Project description:

Between 2014 and 2022, Ukrainian veterans and their families faced discrimination in all areas. During the full-scale war, the number of people in these groups and their need significantly increased, while the state’s capacity to invest in quality services, jobs, education, retraining, and the development of a veteran-friendly national culture remained limited. In March 2023, Starlight Media became the first Ukrainian company to adopt a comprehensive strategy for supporting veterans, making it a priority. The strategy covers three areas: the company as an employer, as a business, and as a media. Starlight Media made the strategy publicly available and offered it for free to more than 25 Ukrainian companies and associations.

• As an employer. Services and practices were established for adaptation, sensitive recruitment, psychological and medical support, educational training for teams, and honoring the memory of fallen soldiers. The first corporate veteran conference was held, and an HR Veterans Partner position was created. 
• As a media. Fostering national culture by sensitively integrating veterans and their experiences into the most popular content across genres (news, documentaries like Steel, shows like MasterChef, entertainment programs like Family Feud, romantic projects like The Bachelor, dramas like Return, and social campaigns like Invictus.

As a business. Starlight Media developed the “veteran-friendly business principles,” which will guide changes in Ukrainian companies.

Partners:

Veteran Hub, Recovery, Ukrainian Veterans’ Fund, Women’s Veterans Movement

Category: Peace

Company: Starlight Media

About the company: 

Starlight Media is Ukraine’s largest media company, uniting producers and distributors of content for television and digital platforms. Starlight Media includes three of the top three most popular TV channels in the country (STB, Novyi Kanal, ICTV2), the leading news channel ICTV, as well as OCE, TVi Series, M1, and M2. Starlight Media is one of the first Ukrainian media companies to align its business development with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the first to implement a corporate diversity and inclusion strategy.