It's April Fools' Day: Do Not Let Propaganda Fool You!

Dear Readers,

Thank you so much for reading me again. :) It's like I am now a perfect example of a student not being thrown on the street without any job opportunities, but a happily working young professional. :) If you Google 'I got hired', guess what appears on the first page? (although, if I was to choose the most creative graduate to get hired, this would be this genius LEGO fan).

As all of you may know, one of the hottest trends around the international media now is Ukrainian-Russian crisis (read: Russian occupation of Crimea, Putin using the whole country to satisfy his imperial ambitions and so on). I did not initially want to write anything on this issue, because I am not a political expert, but I am Ukrainian and I cannot keep calm. :)

Thus, I thought I would just share a number of valuable English-language sources on Ukrainian issue, that might shed some light on the crisis (these are actually the official trusted sources that do not participate in propaganda and bullshitting and simply cover facts). However, once again, these are my sources of choice, so they reflect my vision of objective media.


















By the way, if you are a journalists you can email me anytime to get details and media contacts.

So here they are:

1.  StopFake - not sure if the news is real, visit this website and check it out
2. Ukraine Crisis Media Center - all the official press-releases and news from the most influential speakers
3. KyivPost - English language Ukrainian newspaper covering events on the ground

A couple of stories to check out:

5. An open letter of famous Ukrainian writer on the protests in Kyiv
6. My interview for the Glasgow's alternative press - amazing brand new source The WeeG
7. Very thoughtful piece from journalism.co.uk explaining the whole media situation in Ukraine

International media to provide great coverage of the issue:
8. Mashable - and yes, this is my most favorite source and everything they do, they do brilliant!
9. The Economist - featured great article on Russian propaganda and many more important subjects
10. The Guardian - deliberate journalism, great analysis and debunking of propagandists' plans

Of course this is just a tiny little list, so it is not full. If you think there is something valuable I have not mentioned - let me know.

P.S. I would appreciate the English language sources or those that provide translation or subtitles.

P.P.S. HIMYM ends with the death of Barney's Granny... ;-) ... more like a :-(
Happy first day of April to you guys!

Ukraine as a fast growing brand: see you in London

Hi everyone! Hope, you are doing great!

Today I decided to share with you something, which is probably not that much related to marketing, PR and digital, but is something which I know about a lot! No, it is not shopping or food and not even TV series, it is Ukraine! The country which I love and will be always coming back to!

There are two reasons I decided to write about my country just now:

1. I have started this new online course in brand management, and it made me think of the importanc country` brand plays in the overall brands hierarchy. We know French macarons, Belgian chocolate, Russain vodka! Of course other countries do produce chocolate and vodka and macarons, but they are less known for this stuff. So I thought, lovely Ukraine produces all of these food products and cars as well, by the way. We`ve got great IT people who created their own search engine and tablet, but you know....there is something missing for the Ukrainian brands strategy. I believe one should start from raising awareness. This is what I`m gonna do in the next couple of paragraphs.

2. The other reason would be this lucky coincidence. :) I am in the UK now, and suddenly, turns out that UK is soon hosting the first ever days of Ukraine in London! What a news! So I thought I will give this event a little promotion among my belowed readers.

Well, if you want to get to know more about Ukrainian art, music, cuisine, literature and fashion, but you are to scared to go to this mysterious place far-far-away, you should be packing your stuff and be looking forward to this great event in London!


In a nutshell, Days of Ukraine in the UK is organised by Firtash Foundation, which is this great organisation that helps  talented Ukrainian youths achieve their dreams and receive outstanding educational opportunities (as studying in Cambridge, for instance). The Foundation also takes active part in building Ukraine as a brand. Therefore, this event seeks to attract people from all over the world (because you can meet them all in London) to Ukrainian culture and traditions. So if you are going to spend those days in London, you will have a chance to familirise yourself with the best possible examples of Ukrainian stuff.

What: great mass event with free food, many positive emotions, great music, dancing and everything folk.

When: October, 17-19, which is Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Where: London. Different locations, so you better check out their website to see where you would like to go.

Who: 
Oleg Skrypka and Le Grand Orchestra. This guy used to be a real hipster back in 1989! When this word has not even been created yet. Check this hillarious video and you`ll see for yourself!

Now his music is a bit different, but the drive and the mood of his songs remains as fascinating as years ago! :) He created this two great festvals in Ukraine, makes amazing modern folk music and is also a judge of 'The Voice" show in Ukraine. If you ask me, which musician represents Ukrainian culture, I wouldn`t hesitate and answer Oleg Skrypka! This is one of his more recent videos:

BEVZA - prominent Ukrainian designer! Coco Chanel invented the 'little black dress' concept, but did you know that 'little white dress' concept can be trasted back to Svitlana Bevza? I would say the girl works in the best traditions of the western fashion trends and would be loved by COS, AllSaints, Reiss and Hobbs fans. Very simple, elegant and clean cut. Just to give you an idea, here is the video of her collection on the Ukrainian Fashion Week S/S 2013. 

And many more artists, musicians and fashion designers! You should totally come to London. :)

I am really happy this event is taking place, and I do agree that people performing at this festival are brilliant. It is just that I find myself representing Ukraine little bit differently. First, I start with showing some marvelous pictures and say 'Ukraine has it all - mountains, cliffs, 2 seas, snow and sand, forests and rivers'. I don`t have all the astonishing photos with me at the moment, therefore, I would recomend you take a look on the work of photographer Oleg Zharij and his series 'Gorgeous Ukraine'. 

 

                              

My friend has a house just on top of the cliff :) I remember we used to watch dolphins from there. This is Black Sea coast in the southern part of Ukraine, the place is called Cape Fiollent and is also a popular movie location...for quite unpopular movies, unfortunately. :)

                                                 

Last December we saw the first snow in Glasgow that winter and people were so happy seeing tiny snowflakes and I said to myself...you wanna see snow - come to Ukraine. In April (when I went back home on my Eastern Break) it was still snowing! 

                               

 

This is how those Carpathian mountains look like during the summer - all green and marvelous.

 

                                           















Secondly, I would tell about some modern Ukrainian music. (I chose to talk about English-singing projects here, because they would be easier to understand).

    1. Kazaky - hot guys dancing on high heels whom you can spot in Madonna`s 'Girls Gone Wild' video and on the D&G runway. The following video kind of gives you an idea of how Customs and Border Office works in Ukrainian airports. :)

   2. HARDKISS - newly formed band of extremely creative, stylish and talented people who do great music.

    3. Esthetic Education - they were doing songs like those by Daft Punk (in terms of melody) in 2007 or even earlier. Love those guys. :)

That`s enough music for today. I am so looking forward to see (meet) all of you guys in London, October 17-19 where we will get the chance to have some real Ukrainian fun. In the meantime I wish you relaxing weekend full of joy and nice moments. I do hope you like this post, as for me, it seems like a nice idea to post something less serious at the end of the week. Let me know if you want to read more about Borshch and Varenyki (delicious stuff), Ukrainian cities or anything else!

Enjoy! :)