We recently hosted the “Navigating Influence in the News Arena: Regional Conference on Exploring Tactics to Resist Disinformation and Influence” in Sarajevo on June 24-25, 2024. Organized in partnership with SEENPM, this event was connected with the POINT conference, broadening topics and offering enhanced networking opportunities with regional and global experts. The conference featured discussions on the impact of malign foreign influence and workshops on how to cover this topic in newsrooms. Thirty-six media professionals, CSO activists, fact-checkers and academics from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Hungary, Czechia, and the United Kingdom participated.
“The topics discussed at the event generated significant interest as they were highly relevant to the participants. We examined the issues related to foreign influence from various angles, emphasizing the distinction between natural influence and malign influence that seeks to undermine democratic institutions and erode public trust,” said Jaroslav Valůch, news literacy coordinator at Transitions.
SEENPM, the project’s lead partner, is a network of 19 media centers and institutes across 13 countries of Central and Southeastern Europe. The project is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy.
We also used the opportunity to announce the kickoff of a new project focused on media literacy for seniors. This project is a partnership with Media Centar Sarajevo (Bosnia), Montenegro Media Institute, and Media Literacy Coalition (Bulgaria). It aims to equip older adults with the skills to navigate today’s media landscape. This is another exciting development in our goal of uplifting this marginalized demographic, which is a tenet of our programs across the region.
Both events included sessions sharing valuable experiences and lessons learned from Czechia, which foster new ideas for research and training. This paves the way for innovative approaches to counter disinformation and malign influence, and enhance media literacy.