Every day, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine grinds on, we are witness to bloody crimes against Ukrainian civilians and crimes against humanity, in a growing crescendo of violence that can only be called genocide. The grim photos and videos streaming out of the city of Bucha in recent days, call to mind the chilling images of the killing fields and death camps that pock-marked the darkest moments of the last century.

We are witnesses, in large measure, because brave journalists have continued to cover this conflict, at great risk to themselves and in service to the public interest of truth and accountability in the face of naked aggression.

As we continue to rely on courageous journalists on the front line to seek and deliver the harsh truth of this war, philanthropy has a huge opportunity to provide urgently needed support to journalists operating in Ukraine and in conflict zones around the world. This week, leading voices in journalism and media philanthropy are assembling here in Perugia, Italy, for the annual International Journalism Festival, where they will issue the Perugia Declaration, calling for increased support of public interest journalism in Ukraine.

As the opening lines of the document declare: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underlined once again the essential role of independent, trustworthy, public interest journalism in assisting citizens to make life-or-death decisions, informing the world, and holding the powerful to account.”

The Perugia Declaration, a joint project of the International Journalism Festival and the Global Forum for Media Development, implores private and public donors and funders of professional journalism to “urgently increase and provide flexible financial support to media that produce public-interest journalism, enabling them to hire or keep paying reporters, editors and producers who are reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

While the unprovoked attack upon Ukraine has sparked widespread condemnation by the global community of nations and a tremendous outpouring of international press attention, the declaration correctly acknowledges that “many conflicts and crises have at times not received the united and sustained response that our collective conscience demands.” Let’s hope that, in the future, we will be just as sensitive to concerns about the human rights of people in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, or Central and South America, as we are to the plight of European refugees.

Read the full article about public interest media in Ukraine by Vincent Stehle at Media Impact Funders.