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ANNOUNCEMENT
We are proud to announce the following candidates have accepted the offer and will attend the disinformation events in Bratislava and/or Brussels
Victor Spinu, Moldova; Bratislava, Brussels
Nikola Kandic, Bosnia and Hercegovina; Bratislava
Tatia Vakhtangadze, Georgia; Bratislava, Brussels
Mateusz Mielczarek, Poland; Bratislava
Jakub Suster, Slovakia; Bratislava
Marek Mach, Slovakia; Bratislava
Martin Nikolovski, North Macedonia; Brussels
Resul Resulaj, Albania; Brussels
Salome Mgeladze, Georgia; Brussels
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Represent your country in high-level expert events and share your country’s experience in the fight against disinformation campaigns. The events will contribute to international know-how sharing in order to ultimately mitigate the impact of disinformation campaigns with a special focus on countries particularly exposed to malign foreign influence.
Topic: Fighting Disinformation
Dates: October 6, 2022 (Bratislava) & October 24, 2022 (Brussels)
Location: Bratislava, Slovakia & Brussels, Belgium
Application deadline: Wednesday, August 31, 23:59 CET
Eligibility: All members and alumni with professional interest and expertise in the subject matter
Organized by: EDYN HQ
Partners: International Republican Institute, Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (TBC), and Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies (TBC)
Costs: All costs (including per diems) shall be covered by EDYN; however, no speaker honoraria will be awarded.
EDYN seeks to address the need for closer cooperation between national experts on countering disinformation by organizing a half-day event in Bratislava and Brussels. In both cities, the events will start with a closed-door expert roundtable and then be followed by a panel discussion open to the interested public and media, where experts will present case studies, exchange good practices, and share their experience and research regarding hybrid warfare. This will be followed up by the formulation of actionable recommendations to contribute to public capacity to counter disinformation in public life and develop a more resilient society. The events will comprise two activities:
Expert Roundtable
Experts will share experiences and good practices in combating disinformation with the aim to increase the capacity of state defense specialists against threats related to the spread of disinformation. The experts will formulate a list of recommendations based on good practices from particularly exposed countries. EDYN seeks to reinforce the establishment of networks and experience exchange among both young and experienced experts on disinformation.
Panel discussion and public diplomacy event
Experts will provide examples of good practices applicable to the wider public in the fight against disinformation campaigns. The event will be covered by a media partner and will be followed by a social event that same evening. The social event will present an opportunity for youth organizations, professionals, and the wider public to build connections and share knowledge with partners from countries that are on the front line of hybrid and/or total wars in our region.
The aim of the initiative is to:
- Exchange experiences among EU and non-EU experts in combating disinformation and experts from countries on the front line of hybrid and/or full military operations in our region.
- Inform the public about the threat of disinformation narratives, anchoring the topic within an international context.
- Identify key tools that (a) public institutions and (b) the general public can use to counter hybrid threats.
Who can apply:
- EDYN members and alumni with professional interest and expertise in the fight against disinformation with the capacity to contribute to high-level international discourse and research around the issue
- Candidates who can demonstrate the ability to prepare and present a case study regarding their country reflecting on a national disinformation campaign that was either effectively countered or – on the contrary – had a major negative impact on that country’s society. The presentation must objectively document measurable events, causalities, or other insights from the public discourse that can be used to derive useful findings, recommendations, and best practices.
- Candidates who can demonstrate the ability to ensure the participation of a high-level expert from their own country, who will accompany them on the trip to Bratislava and Brussels to establish connections and facilitate information exchange among national experts and security specialists in hybrid warfare.
Out of all the submitted applications, we will select 4 participants per event who will be asked to ensure the participation of a high-level expert from their country to accompany them on the trip to Bratislava/Brussels. All selected candidates and the accompanying national experts will be expected to actively participate in the expert roundtable and present their case studies in verbal as well as written form.
Candidates will be selected in the first half of September 2022 to allow for the necessary arrangements.
