Olha Padiryakova

Olha Padiryakova was working for 16 years as the head of the regional news department at the UNIAN news agency, where we lured her away from.

She is also a media activist. In 2002, she and her colleagues signed and issued a statement about censorship in the agency on the part of the new leadership. At the same time, she also became a signatory to the memorandum against censorship, initiated by journalists of other media outlets. Like the rest of the memorandum signatories, she automatically became the founder of the Kyiv Independent Media Trade Union (KIMTU).

Since 2006, she has been repeatedly elected to the governing bodies of the KIMTU and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU). Currently, she is a member of the committee at the IMTUU’s Kyiv department.

In 2012-2013, Olha was a member of the movement “Stop Censorship!”, participated in actions near the Mezhyhiria residence of ex-president Yanukovych and the Interior Ministry premises.

As a member of the IMTUU’s committee, she worked as coordinator of the project on the safety of journalists supported by the International Federation of Journalists, conducted the monitoring of violations of journalists’ rights, was a member of the organizing committee of the Enemies of the Press anti-rating.

Olha participated in the workshops on the digital safety of journalists as a coach: the two-day training session of IMTUU in February 2012, the two-day training session of the Institute of Mass Information in June 2013, the one-day Internews barcamp in July 2014.

Olha was a member of the jury at the Ukrainian-Polish competition of journalistic skill thrice.

Olha is fond of independent travel logistics, beautiful interiors, sea lover.