7. 12. 2023 | PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Za branje prispevka v slovenščini kliknite tukaj.
Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is continuing its in-country visits to the Western Balkans, with a visit to Tirana, Albania, on 15 December 2023.
The tailor-made program will address the most relevant issues for Albania when it comes to countering foreign-perpetrated disinformation. It will consider the inputs of national working groups from our regional capacity-building conference in Portorož in June this year. Joined by local and international experts and practitioners, we will discuss the challenges and priorities in this field, the role of countering disinformation in the EU accession process, the needs and opportunities of incorporating fact-checking in journalistic work, and how to make a strategic use of the media landscape to strengthen societal resilience.
The event is open to representatives of government, media, civil society, academia, the international community and all other interested members of the public.
If you would like to join, you can register your attendance at this link.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
3. 11. 2023 | PR, Regional cooperation, Strategic Communication, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Novica v slovenščini je dostopna TUKAJ.
Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in the Western Balkans spent the last week on the road, visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
The tailor-made program for Bosnia and Herzegovina delivered some twenty participants from different sectors of the country discussions on the most relevant issues for Bosnia and Herzegovina when it comes to countering foreign perpetrated disinformation: how to define and regulate such phenomenon, how to address it in a country that has a complex state structure, what role it will play in the EU accession process, and what are the pitfalls of current business models of media and NGOs. In addition, an expert from the Finnish Mediapooli led a workshop on Countering Disinformation through a Strategic Risk Approach to Media Landscape, which sparked interesting exchanges and a lively debate among participants.
In Serbia, the project held a highly productive working meeting with some key actors in the field of countering disinformation, who had the opportunity to learn about the good practice examples of Estonia and Finland, as well as to hear about the new developments, initiatives and expectations coming from the EU. The meeting was marked by a high-quality discussion between participants, which strengthened the existing and established new networks, that will invaluably contribute to further work of the project in Serbia.
In both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, the project held closed-door consultations with the representatives of the Council of Ministers and the Government Ministries, respectively. The purpose of these consultations was both to present the objectives and the way forward for the project and to gain insight and feedback on the implementation of the whole-of-government approach in countering foreign perpetrated disinformation.
The project will continue to work with both countries as well as with the rest of the Western Balkan region in the coming months, and looks forward to the remaining visits to Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
13. 10. 2023 | PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is continuing its in-country visits to the Western Balkans, with back-to-back visits to Sarajevo and Belgrade, on 24 and 27 October, respectively.
Joined by international and local experts and practitioners, we will discuss country-specific challenges and priorities in countering foreign-perpetrated disinformation. The program for each visit will take into account the inputs of national working groups from our regional capacity-building conference in Portoroz earlier this year, as well as consider new developments in the joint EU and Euro-Atlantic efforts to counter the threat of foreign-perpetrated disinformation.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, we will thus look at the example of Belgium to discuss the issues of establishing effective defence mechanisms in a complex state structure. Moreover, we will talk about the money and financing aspects in both the proliferation, and in countering disinformation.
In Serbia, we will look at best practices of national systems of countering disinformation, as can be found in Estonia or Finland. In addition to national efforts, we will also consider the potential benefits of multilateral cooperation in this field.
The events are open to representatives of government, media, civil society, academia, the international community and all other interested members of the public.
If you would like to join, you can register your attendance at the following links:
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
8. 9. 2023 | PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Za branje prispevka v slovenščini kliknite tukaj.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans has concluded its in-country visit to North Macedonia. On 5 September, members of the government, civil society, media and the international community in Skopje joined a half-day event dedicated to exploring the current activities and best practices in countering disinformation.
Representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Hybrid CoE and the Government of Estonia presented the theoretical and practical approaches to developing a national mechanism for countering disinformation, reflecting as well on the EU priorities, activities and support to the Western Balkans in that regard.
Speakers from North Macedonia, namely from the Citizens’ Association MOST and the Metamorphosis Foundation, tracked the current threat of disinformation in the country and the developments in terms of the joint, whole-of-society action to counter this threat, respectively.
The event saw a lively discussion and exchange among the participants, with great interest from the stakeholders in learning from the best practices of EU Member States and the EU as a whole.
In addition to the whole-of-society event, the Project also held consultations with government officials to trace the progress and discuss remaining challenges.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
31. 8. 2023 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
On 28 August 2023, Western Balkans media and civil society representatives gathered at the margins of the Bled Strategic Forum for a roundtable discussion, ‘The Line Is(n’t) Thin: Fact v. Opinion, Regulation v. Censorship’. Joining the discussion was a Deutsche Welle journalist and a Global Diplomacy Lab member, Burak Ünveren. Together, participants exchanged experiences regarding the role and position of fact-checking in their respective countries, touched upon the challenges of journalism and effective communication of facts to society in the digital, ‘post-truth’ age, emphasized the risks inherent to the current business model of media outlets and noted the difficulties in maintaining an effective government-media-civil society relationship. Participants also weighed government intervention’s pros and cons in introducing counter-disinformation regulation. While there is no clear-cut answer to any of these questions, ensuring the sustainability of professional and quality journalism and supporting journalistic standards was heralded as a priority for all societies.
The discussion was organised under the framework of the ‘Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in the Western Balkans’ project. The project also allowed participants to attend the panels of the 18th Bled Strategic Forum, held in Bled on 28-29 August.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
31. 8. 2023 | Strategic Communication, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is making an in-country visit to Skopje, North Macedonia. On 5 September, the project is inviting representatives of civil society, media and academia, as well as the government and the international community, to attend a rich programme dedicated to exploring the way forward in the whole-of-society approach to countering foreign perpetrated disinformation. The programme will be supported by relevant researchers and practitioners from North Macedonia and beyond, including representatives of the EU External Action Service (EEAS), the Government of Estonia and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE).
North Macedonia is currently providing an example of good practice in the Western Balkans, having developed, through a multi-stakeholder consultative process, the Recommendations for Joint Action for Building Societal Resilience Towards Malign Influences of Disinformation. With this in-country visit, the Project seeks to support the next steps in the Recommendations implementation. The agenda will, therefore, showcase the successful approaches and practices of countering disinformation in other countries and situate the entire process within the context of joint EU efforts and the EU accession process.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
