The tenth gathering of the Lviv Media Forum 2024 untied journalists, media experts, politicians and public officials, representatives of civil society, international organisations and diplomats from 36 countries convened to discuss pressing global media issues and challenges.

This anniversary meeting was dedicated to the topic "Language for Understanding: Finding Meaning in a Polarized World", underscoring the importance of fostering mutual understanding amid global conflicts. Over 600 guests and speakers attended the Forum to uphold the values of the rule of law, freedom of expression, and freedom of media – the principles fundamental to the Council of Europe's mission.

The programme of the Forum featured 30 events and engaged 70 speakers and moderators in different venues around Lviv and contributed to the exchange of good practices, ideas and solutions to overcome pressing challenges faced by media. The conference program was structured around two main threads. The first one, "Common Language" delved into philosophical discussions surrounding Ukraine's quest for independence, media's role in shaping historical narratives, countering disinformation and ethical implications of modern warfare on journalists. Meanwhile, the discussion around the "Common Sense" topic was shaped around the joint pursuit of practical solutions to such challenges as the safety of media workers, ethical use of artificial intelligence, impact of the internet platform on societal cohesion, notion and the new standards on the Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and anti-SLAPPs approaches applied in different countries.

The Council of Europe, through the SFEM-UA Project, supported the organisation of the 2024 Lviv Media Forum facilitating the exchange of ideas and experiences among media professionals and other stakeholders from different countries, which is essential for the support of the resilience of the Ukrainian information space and media sector in a time of war.

The Lviv Media Forum has been organised by Civic Organisation “Lviv Media Forum” since 2013. Since the outset of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Forum meetings have paid specific attention to the criticality of international support to Ukraine and its media sector during the war. For more information about the event and its programme, please consult the dedicated webpage of the Forum.

The Project “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Media in Ukraine” (SFEM-UA) is implemented by the Council of Europe  Division for Co-operation on Freedom of Expression in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026.