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.
22. 8. 2023 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Kliknite tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku.
Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation has invited twelve representatives of Western Balkans media and civil society organisations to join a roundtable discussion at the margins of the Bled Strategic Forum.
The roundtable discussion will take place on 28 August, titled ‘The Line Is(n’t) Thin: Fact v. Opinion, Regulation v. Censorship’.
Western Balkan participants will be joined by Mr Jakub Kalensky of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats and Mr Burak Ünveren, a journalist at Deutsche Welle.
Through an open and dynamic exchange, participants and guests will have an opportunity to touch upon questions that do not always have straightforward answers in the fight against disinformation, such as: how to ensure that democratic standards and freedom of speech are upheld while still curbing the spread of disinformation? Are the current projects and initiatives focused on countering disinformation largely on the right track – or do we need to adjust our course? How has the experience with Covid-19 and the Russian aggression against Ukraine changed journalism – have we learned anything?
Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation project continues to support efforts of Western Balkan governments, media and civil society to establish national mechanisms for countering disinformation. The roundtable event will further be an opportunity to discuss the way forward in these efforts, and in particular, the role of media and civil society.
After the roundtable discussion, Western Balkan participants are invited to join and enjoy the rich program of the Bled Strategic Forum on 28 and 29 August.
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.
6. 7. 2023 | EUSAIR, PR, Regional cooperation, Strategic Communication
Countries and regions face challenges that know no borders; hence to tackle them successfully, they need to be addressed collectively. The EU Macro-regional strategies identify common needs and challenges of the region, as well as regional cooperation potentials. They connect people across borders, sectors and governance levels and help to coordinate joint policies. The EU Macro-regional strategies are meaningful and make regions stronger, more resilient and attractive.
EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region directly influences 70 million people from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. It contributes to further integration of the internal market, to the region’s stability, and to foster cooperation between EU and non-EU countries.
It is of utmost importance that great results of the EU Macro-regional strategies are presented to the public, which is often challenging as the issues are complex. For that reason, in the framework of EUSAIR, the EUSAIR Communication Academy was organised for EUSAIR key implementers, government communicators and journalists. While the first edition focused on the tools and techniques needed for effective digital communication, the second edition focused on transferring abstract issues simply, comprehensively and persuasively.
EUSAIR Communication Academy 2.0 occurred from July 5th to July 6th in Thessaloniki. Thirty participants from seven countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia) attended the Academy. Four speakers shared knowledge with us and answered two main questions: what to communicate and how to communicate it successfully. All the lectures were followed by practical and short presentations. Some great ideas sparked, and we had interesting discussions. Like always, the official programme of the EUSAIR Communication Academy was combined with a rich informal part aiming to foster an environment for experience sharing, creating new links and strengthening the old ones.
