Taras Shevchenko

Taras Shevchenko is the Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. 

In 1999, he graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Faculty of Law and obtained a master’s degree in law. In 2000, he obtained a master’s degree in economics from that university.

From 1999 to 2002, he studied at the post-graduate school of the Kyiv National University of Economics.
Taras has completed internships at Oxford University – School of Media Law (2003), Stanford University – Program on Democracy and the Rule of Law (2007), Yale University – Yale World Fellows (semi-annual leadership program) (2017).

He started his career during his student years, working as an assistant-consultant of a member of Ukraine’s parliament. He worked as a head of the legal department of InfoResources AG CJSC, a coordinator of legal programs of the International Renaissance Foundation, and a lawyer at the representative office of the international organization Internews Network in Ukraine.

From 2005 to 2020, he was a director of the Public Organization Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law. Being the founder and head of the Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law, he participated in the drafting of most media laws of Ukraine, trained journalists and lawyers on legal issues in the field of media, initiated and since 2005 has been running the International School of Media Law for lawyers from post-Soviet countries in Kyiv. From 2003 to 2013, he taught law at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Journalism. From 2020 to 2022, he held the position of Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. From June 28, 2022 – Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine for European Integration.

Founder/co-founder of the Reanimation Package of Reforms, the Independent Media Council, the Chesno Movement, the “Chesno. Filter the Judiciary!” Campaign, For Safe Roads Campaigns, Stop Censorship Movement, URBAN 500. As an expert of the Council of Europe and the OSCE, he worked on the development of media legislation and participated in educational projects in the countries of Central Asia – Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. 

Since 2019, Taras has been a member of the Council on Freedom of Speech and Protection of Journalists, a consultative body under the President of Ukraine.