The Diplomat
Within the framework of the international information campaign #BreakTheFake, last Wednesday was held at Universidad Nebrija in Madrid the conference Counteracting disinformation and building social resilience in the face of informational challenges.
With the cooperation of the Ukrainian Embassy, the event was organized on the initiative of the NGO “Communities Army of Ukraine” and the NGO “Development Projects Platform ‘Prioritet”, with the support of the International Foundation “Renaissance” and also in cooperation with Universidad de Nebrija and the Monitor Disinfo association.
The conference became an important platform for discussing current challenges in the information space, in particular the impact of Russian disinformation campaigns on EU countries, Exchange experiences and develop effective approaches to counter disinformation and strengthen the resilience of democratic societies to information threats.
The Ukrainian ambassador, Serhii Pohorelsev, noted during his speech that: “Russia has turned disinformation into a strategic weapon directed not only against Ukraine but also against democratic societies. Its aim is to manipulate perceptions, sow division and weaken international support for Ukraine. International cooperation is key to countering propaganda, addressing these threats and strengthening the resilience of our societies”.
Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, of the Diplomatic Corps were present among the participants in the debate, including the Ambassador of Estonia, the Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of Poland, the military attaché of the Embassy of Argentina and the spokesman of the German Embassy, academics, leading analysts from Ukraine and Spain, experts in information security and hybrid threats, misinformation investigators, Verification of facts and digital issues, journalists and students.
The speakers who participated in the event were: Olena Onda, co-founder of the NGO “PPD””, for her presentation of the #BreakTheFake campaign against Russian disinformation in the EU; Valeriia Stepaniuk, Acting Director of VoxCheck (VoxUkraine); Alina Yurii, Senior Analyst at the Centre to Combat Misinformation; Mykola Balaban, Deputy Director of the Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security in Ukraine.
In parallel with the conference, an exhibition of paintings by the Ukrainian artist Iryna Nosok is presented at the university, which became a cultural complement to the event and allowed to feel more deeply the voice of Ukraine through art.
