When Den’s Summer School of Journalism graduates take part in the newspaper’s other important projects, it is an indication of the media’s true convergence. Yulia Balka and Marta Franchuk learned this on their own experience, when they became part of our team at the opening of the 17th International Den’s Photo Exhibit and later made a video trailer in which some well-known people comment on the event.
Marta FRANCHUK, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy:
“When you are in touch with a large number of visitors whose opinions reveal more deeply the meaning of this exhibit, you begin to understand how important Den’s Photo Exhibit is to Ukrainian society and how much food for thought it gives to everyone. Den’s Photo Exhibit is a line of time, which shows the transformation, development, and steady progress of Ukrainian society.
“To work in an atmosphere, where each photograph is an intellectual charge that fills the whole body with emotions, is a great honor for one who was lucky to attend Den’s Summer School of Journalism twice. Having gained enormous experience there, I managed to ‘try it out,’ working on a par with other well-known masters in this field. Interviews with many prominent personalities of Ukraine not only gave me invaluable experience, but also helped me see the whole range of opinions and impressions that everybody gains when watching the photographs. ‘The photo exhibit represents the world in all its diversity,’ Yevhan Holovakha noted. And I sincerely believe in this.”
Yulia BALKA, Donetsk National University:
“I graduated from Den’s Summer School of Journalism two years ago and understood that I would further go shoulder-to-shoulder with this newspaper. I continued to contribute to this newspaper, but it is not until this year that I managed to try to assume the role of a ‘video recorder’ of events. The video camera immediately turned from a hobby item into an instrument of work. The lens that had looked at all kinds of people earlier, focused on those who are well-known and renowned. They reflected, and I filmed. It is a real pleasure.
“Most of the photo heroes do not look their age – they are much older and wiser. It is the result of war. At the same time, their eyes and body postures express self-confidence and decisiveness, which makes you believe that changes are bound to occur.
“Den’s Photo Exhibit is a stick up on the forehead of all those who forget their own identity and are too lazy to work for this country’s benefit. History in pictures is far more important, for it is difficult to influence and impossible to rewrite it. A photograph is a needle that will be ‘hurting’ your eyes until mistakes have been corrected.”
