4. 7. 2023 | EUSAIR, PR, Regional cooperation, Strategic Communication
EUSAIR Communication Academy 2.0
(5-6 July 2023)
This week a second edition of EUSAIR Communication Academy will be taking place in Thessaloniki in Greece.
The training is a continuation of EUSAIR Communication Academy, a three-part capacity-building program that took place in 2022. Whereby the first edition focused on the tools and techniques needed for effective digital communication, EUSAIR Communication Academy 2.0 will focus on explaining complex and abstract issues in a simple, comprehensible, and persuasive way. The participants will gain the critical skills and tools to support them in effectively communicating EUSAIR to the stakeholders and interested public. Participants attending the EUSAIR Communication Academy are EUSAIR key implementers, government communicators, and journalists.
During a two-day programme 30 participants from EUSAIR countries will attend communication workshops on the topics of simplifying messages and simplifying language, leveraging AI tools for communication purposes as well as effective communication with the media. The theory will be applied to practical tasks conntected to EUSAIR and its communication, such as developing EUSAIR key messages and writing press releases.
The official programme of the EUSAIR Communication Academy will be combined with a rich informal programme aiming to foster an environment for experience sharing among diverse participants.
9. 6. 2023 | PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Kliknite tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku.
Global experts and practitioners increasingly warn that the phenomenon of disinformation should be viewed through a security lens. Malignant actors recognize and abuse the capacity of disinformation to undermine democratic processes and practices, erode the trust of the population in public institutions, and create tears in the social fabric of societies. While every country in the world faces the challenge of disinformation, Western Balkans is among those regions that have proven particularly vulnerable and often a target for foreign actors. 74% of Western Balkan citizens consider disinformation a security threat.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation organized a capacity-building training in Portorož on 6-8 June for representatives of Western Balkan governments, media and civil society to foster joint work on countering this threat.
About forty participants took part in the two-and-a-half day long training dedicated to exploring the building blocks of comprehensive and holistic national defence mechanisms in countering disinformation. Renowned experts from across Europe and the US taught the participants how to verify information, detect and react to disinformation, and establish a whole-of-society response model. Progressing from theory to practice, participants used their new knowledge and tools during practical exercises and tailor-made simulations of disinformation event scenarios.
The objective of the Project is to assist the Western Balkan partners to create national response mechanisms to counter foreign-perpetrated disinformation. The training provided space for national and regional cross-sectoral working group discussions that will feed into national recommendations and other activities developed within the Project.
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.
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31. 5. 2023 | PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
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.
25. 4. 2022 | PR, Youth
Photos by Marko Arandjelović
Communication is an intrinsic part of our life, be it professional or personal. It is not only about transferring information, but it is an interactive process that requires knowledge and specific skills. To effectively communicate, stakeholders need to attain in-depth and applicable communication knowledge, skills, and tools. This is the main goal of EUSAIR Communication Academy which started last week.
EUSAIR Communication Academy is a capacity building programme for EUSAIR Government communicators, EUSAIR Key implementers, and youth participants. The Academy is composed of three modules that will take place in 2022. The project is a result of cooperation between the EUSAIR Facility Point Lead Partner and the Centre for European Perspective.
EUSAIR (EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region) is a Macro-regional Strategy joining 10 countries striving to find solutions for common challenges in the common sea basins and its hinterlands. The Strategy joins EU Member states and non-EU Member states working together as equal partners. In this process, cooperation is not only one of the main objectives but is a means to achieve the Strategy’s aims. Cooperation cannot take place without communication.
Between 19 and 22 April Module I of EUSAIR Communication Academy took place online. On the first two days, it was attended by 50 participants: government communicators from EUSAIR states and EUSAIR key implementers. On the following two days, it was attended by a group of 25 youth participants from the EUSAIR countries that share an interest in EUSAIR and macroregional cooperation and strive to improve their communication skills. Each day the participants attended several different workshops and trainings focused on the foundations of communication. They learned about key aspects of communication, the main principles of good internal communication, the importance of digital communication, the difference between traditional media tools and new media tools and much more.
The Academy will continue with online Module II in the last week of May and conclude with an in-person training in October.
11. 4. 2022 | PR
Photo by Urša Rahne
Last Friday, on 8 April, the Executive Director of the Centre for European Perspective (CEP) Katja Geršak actively participated in an expert panel on European Cooperation in the Western Balkans (WB). The panel was part of a working seminar, organized within the scope of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union and with the help of the French Embassy in Slovenia, it was done in cooperation with the Centre of Excellence in Finance (CEF) in Ljubljana.
The panel was organized as part of the preparation for the Conference on Western Balkans in June 2022. It was organized for the diplomatic community – ambassadors from EU member states and from WB countries. Panelists presented their activities implemented in the region which was proceeded by a discussion on possible ways to enhance regional cooperation and cooperation of EU stakeholders to help advance development and EU integration in the region.
Concrete experiences of EU-Western Balkans cooperation were presented by three panelists from three organizations:
- Francesco Ferrero from European Investment Bank (EIB)
- Jana Repanšek, executive director of CEF
- Katja Geršak, executive director of CEP
CEP has been traditionally present in the region with its development cooperation projects. Currently, it is providing support to North Macedonia in the EU accession process, more specifically in the field of financial investigations and communication in the negotiation process. At the same time, it is enhancing the capacity to better manage border patrols in Serbia. Some other flagship projects in the region, supported by various other donors, include European Digital Diplomacy Exchange and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in WB. Last but not least, Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC), working within the scope of CEP, provides training for personnel deployed to peacekeeping missions and operations and shares know-how in the WB region as well.
CEP plans to continue to implement development cooperation projects with the help of all relevant stakeholders.
