Centre for Europe of University of Warsaw (Centrum Europejskie UW) and Centre for International Relations invite you to a webinar 👉 „Critical thinking – the best fact-checking tool of XXI century. How to use it efficiently?”. 🔹 The webinar is part of a project entitled “Polish Experience in Combating Disinformation – Inspirations for the Western Balkans”. This is a public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the grant competition “Public Diplomacy 2023”.

Our guests are:
➡️ Aditi Bhaduri, Journalist, media & foreign policy researcher
➡️ Vít Novotný, Senior Research Officer, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

The webinar is moderated by Bruno Surdel, PhD, Senior Analyst, Centre for International Relations.

On 18 October 2023 a scientific conference entitled “Polish Experience in Combating Disinformation – Inspirations for the Western Balkans” was held. The event took place in Podgorica at the University Donja Gorica in the largest and representative international auditorium.

This conference was one of the elements of the project entitled “Polish Experience in Combating Disinformation – Inspirations for the Western Balkans” as part of the grant received by the University of Warsaw (Centre for Europe), implemented as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland grant competition “Public Diplomacy 2023” (in the amount of PLN 150,000).

The main goal of the conference was to show Russian propaganda in Europe, Poland and the Balkans and to counteract Russian disinformation related to the war in Ukraine, including defamation of Poland. An important element of the conference was the unmasking and analysis of Russia’s disinformation activity in relation to the hostilities in Ukraine carried out in the Western Balkan countries, especially in Montenegro and North Macedonia, as well as in Poland.

In addition to the main organizer of the project from Poland (CE UW), the main foreign institutional partner was the University Donja Gorica in Podgorica (Faculty of Humanities). The other institutional partners were: The Atlantic Council of Montenegro, the Center for Democratic Transition (Montenegro), the Pan-European Union of Montenegro, the Center for International Relations (Poland), the University of “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” Skopje, Institute for Research and European Studies (North Macedonia). Information was also provided that the official carrier of Polish guests to the conference is PLL LOT.

The conference opened at 10.00 by prof. Milica Vukotić – Vice-Rector of the University Donja Gorica in Podgorica, then the following people spoke: prof. Mehmedin Tahirovic from UDG, main coordinator of the event on the Montenegrin side, Ph.D. Małgorzata Łakota-Micker, Consul of the Republic of Poland in Montenegro and dr hab. Kamil Zajączkowski, Director of the Centre for Europe. There were about 120 people at the conference in the first part, then about 50-60.

Director Kamil Zajączkowski outlined the main goals of the financial project by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is primarily about strengthening Poland’s position as a leader in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and South-Eastern Europe and as a reliable partner and European ally of the Balkan countries. As noted by Dr. Hab. Zajączkowski, it is in Poland’s vital interest to fully include the Balkan states in the Euro-Atlantic structures, as it will be a chance to stabilize this extremely conflict-prone region. The absorption of the entire Balkans into the Euro-Atlantic structures will also mean the complete exclusion of this region from Russian influence. This is especially important in the situation of resurgent Russian imperialism. The Director of CE UW also pointed out that building a platform of cooperation between Poland and selected Western Balkan countries based on influential academic, journalistic and non-governmental communities will be important in shaping a positive image of Poland in the region.

Then, three substantive panels of the conference were held, titled: Global insecurity and challenges in the world; The War in Ukraine and Disinformation in the Balkans and in Poland; Poland and the Balkans – fighting disinformation together. The conference participants included representatives of Polish universities and non-governmental organizations (University of Warsaw, Center for International Relations) as well as academic representatives and activists of non-governmental organizations from Montenegro. In the speeches of Dr. Bruno Surdel and Adrianna Śniadowska, the emphasis was placed on the analysis of the Kremlin’s actions aimed at discrediting Polish projects in the field of nuclear and renewable energy and on promoting Polish methods of fighting disinformation.

After the conference, a workshop was held with representatives of Montenegrin partners (Donja Gorica University in Podgorica; The Atlantic Council of Montenegro, Center for Democratic Transition (Montenegro), the Pan-European Union of Montenegro) as well as the University of Warsaw, CSM and the Consul of the Republic of Poland. They discussed how to fight Russian disinformation, how to create joint educational programs in this area and how to strengthen institutional cooperation, both in the fight against disinformation and, more broadly, scientific cooperation.

On 6 November 2023 in Bitola, in the beautifully restored Officers’ Palace (House of Army), a one-day international conference entitled “Cauldron in the East, cauldron in the South? Challenges for security and stability in Europe” was held. This conference was one of the elements of the project entitled Polish Experience in Combating Disinformation – Inspirations for the Western Balkans as part of the grant received by the University of Warsaw (European Center) as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland grant competition “Public Diplomacy 2023” (in the amount of PLN 150,000).

The main goal of the conference was to show Russian propaganda in Europe, Poland and the Balkans. An important element of the conference was the unmasking and analysis of Russia’s disinformation activity in relation to the hostilities in Ukraine carried out in the Western Balkan countries, especially in Montenegro and North Macedonia, as well as in Poland. The organizers took care of information and promotion regarding the financing of the project by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both graphically (clear information on multimedia presentations) and in their oral presentations. It was emphasized that this is: Public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the grant competition “Public Diplomacy 2023”. This information was accompanied by the logo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Apart from the main organizer of the project from Poland (i.e. CE UW), the main foreign institutional partner of the conference was the University “St. Kliment Ohridski” – Bitola (North Macedonia). The other institutional partners were: University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius” Skopje, University Donja Gorica in Podgorica, The Atlantic Council of Montenegro, Center for Democratic Transition (Montenegro), the Pan-European Union of Montenegro, Center for International Relations (Poland). The official carrier of Polish guests to the conference was LOT Polish Airlines.

The conference opened at 9.15 by prof. Sasho Korunovski – Rector of the University “St. Kliment Ohridski” – Bitola, then the following people spoke: Dr. Toni Konjanovski – Mayor of Bitola; Mrs. Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojcevska – Minister of Culture of North Macedonia; Mr. Krzysztof Grzelczyk – Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in North Macedonia; dr hab. Kamil Zajączkowski – director of Centre for Europe UW and prof. Goran Ilik – Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs of the University “St. Kliment Ohridski” – Bitola. There were about 110 people at the conference in the first part, then about 50.

Ph.D. Kamil Zajączkowski outlined the main goals of the financial project by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is primarily about strengthening Poland’s position in the Western Balkans region as a reliable partner and European ally of the Balkan countries. As noted by Dr. Hab. Zajączkowski, accepting the entire Balkans into the Euro-Atlantic structures will mean the complete exclusion of this region from Russian influence.

Then, three substantive conference panels were held, titled:

The European Union and the Balkan States in the Face of Global Security Challenges; Challenges related to Russian disinformation activities – Polish and Balkan experiences; Challenges related to Russian disinformation activities – Polish and Balkan experiences.

The conference was recorded and will be made available on the social media channels of all project partners. Appropriate information about the event was published in the Macedonian media.

In the evening, there was a networking meeting for project participants from Poland, North Macedonia and Montenegro. The current status of the project implementation was discussed.

On November 7 this year workshops were held as part of the grant for students and employees of the university in Bitola at the UKLO Student Information Center. The workshops were led by Dr. Bruno Surdel and Agnieszka Ostrowska, M.A. They concerned the following issues: Countering Kremlin’s Disinformation on Poland’s Energy Projects: A Practical Guide; Fake news, deepfake and use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in creating false information: how can we distinguish true from false?

Approximately 30 people participated in the workshop. An attendance list was prepared. The audience included students, academic staff and members of NGOs. Both workshops met with great interest from the listeners, several questions were asked and an interesting discussion ensued, which had a seminar character. Macedonian participants expressed interest in Polish affairs and related them to the problems of their country.

The meeting was summed up by prof. Goran Ilik, Vice-Rector of the University “St. Kliment Ohridski” of Universta–Bitola, emphasizing the importance of the project for cooperation and creating a positive image of Poland in North Macedonia and expressing satisfaction that the grant will be continued.

On the evening of 7 February 2023 the Polish delegation from the University of Warsaw and the CSM took part in the ceremonial Chopin concert, which took place for the 30th time in Bitola at the Officers’ Palace (House of Army). The concert was co-organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in North Macedonia, with the participation of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland.

On November 28, 2023 a one-day international conference was held in Warsaw, in the Column Hall of the University of Warsaw. The conference was organized by the Centre for Europe of the University of Warsaw (CE UW) and was a public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in the “Public Diplomacy 2023” competition. The conference summarized the implementation of the grant. The event also co-financed by the internal grant system of the University of Warsaw under Measure IV.3.1 financed by the “Excellence Initiative – Research University (IDUB)” program.

It was the third part of the conference, the first one took place in Podgorica on October 18 this year and November 6 this year. in Bitola. The main foreign partner of the conference was the University of St. Kliment Ohridski” in Bitola, North Macedonia (the best Macedonian university) and the largest private university in Montenegro, the University of Donja Gorica, being part of the Arizona State University network. Other Balkan entities included: Atlantic Council of Montenegro, Montenegrin Pan-European Union NGO, Centar za democrasku tranziciju; Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research at the University of “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje. From Poland, the main entities cooperating with CE UW were: the Center for International Relations and WNPiSM UW. This conference, apart from summarizing the MFA project, was intended to contribute to deepening research relations between the University of Warsaw and universities from the Western Balkans in the context of future MFA projects.

The conference was started at 9.15 by Director of the Center for Europe, dr hab. Kamil Zajączkowski, who welcomed all guests on behalf of himself and the Vice-Rector of the University of Warsaw for cooperation and employee affairs, prof. Dr. hab. Sambor Grucza (who had to urgently replace the Rector of the University of Warsaw in other duties, hence his absence at the beginning of the conference). Then the following speakers: Deputy Director of the Department of European Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Rafał Domisiewicz; Vice-Rector for Science of the University “St. Kliment Ohridski” – Bitola, prof. Goran Ilik and prof. Mehmedin Tahirovic from the University of Donja Gorica.

In their speeches at the beginning of the conference, the CE Director and both guests from the Balkans emphasized the importance of scientific, research and teaching cooperation between Poland and the Balkan countries. The need to build a network of academic network was indicated, which would enable the preparation and application for joint grants that would result in conferences, seminars and publications. Director Kamil Zajączkowski also outlined the main goals of the current financial project by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointing out that the key goal is primarily to strengthen Poland’s position as a leader in the region and to present Poland as a reliable partner and European ally of the Balkan countries. As noted by Dr. Hab. Zajączkowski, it is in Poland’s vital interest to fully include the Balkan states in the Euro-Atlantic structures, as it will be a chance to stabilize this extremely conflict-prone region. The absorption of the entire Balkans into the Euro-Atlantic structures will also mean the complete exclusion of this region from Russian influence. This is especially important in the situation of resurgent Russian imperialism. The Director of CE UW also noted that building a platform of cooperation between Poland and selected Western Balkan countries based on influential academic, journalistic and non-governmental communities will be important in the fight against Russian disinformation in the region. In his speech, Director Domisiewicz referred to Russian aggression against Ukraine and the future accession of the Balkan countries to the EU. He pointed out that this is certainly a turning point in shaping the new world order and international order in Europe. He emphasized the threat emanating from Russia to both Poland and the Balkan region, where Russian influence is still strong. Undoubtedly, Poland’s active role in this region may contribute to limiting Russia’s influence and interference in the internal affairs of the Balkan countries.

Then, three substantive conference panels were held, titled:

– Panel 1 Russian disinformation and war in Ukraine – fake news in Poland and the Balkans,

– Panel 2 Balkan experience in fighting disinformation,

– Panel 3 Disinformation and fake news in Polish public space.

It is worth noting that the conference was attended by as many as 8 researchers from Montenegro (4 people) and North Macedonia (4 people).