“Common Language for Common Sense”: Lviv hosts the X LMF conference
Photo: Nastia Telikova
On May 16-18, 2024, one of the shelters in Lviv held the X LMF conference. The main focus of this milestone event was "Common Language for Common Sense: Search For Meaning in Polarized World."
Rubryka informs about this.
"At X LMF, we gathered representatives from various fields — journalists, civil society leaders, experts from international organizations, politicians, and diplomats. These are people who directly or indirectly influence public opinion and government decisions in their countries. We invited them to discuss topics that shape the global media agenda and represent universal challenges. Therefore, finding solutions together is crucial," Lviv Media Forum Director Olia Myrovych says.
Olia Myrovych. Photo: Nastia Telikova
The anniversary event was divided into two main themes: Common Language and Common Sense. It included 30 events and featured 67 speakers and moderators. While English was the designated working language for the conference, some discussions and presentations were conducted in Ukrainian with simultaneous translation.
- Common Language was the thread that focused on broader philosophical discussions and public interviews. Topics included strategies for Ukraine's victory in its war for independence, the impact of media on shaping historical memory, the changes modern warfare brings to journalistic ethics and practices, understanding in times of polarization, and the influence of the colonial past on our consciousness today.
- Common Sense was the more practical thread, focused on sharing experiences and finding solutions. Discussions covered topics like countering pressure on journalists, using artificial intelligence in media, the impact of tech platforms on societal polarization, mental health and psychological support for media professionals, and the future of Ukrainian media relying on donor support.
Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, a professor at Columbia University, were the keynote speakers at X LMF. You can watch recordings of their speeches here (in English).
Yevhen Hlibovytskyi's conversation with Timothy Harton Ash. Photo: Nastia Telikova
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak at X LMF. Photo: Nastia Telikova
During the conference, attendees could exchange ideas with others who shared common interests but had not yet met in person. For example, Olha Rudneva, co-founder of Superhumans's veterans' rehabilitation center, spoke with British neurosurgeon and author Henry Marsh. At the same time, renowned postcolonial studies scholar Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak discussed with Ewa Thompson, author of "Imperial Knowledge: Russian Literature and Colonialism." Additionally, Ukrainian strategic communications expert Yevhen Hlibovytsky connected with British historian Timothy Garton Ash.
Guests at X LMF. Photo: Nastia Telikova
Guests at X LMF. Photo: Nastia Telikova
In total, over 500 guests and speakers participated in the anniversary conference.
X LMF brought together media professionals, researchers, activists, and public intellectuals from 36 countries. Every fourth attendee at the conference came from outside Ukraine.
"The primary practical goal of this conference for us was to enable Ukrainians to engage in live conversations with foreign colleagues, having enough time and space to be heard and to articulate their thoughts and arguments. During panels and informal discussions, we witnessed hundreds of such conversations. This is how understanding is born," says Otar Dovzhenko, the Creative Director of the Lviv Media Forum.
In 2024, the organizers did not sell tickets for the conference—instead, admission was free. The Lviv Media Forum extended an invitation to all X LMF guests to donate to the development of a permanent program for media psychological support.
Cultural manager, critic, and author Yevhenia Nesterovych became the curator of the X LMF cultural program:
"When planning the cultural program of the LMF conference in 2024, we aimed to explain as little as possible and to let participants experience it firsthand as much as possible. Through art, we strived to create communicative situations that allowed space and time for shared immersion in the moment and the freedom to make that moment exactly what it should be here and now."
At the venue, three exhibitions were featured:
- "The Nook for the Hideaway" by the Aza Nizi Maza children's art studio. These are works by children aged 6 to 14, created in the summer of 2022 when the studio team returned from sheltering in the metro back to work in their basement premises.
"The Nook for the Hideaway" by the Aza Nizi Maza children's art studio. Photo: Nastia Telikova
The Nook for the Hideaway" by the Aza Nizi Maza children's art studio. Photo: Nastia Telikova
- "Walls of Europe" by the Outriders team. This multi-screen exhibition shows how the European Union, whose policies were friendly to migrants during the 2015 refugee crisis, is now closed off and crisscrossed by over 2000 kilometers of border fences.
- An interactive installation called Common Senses, where participants reflected on what unites and polarizes citizens from different countries.
Interactive installation Common Senses. Photo: Nastia Telikova
The conference guests also met Lviv artists and cultural figures in the Jam Factory art center.
Read the full text of the cultural program concept here.
Jam Factory Art Center. Photo: Nastia Telikova
Jam Factory Art Center. Photo: Nastia Telikova
Eight conference events were live-streamed on the Lviv Media Forum's Facebook page, and recordings are now available in English.
Textual coverage of all conference events, including notable quotes, can be found on X (Twitter) Euromaidan Press, an information partner of X LMF.
"Seeking understanding, establishing connections and cooperation between the Ukrainian media environment and foreign counterparts are our ongoing efforts that extend beyond the conference's end. We will continue to work on this in our other projects and programs, and we are grateful to everyone for their ideas and support," Olha Myrovych says.
Solutions-oriented media outlet Rubryka was the information partner of X LMF.
