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War in the Digital Age

Hybrid Forum

About the Forum

Previous wars have been broadcast on the radio and TV, but Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 provide a two-way communication channel with a global reach. Winning the info-war, locally and globally, is increasingly part of strategizing. In Ukraine, Web 2.0 tools are amplified and magnified, not by armies of trolls, but by real people joining forces to resist the occupation and its disastrous consequences. Web 3.0 plays a visible role as cryptocurrencies are used to increase donations, meanwhile the same Fintech instruments can facilitate sanction avoidance. Digital technologies transform the way wars are fought, population support is provided, information and awareness are handled, and disruption contained. Questions addressed during the event include:

 

  • How does this digital info-war differ from previous ones?
  • How do social media platforms help silence and expose Putin’s propaganda machine?
  • What are the mechanisms of combating censorship that have been used and refined during the crisis?
  • Why is Zelensky’s communication strategy so effective at portraying him as a major leader and influencer?
  • What is the Ukrainian IT army and how does digital citizen activism resist the Russian army of trolls?
  • Are combating disinformation efforts successful? How are the big IT companies doing in combating disinformation?

Watch Day 2:

 

 

Watch Day 1: 

 

 

Speakers

Herro Mustafa
Herro Mustafa
U.S. Ambassador in Bulgaria
Gulsanna Mamediieva
Gulsanna Mamediieva
Director General of Directorate for Eurointegration at Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
Bozhidar Bozhanov
Bozhidar Bozhanov
Minister of e-Government, Bulgaria
Elise Labott
Elise Labott
Zivvy Media, Global Affairs Journalist Adjunct Professor, American University, United States
Tim Squirrell
Tim Squirrell
Head of Communications, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UK
Oleksandra Matviychuk
Oleksandra Matviychuk
Head of Center for Civil Liberties Ukraine, Ukraine
Andrew Hoskins
Andrew Hoskins
Interdisciplinary Professor of Global Security University of Glasgow, Founding Editor-in-Chief at Digital War, Scotland
Meirav Harel
Meirav Harel
Founder/CEO, MHfintechs, Israel
Emerson Brooking
Emerson Brooking
Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council Digital Forensic Research Lab,United States
Samuel Woodhams
Samuel Woodhams
Digital Rights Lead, Top10VPN, United Kingdom
Veronika Boyko
Veronika Boyko
Social direction chief in PR-department YouControl, IT-company that creates solutions based on open data, Ukraine
Christopher D. Karadjov
Christopher D. Karadjov
Associate Professor, California State University, Long Beach, United States
Alice Stollmeyer
Alice Stollmeyer
Founder/Executive Director, Defend Democracy, Belgium
Vera Bergengruen
Vera Bergengruen
Vera Bergengruen, Political Correspondent, Time, United States
Tao Legene Thomsen
Tao Legene Thomsen
Creative Director of Innovation at Virtue, VICE Media, Denmark
Paulius Senuta
Paulius Senuta
CEO, Not Perfect Companies, Lithuania
Melanie Garson
Melanie Garson
Cyber Policy Lead, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, United Kingdom
Luke James
Luke James
Programme Director, Platform for Peace and Humanity, Slovakia
Laura Edelson
Laura Edelson
Ph.D Candidate, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, United States
Steven Feldstein
Steven Feldstein
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, United States
Melaniya-Mariya Podolyak
Melaniya-Mariya Podolyak
Serhiy Prytula Foundation project coordinator, civic activist, YouTuber
Anastasiia Aharkova
Anastasiia Aharkova
Blogger, Ukraine
Yaroslava Sheremeta
Yaroslava Sheremeta
Journalist, communication coordinator, Ukraine
Ruth Kronenburg
Ruth Kronenburg
Executive Director, Free Press Unlimited, Netherlands
Oliver Large
Oliver Large
Senior Policy Analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, U.K.
Charlotte Lindsey Curtet
Charlotte Lindsey Curtet
Chief Public Policy Officer, CyberPeace Institute, Switzerland
Minhac Çelik
Minhac Çelik
Founder, Ragusa Strategic Communication, Turkey
Pavel P. Antonov
Pavel P. Antonov
Co-founder/Executive Editor, BlueLink.net, Bulgaria
Nikos Panagiotou
Nikos Panagiotou
President, DCN Global, Greece
Aurra Kawanzaruwa
Aurra Kawanzaruwa
Manager, DCN Africa, Zimbabwe
Ashkhen Grigoryan
Ashkhen Grigoryan
Executive Director, DCN Global, Armenia
Diana Filimon
Diana Filimon
DCN Global team member, Romania
Marianna Tanagia
Marianna Tanagia
Communications Director, DCN Global, Greece

Schedule | Day 1

Wednesday July 27

Digital Impact on the War in Ukraine 

  • 9:00: Official Introduction

    Muoderated by Professor Nikos Panagiotou, President of Digital Communication Network Global and Aurra Kawanzaruwa, Head, DCN Africa

  • 9:05: Moment of silence in the memory of Roman Ratushni Roman Ratushni, DCN Hub Member and anti-corruption activist who was executed by Russian forces in Izum, Kharkiv region and all other Ukrainian heroes who lost their lives during the war. Poem written in Roman’s honor by his father, read by Julia Reshitko, DCN Global’s Representative in Ukraine
  • 9:15: Introductory Talks (moderator Nikos Panagiotou) -The Honorable Bozhidar Bozhanov, Minister of e-Government, Bulgarian Government, Sofia, Bulgaria -The Honorable Herro Mustafa, U.S. Ambassador in Bulgaria
  • 9:45: How Digital Technologies are Impacting the War in Ukraine Presenter: Ioanna Georgia Eskiadi, Researcher, DCN Global and NATO 2030 Global Fellowship Program
  • 10:00: Inforwar in Ukraine Professor Nikos Panagiotou, President of Digital Communication Network Global moderates the panel
  • 10:05: The Frontlines of Disinformation: Russia’s War in Ukraine Presenter: Elise Labott, Founder/CEO @zivvymedia, Adjunct Professor, American University and Columnist, Foreign Policy Magazine, Washington DC, U.S.
  • 10:25: How Pro-Putin Narratives Continue to Reach Audiences Presenter: Tim Squirrell, Head of Communications & Editorial, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, London, U.K.
  • 10:45: Russia, Ukraine, and the Future of Information War Presenter: Emerson Brooking, Resident Senior Fellow, Digital Forensic Research Lab, Coauthor, Like War (a book exploring the intersection of social media, politics, and conflict)
  • 11:15: Coffee Break Coffee Break
  • 11:45: War Digital Footprint Aurra Kawanzaruwa moderates the panel
  • 11:55: Remembering and Forgetting the Open-Source War Presenter: Andrew Hoskins, Global Security Professor, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
  • 12:15: How can Open Data be a Weapon Against War Presenter: Veronika Boyko, Social Direction Chief, YouControl.com, Kyiv, Ukraine
  • 12:35: The Kremlin’s Propaganda Machine (research on Russian trolls in Bulgarian Social Media) Presenter: Christopher Karadjov, Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication, California State University, Long Beach, CA, U.S.
  • 12:55: How to Speak with Russians with an Aim to Build a Bridge and Change Their Minds Presenter: Paulius Senuta, CEO, Not Perfect Companies, Vilnius, Lithuania
  • 13:15 Lunch Break Lunch Break
  • 14:15: Digital Transformation During a War Moderator Nikos Panagiotou Introduces a virtual discussion about Digital Transformation During a War. Presenters: Gulsanna Mamediieva, Director General of Directorate for Eurointegration at Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
  • 14:40: Civil Society’s Response to the War Aurra Kawanzaruwa Introduces a panel on Civil Society’s Response to the War.
  • 14:45: Overcoming Digital Technology Obstacles and Censorship Internet censorship in Russia since the invasion, as well as censorship circumvention technologies adopted by citizens Presenter: Samuel Woodhams, Digital Rights Lead, Top10 VPN, London, U.K.
  • 15:05: Support and Solidarity with Civil Society in Ukraine Presenter: Pavel Antonov, Executive Editor/Co-founder, BlueLink Foundation, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • 15:25: Putting the action back into digital activism Backup Ukraine and the progressive potential of Extended Reality Tao Legend Thomsen, Creative Director, Innovation, VICE Media
  • 15:45: Coffee Break Coffee Break
  • 16:05: Supporting Independent Media in Ukraine (moderator Nikos Panagiotou) Presenter: Ruth Kronenburg, Executive Director, Free Press Unlimited, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 16:25: DCN’s Global Projects in Ukraine presentation Βy DCN leadership (Ashken Grigoyan, Diana Filimon, Marianna Tanagia) Moderator Nikos Panagiotou
  • 16:45 – 17:30: Pecha Kucha presentations and discussions (moderator Aurra Kawanzaruwa)

Schedule | Day 2

Thursday July 28

  • 9:00: Official Introduction Muoderated by Professor Nikos Panagiotou, President of Digital Communication Network Global and Aurra Kawanzaruwa, Head, DCN Africa
  • 9:10: Digital Influencers from Ukraine Fighting the Russian Aggression Discussion moderated by Yulia Reshitko, DCN Representative in Ukraine. Presenters: Anastasia Aharkova, high-school student; Yaroslava Sheremeta, IREX Ukraine; Melania Podolyak, Digital Influencer, YouTuber
  • 9:30: Defenses Against Cyber Attacks Introduction by Nikos Panagiotou
  • 9:35: The Cyber Attack Timeline of the War in Ukraine Charlotte Lindsey, Chief Public Policy Officer, CyberPeace Institute, Geneva, Switzerland
  • 9:55: Transformative Role of Digital Technologies Aurra Kawanzaruwa introduces the panel
  • 10:00: What the Ukraine War has taught us about the power of global tech companies? Presenter: Melanie Garson, Cyber Lead, Internet Policy Unit, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
  • 10:20: Cyber Enabled Disinformation Operations in the Ukraine War Minhac Celik, Founder, Ragusa Strategic Communication, Turkey
  • 10:40: Are we humans ready for digital technologies? The emotional aspects of disinformation as they apply to Russia's war on Ukraine Speaker: Alice Stollmeyer, Executive Director, Defend Democracy, Brussels, Belgium
  • 11:00 Discussion and Q&A
  • 11:30: Coffee Break Coffee Break
  • 11:50: Digital Technologies as a Game Changer Αurra Kawanzaruwa introduces a panel
  • 12:00: Ukraine is Inventing New Ways to Fight on the Digital Battlefield Vera Bergengruen, Washington Correspondent, TIME Magazine, Washington DC
  • 12:20: State of Resilience: What Lessons Should We Learn from Ukraine’s Digital Government and Its War Response Oliver Large, Senior Policy Analyst at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
  • 12:40: FinTech to the Rescue. Use of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies in Support of Ukrainians Presenter: Meirav Harel, Founder and CEO of MHfintechs, University Lecturer, College of Management, Member of Board of Directors of Excellence Trade, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • 13:00: Lunch Break
  • 14:00: Human Rights and Cultural Impact Nikos Panagiotou introduces a panel
  • 14:05: Using Digital Technologies to Uncover Human Rights Violations and Crimes in Ukraine Presenter: Oleksandra Matviychuk, Head of the Board, Center for Civil Liberties, Kyiv, Ukraine (virtual)
  • 14:25: Military information sharing by citizens in the digital environment: a loss of non-combatant status? Presenter: Luke James, Programme Director Platform for Peace and Humanity, Slovakia
  • 14:30: Q&A SESSION Q&A session and discussion with the speakers
  • 14:35: Truth as a Valuable Commodity Aurra Kawanzaruwa introduces the topic
  • 14:55: Defending against disinformation: Lessons on what worked (and what didn't) from the pandemic to the Russian invasion. Presenter: Laura Edelson, Co-founder of New York University Tandon’s Cybersecurity for Democracy, New York, New York
  • 15:15: What Technology Trends Have Emerged from the War in Ukraine? Are Authoritarians Still Winning the Digital Struggle? Presenter: Steven Feldstein, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program, Washington DC, U.S.
  • 15:35: Coffee Break Coffee Break
  • 15:55: Virtual Dialogue Aurra Kawanzaruwa in a virtual dialogue about the situation in Ukraine and what the future might hold with DCN exchange alumni (TBA) -Alya Shandra, Editor in Chief, Euromaidan Press
  • 16:15: Final Q&A and discussion Led by both moderators
  • 17:00 End of the program

Articles from selected participants

Share the Truths: How Ukrainian Civil Society Activists Combat Pro-Russian Propaganda
Share the Truths: How Ukrainian Civil Society Activists Combat Pro-Russian Propaganda
Article by Kateryna Poliakova
Ukraine: Digital War and the Generational Gap
Ukraine: Digital War and the Generational Gap
An article by Davit Karapetyan
THE KREMLIN'S HYBRID WARFARE AGAINST THE DEMOCRATIC WORLD – The Example of Bulgaria
THE KREMLIN'S HYBRID WARFARE AGAINST THE DEMOCRATIC WORLD – The Example of Bulgaria
Article by Bistra Nikolova

Participants

Alona Romaniuk
Alona Romaniuk
Founder of the fact-checking project "NotaEnota", Ukraine
Anna Bureiko
Anna Bureiko
Author, broadcaster and reporter, Ukraine
Anna Mysyshyn
Anna Mysyshyn
Co-founder and Director of the "Institute of Innovative Governance", Ukraine
Iryna Skyshliak
Iryna Skyshliak
Journalist, communication manager, copywriter, SMM-manager, Ukraine
Yulia Ponomarenko
Yulia Ponomarenko
Marketing manager, Ukraine
Maria Grynevych
Maria Grynevych
Editor-in-Chief, Socportal, Ukraine
Katerina Beli
Katerina Beli
COMMUNICATION STRATEGIST, GREECE
Denis Tahiri
Denis Tahiri
Investigative journalist of the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism, Albania
Ion Bulgac
Ion Bulgac
Young activist from the Republic of Moldova.
Jehona Hulaj
Jehona Hulaj
Journalist, Telegrafi.com, Kosovo
Leonardo Delfanti
Leonardo Delfanti
Journalist, European Federation of Journalists, Italy
Márton Mészáros
Márton Mészáros
K-Monitor team member, Hungary
Merxhan Daci 
Merxhan Daci 
Journalist, Albania
Nicolae Tibrigan
Nicolae Tibrigan
Researcher, Romania
Petra Vrablicová
Petra Vrablicová
News reporter at RTVS, Slovakia
Sofocles Markides
Sofocles Markides
Media & Communications Consultant, Cyprus
Tiko Tsomaia
Tiko Tsomaia
Professor of journalism and communication, Georgia
Mîndruță Silvana
Mîndruță Silvana
Journalist, Romania
Tomas Balčiūnas
Tomas Balčiūnas
Journalist, Lithuania
Oana Despa
Oana Despa
Journalist, Romania
Ivo Ivanov Gudinov
Ivo Ivanov Gudinov
Assistant and PhD student at the Institute of Robotics "St. Ap. and Ev. Matthew" Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria 
Marija Vasilevska
Marija Vasilevska
Project Manager, Center for Social Innovation Blink 42-21, North Macedonia
David - Leonard Bularca
David - Leonard Bularca
Journalism Student, Romania
Florin Râșteiu
Florin Râșteiu
Journalist, Gen, știri, Romania
Oana Brîndușe
Oana Brîndușe
Visual editor, Genstiri, Romania
Denisa Cotor
Denisa Cotor
Social Media Manager, Gen, știri, Romania
Alexandra Clapa
Alexandra Clapa
Editor, Gen, știri, Romania
Cătălin Anghel
Cătălin Anghel
Journalism Student, Romania
Daria Oglan
Daria Oglan
Editor, Gen, Știri, Romania
Spyridoula Markou
Spyridoula Markou
Journalist/fact-checker, Ellinika Hoaxes, Greece
Mariia Shevchenko
Mariia Shevchenko
Journalist, documentary film director, Ukraine
Oleksandra Ochman
Oleksandra Ochman
Media manager, CNN journalist, Ukraine
Liepa Želnienė
Liepa Želnienė
Journalist, Lithuania
Salpi Ozgur
Salpi Ozgur
Program Director of 3H Movement, Blogger, Turkey
Olena Yabchanka
Olena Yabchanka
Creator of the "100__museums"
Olga Smolyarchuk
Olga Smolyarchuk
Communication manager and graphic designer, Ukraine
Sylwia Czubkowska
Sylwia Czubkowska
Lead Editor Spider'sWeb+, Poland

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