Colleagues, we are proud to announce that the Association «Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine» (AIRPPU) has received the top honor at the prestigious international competition INMA Global Media Awards 2025 — the «Best in Show» Grand Prix — «Rescuing Freedom: The Campaign to Save Ukrainian Regional Journalism» earned full recognition in four categories, including the titles of «Best European Initiative» and «Best in the World».
The awards ceremony took place at the Edison Ballroom in New York City. In total, INMA recognized 40 first-place winners across 20 categories focused on media innovation — from subscriptions and advertising to artificial intelligence and newsroom transformation.
This year, the competition received 839 entries from 286 media brands across 49 countries. A total of 198 projectsmade it to the finals, evaluated by an international jury of 60 media experts from 26 countries.
You can read more about the competition itself and its significance in the media industry in our article, where we shared the news that the Association «Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine» (AIRPPU) was named among the 200 finalists of one of the world’s most prestigious media awards — the INMA Global Media Awards.
The victory of the Ukrainian initiative has become a symbol of international recognition of the role of independent regional journalism in times of war.
«After 11 years of war in Ukraine, we’ve come to understand that solidarity is not just a word», — said Oksana Brovko, CEO of the Association «Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine», commenting on the award.
«Rescuing Freedom: The Campaign to Save Ukrainian Regional Journalism» received full recognition in four categories, including Best European Initiative and Best in the World — the highest honors awarded by INMA.
«This is not just a victory — it’s a powerful affirmation of how important the work of independent Ukrainian media is, and how vital the solidarity of our colleagues is!» — wrote Oksana Brovko, CEO of the Association «Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine», on her Facebook page.
«The support network we’ve built at the Association became possible thanks to the solidarity of media managers from 13 countries. Without this support, it would have been incredibly difficult to preserve independent journalism in our country.
Thank you, INMA, for this recognition. And thank you to all our colleagues who stand with us. Stronger — together.
These awards would not have been possible without two key elements — a strong Association team ready to work under any conditions, and all the people from different parts of the world who willingly respond to our calls to support regional media».
