coffee Break
14:45-15:45
Live streaming
Keynote Public Talk
After Visibility. What Remains of Media Power When Algorithms Own Distribution?
Natalia Antelava
Natallia Humeniuk
15:45-16:00
Closing Ceremony
Side events
MAY 13
17:00 – 19:00
Discussion
Civilians in Captivity: When the Signal Fades
Venue: Lviv Media Hub (120 G, Shevchenka St., Lviv)
In partnership with:
INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange
NGO 'Civilians in Captivity'
The Media Initiative for Human Rights, MIHR
INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange
NGO 'Civilians in Captivity'
The Media Initiative for Human Rights, MIHR
Language: English
Registration
MAY 14
10:30 – 12:00
Interactive session
The Story You Didn't Tell: How To Revive Reporting on the Temporarily Occupied Territories
Anastasiia Rudenko
Yelyzaveta Zharkykh
Vadym Miskyi
Moderator: Denys Kazanskyi
Venue details will be sent only to registered guests
The event is supported by the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU), funded by aid from the governments of Canada, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Language: Ukrainian
Registration
10:30 – 12:30
Discussion
Reality Under Attack: Public Talk with the Nominees of the 2026 Georgiy Gongadze Prize
Venue details will be sent only to registered guests
In partnership with Georgy Gongadze Prize
Language: Ukrainian
Registration
12:30 – 14:15
Interactive Presentation
Numbers are never wrong The Data-driven Ways To Cover and Counter Corruption
Venue details will be sent only to registered guests
The event is held by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), in partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, with funding from the Government of Japan.
16:00 – 17:30
Taiwan Session
Opening Remark
Welcome Speech
Taiwan’s Integrated Diplomacy to Ukraine
Ambassador Jeff Y.J. Liu, Taipei Representative Office in Poland
Discussion
Distant Borders, Common Threats: How Can Global Media Partnerships Disrupt Authoritarian Infowars
Venue details will be sent only to registered guests closer to the date
In partnership with:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of China (Taiwan)
Radio Taiwan International, RTI
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of China (Taiwan)
Radio Taiwan International, RTI
Language: English
Registration
MAY 16
08:30 – 10:15
Networking Breakfast & Fishbowl Discussion
Recovery Talks: How to Communicate Reconstruction Through Media
Venue details will be sent only to registered guests closer to the date
In partnership with:
Recovery Window Media Network
EXPERTISE FRANCE SAS
Recovery Window Media Network
EXPERTISE FRANCE SAS
Language: English. Ukrainian-to-English interpretation support will be available only for questions and comments
Registration
16:30 – 18:30
Conversation
Fixers&Local Producers: A Candid Conversation on Finance, Ethics, and Agency
Venue details will be sent only to registered guests closer to the date
Language: English
Registration
About the conference ORGANIZER
The NGO Lviv Media Forum strengthens media, institutions, and public figures capable of fostering healthy public dialogue in Ukraine and beyond. Our goal is an effective and democratic society united by healthy communication. The organization was founded in 2013 to bring together media professionals from Ukraine and around the world in Lviv for the annual LMF conference. Over the years, we have grown into an ecosystem of people, organizations, and projects that support the media, develop comprehensive solutions for them, and promote the best media practices in Ukraine and globally. We are moving from supporting and developing media and journalists to a broader strategic focus: empowering communication actors, including media, civil society organizations, government bodies, and more.
Media about us
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