Disinformation poses increasingly difficult challenges to European democracy and security, by targeting EU countries with a view to destabilizing and polarising their citizens. Central and Eastern Europe, and in particular Bulgaria, is especially vulnerable to disinformation narratives and with the upcoming European Parliament elections, those are expected to increase.
This Masterclass which ECAS will deliver as part of the ProEUValuesBG Project, will delve into strategies for understanding, countering, and effectively communicating to tackle disinformation.
Participants will gain insights into:
Examples of successful campaigns will be showcased, emphasizing positive communication strategies and effective disinformation countermeasures.
The masterclass will be highly interactive, encouraging participants to develop their own tailored campaigns suited to the Bulgarian landscape. It will be led by Maia Mazurkiewicz – an expert in combating disinformation and behavioural change with over 15 years of experience in political management, foreign affairs and communication, currently heading the Strategic Communications Unit in Alliance4EUrope.
In addition, participants will also hear from the European Commission on what the EU is doing to tackle disinformation, and gain perspective from a Slovenian CSO (Glad Ljudstva) which carried out an incredibly successful campaign prior to the elections in Slovenia in 2022.
8:45 – 9:00 Registration
9:00 – 9:10 Welcome address
Desislava Ivanova, Programme Director for Central and Eastern Europe, ECAS
9:10 – 9:30 Setting the scene: What is the EU doing on disinformation?
Martyna Bildziukiewicz, Head of East Stratcom Task Force, European External Action Service (tbc)
9:30 – 11:30 Capacity building exercise: How to counter disinformation and craft effective campaigns?
Maia Mazurkiewicz, Head of Strategic Communication, Alliance4Europe
11:30 – 11:45 Break
11:45 – 12:00 Perspectives from Slovenia: Challenges and opportunities in an election year
Filip Muki Dobranić, Glas Ljudstva
12:00 – 13:00 Tackling disinformation in Bulgaria: Presentation of anti-disinformation initiatives under the ProEUValuesBG “Action” fund and exchange of views with the guest speakers
13:00 – 14:00 Networking lunch
For further information, please contact desislava.ivanova@ecas.org
