-Life as a Democracy Fellow | CEPA-
Introducing
Elina Beketova is an in-residence fellow with the Democracy Fellowship program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Her research there focuses on temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion on February, 24, 2022.
Education
Elina holds a Master’s degree in journalism from Kharkiv National University and a Master’s degree in clinical psychology from the Kyiv Institute of Modern Psychology and Psychotherapy.
Journalism Roots
Rewinding a bit, Elina started her career as a journalist in Feodosia, Crimea, working for the local newspaper. Later she participated in Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship with Wake Forest University and participated in a Global Undergraduate Exchange Program via the University of Mississippi.
Professional Background
She has worked as a journalist, editor and TV-anchor for different news stations in Kharkiv and Kyiv within Ukraine.
As a part of International Insight, the TV-program Elina hosted, she conducted interviews with the likes of esteemed world figures not limited to:
- Kurt Volker (United States Special Representative for Ukraine)
- Jens Stoltenberg (Secretary General of NATO)
- Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Former Secretary General of NATO and former PM of Denmark)
- Carl Bildt (Former Prime Minister of Sweden)
- General Wesley Clark (former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO)
Present Day Activities
Currently, Elina is an author of ‘Behind the Lines’ – a CEPA project about the latest developments in the temporarily occupied and recently liberated territories of Ukraine. She is involved with interviewing Ukrainian voices -policymakers, activists, and officials.
Finally, she also contributes to the translator’s team of Ukrainska Pravda, the biggest Ukrainian online newspaper creating the content for the international audience.
Reasons to Listen
This talk is a sober reminder of the uncertainties within life and living. It is also an inspirational look at how one individual is both personally and professionally carrying on to serve her people and country in the most natural way she can.
Listeners will come away with insights on:
- the current psyche of everyday Ukrainians who are suffering from Russian aggression
- what impacts this invasion has had on everyday Ukrainians
- why she is driven to speak and write about the invasion of her country
- her views on the media coverage of this conflict
- a personal story illustrating the mental tolls this war is taking on her and her people
- how Ukrainians are finding ways to persevere both personally and professionally speaking
- how as a trained journalist and psychologist Elina personally handles this conflict
- Elina’s mindset moving forward concerning this war
- some of the fears she and her fellow Ukrainians have concerning the future of their country
A Memorable Quote from the Episode:
“You don’t know how you would react to a situation in which you have rocket and missile attacks everyday.”
-Elina Beketova
Check out the Video Conversation:
For those who desire to view the full video conversation of this discussion, you can do so via Youtube.
Discover More
For those interested in learning more about Elina and her work, be sure to follow her at CEPA. You can also find her below:
Keep Listening!
I hope you enjoyed the episode. For more, check out additional episodes here!
