We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Canadian Journalist Turns Meme Into Symbol of Ukrainian Resistance
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Ukraine Canada – Komadovsky
HEADLINE: Canadian Journalist Turns Meme Into Symbol of Ukrainian Resistance
TEASER: Christian Borys' Saint Javelin organization is raising millions for the Ukrainian war effort
PUBLISHED AT: 05/04/2023 at 9:10 am
BYLINE: Misha Komadovsky
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Toronto, Canada
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; Reifenrath, DJ (ok)
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, see courtesies
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB TV X only RADIO __
TRT: 2:27
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Days before Russia invaded Ukraine, Canadian journalist Christian Borys, who had worked in Ukraine between 2014 and 2019, started a social enterprise called Saint Javelin to raise $500 for Ukraine ahead of what he saw as a looming invasion. Since then, Saint Javelin has become a powerful fundraiser for the war effort. Misha Komadovsky has the story.]]
((NARRATION))
Saint Javelin — a social enterprise created by Canadian journalist Christian Borys — started simply as an attempt to raise $500 to help Ukraine. And it began with a simple meme of the Madonna carrying a Javelin anti-tank weapon, designed by American artist Chris Shaw.
((Christian Borys, Saint Javelin Founder)) ((ENG))
“I believed that Russia was going to do what it did, right? So I wanted to just fundraise. I thought I could fundraise like $500 or something. So, I printed some of these stickers. I put them up on Instagram, and I said, ‘Does anybody want one? It's $10.’ And then I got a ton of messages, and then I started a website.”
((NARRATION))
And in the next few weeks, Saint Javelin grew from being a fun meme to being a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
((Christian Borys, Saint Javelin Founder)) ((ENG))
“So, last year we donated about almost $3 million Canadian. It's like 2.5 million U.S. dollars.”
((NARRATION))
Today, the Saint Javelin image is on hundreds of thousands of products — mugs and patches, stickers and flags. Even
((Mandatory courtesy: @SaintJavelinOfficial + YouTube bug))
President Zelenskyy has a T-shirt.
((NATS)) ((youtube.com/watch?v=FozB4-P_Lt4)) ((Zelensky presented with this shirt))
((End courtesy))
((NARRATION))
One of the main goals of Saint Javelin is to raise money for the Ukraine war effort.
((Christian Borys, Saint Javelin Founder)) ((ENG))
“We've bought some 10 trucks, I think. People come to us with their needs...”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: SaintJavelin + Instagram Logo))
Hundreds of thousands of people follow the organization’s progress on social
((End courtesy))
networks. Every day, Borys and his team post the latest news from Ukraine, making sure people stay updated.
Borys himself goes to Ukraine regularly. There, he meets with the Ukrainian part of his team. He says these trips help him stay focused on what’s important.
((Christian Borys, Saint Javelin Founder)) ((ENG))
“Those trips are really important because they help us progress so quickly. Lots of really good ideas come up with stuff like that.”
((NARRATION))
In 2023, Borys’s team hopes to move half of its production to Ukraine – and help local producers.
((Christian Borys, Saint Javelin Founder)) ((ENG))
“We found manufacturers all across Ukraine that do socks, T-shirts. We made fleece jackets that we just donated to ZSU [[Armed Forces of Ukraine]]. We made like 500 of them.
((NARRATION))
Recently, in New York, he hosted a presentation of a Ukranian photographer Sasha Maslov's photo book called "Saints" that features images from the war.
((Misha Komadovsky for VOA News, Toronto, Canada))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
