On September 9, 2025, the students at Faculty of Philology and Journalism of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University had an opportunity to talk with Siri Franceschi, a Danish freelance journalist, winner of the Timbuktu Prize for journalistic investigations into world events.
She visited the University together with Danish journalist Morten Hansen who spoke about the media landscape of Denmark. Among those present at the event were Vice-Rector Nataliia Blahovirna, Head of Department of Social Communications Olena Kosheliuk, Member of the Supervisory Board of RE:Cover – Peer-to-Peer Journalism Project Olga Virsta, a representative of the Institute of Mass Information Maya Holub, and the students.
Siri Franceschi worked on five different continents and brought stories from different parts of the world, so the journalist shared effective advice from her own experience. Yes, according to her, the truth and deep truth should be sought in ordinary people and their stories. She is convinced that the most valuable when searching for information are eyewitness accounts.
“When you describe a situation or phenomenon, you can write numbers, you can write about the work of politicians, but for true understanding you need to look for ordinary people and listen to their stories,” said Siri Franceschi.
One of her most influential and notable materials is an investigation into the consequences of the Danish government’s decision to “recruit” nurses and social workers from the Philippines, which the journalist also spoke about in the audience. According to her, the mass exodus of nurses from the Philippines to Denmark caused serious difficulties in the Philippine healthcare system. Due to an acute shortage of staff, dozens of women could give birth at the same time in one ward, without receiving proper medical care and attention.
Morten Hansen noted that Siri Franceschi's material was one of the key factors that led to the cancellation of the agreement between Denmark and the Philippines. At the end of the meeting, Siri Franceschi answered questions from the students about the peculiarities and difficulties of her work.
Translation during the meeting was provided by first-year Master students in Interpretation, Kateryna Severianova and Artem Kozar, as part of the work of the Multimedia Translation Laboratory.
Information Policy Office
