Disinformation being false information deliberately spread to deceive people or secure economic or political gain, is becoming more dangerous by the year. 83% of Europeans believe disinformation presents a problem for democracy. They believe different groups of society should take responsibility to counter them. Among them are journalists, national authorities, and citizens (Euronews). Representatives of those groups and sectors (media, governments, and civil society organisations) from 6 Western Balkan countries will meet in Portorož for capacity-building training from the 6th to the 8th of June 2023.
The training will build upon the theoretical foundations participants gained at the last conference in November 2022 in Bled. The training titled ‘Detect & React’ will equip participants with tools to timely and effectively verify information, detect disinformation, and potentially debunk them.
It is organised in the scope of the project “Strengthening societal resilience and countering foreign perpetrated disinformation in 6 Western Balkans countries”, which was launched in 2020. It aims to enhance resilience and boost regional cooperation against disinformation with a whole-of-society approach, which is the distinguishing feature of the project. At this training, we will address another critical dimension: the collaboration of different levels of governance, meaning local, national, and regional, and get an even broader and more holistic overview of this dangerous phenomenon. Speakers from across Europe and wider will join us and share their expertise.
All our work should long-term lead to establishing national mechanisms for countering disinformation in each country (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia).
The project is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.