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

U.S. Ambassador in Bulgaria

Gulsanna Mamediieva

Director General of Directorate for Eurointegration at Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine

Bozhidar Bozhanov

Minister of e-Government, Bulgaria

Elise Labott

Zivvy Media, Global Affairs Journalist Adjunct Professor, American University, United States

Tim Squirrell

Head of Communications, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UK

Oleksandra Matviychuk

Head of Center for Civil Liberties Ukraine, Ukraine

Andrew Hoskins

Interdisciplinary Professor of Global Security University of Glasgow, Founding Editor-in-Chief at Digital War, Scotland

Meirav Harel

Founder/CEO, MHfintechs, Israel

Emerson Brooking

Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council Digital Forensic Research Lab,United States

Samuel Woodhams

Digital Rights Lead, Top10VPN, United Kingdom

Veronika Boyko

Social direction chief in PR-department YouControl, IT-company that creates solutions based on open data, Ukraine

Christopher D. Karadjov

Associate Professor, California State University, Long Beach, United States

Alice Stollmeyer

Founder/Executive Director, Defend Democracy, Belgium

Vera Bergengruen

Vera Bergengruen, Political Correspondent, Time, United States

Tao Legene Thomsen

Creative Director of Innovation at Virtue, VICE Media, Denmark

Paulius Senuta

CEO, Not Perfect Companies, Lithuania

Melanie Garson

Cyber Policy Lead, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, United Kingdom

Luke James

Programme Director, Platform for Peace and Humanity, Slovakia

Laura Edelson

Ph.D Candidate, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, United States

Steven Feldstein

Senior Fellow, Carnegie Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, United States

Melaniya-Mariya Podolyak

Serhiy Prytula Foundation project coordinator, civic activist, YouTuber

Anastasiia Aharkova

Blogger, Ukraine

Yaroslava Sheremeta

Journalist, communication coordinator, Ukraine

Ruth Kronenburg

Executive Director, Free Press Unlimited, Netherlands

Oliver Large

Senior Policy Analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, U.K.

Charlotte Lindsey Curtet

Chief Public Policy Officer, CyberPeace Institute, Switzerland

Minhac Çelik

Founder, Ragusa Strategic Communication, Turkey

Pavel P. Antonov

Co-founder/Executive Editor, BlueLink.net, Bulgaria

Nikos Panagiotou

President, DCN Global, Greece

Aurra Kawanzaruwa

Manager, DCN Africa, Zimbabwe

Ashkhen Grigoryan

Executive Director, DCN Global, Armenia

Diana Filimon

DCN Global team member, Romania

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

Article by Kateryna Poliakova

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

Article by Bistra Nikolova

Participants

Alona Romaniuk

Founder of the fact-checking project "NotaEnota", Ukraine

Anna Bureiko

Author, broadcaster and reporter, Ukraine

Anna Mysyshyn

Co-founder and Director of the "Institute of Innovative Governance", Ukraine

Iryna Skyshliak

Journalist, communication manager, copywriter, SMM-manager, Ukraine

Yulia Ponomarenko

Marketing manager, Ukraine

Maria Grynevych

Editor-in-Chief, Socportal, Ukraine

Katerina Beli

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIST, GREECE

Denis Tahiri

Investigative journalist of the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism, Albania

Ion Bulgac

Young activist from the Republic of Moldova.

Jehona Hulaj

Journalist, Telegrafi.com, Kosovo

Leonardo Delfanti

Journalist, European Federation of Journalists, Italy

Márton Mészáros

K-Monitor team member, Hungary

Merxhan Daci

Journalist, Albania

Nicolae Tibrigan

Researcher, Romania

Petra Vrablicová

News reporter at RTVS, Slovakia

Sofocles Markides

Media & Communications Consultant, Cyprus

Tiko Tsomaia

Professor of journalism and communication, Georgia

Mîndruță Silvana

Journalist, Romania

Tomas Balčiūnas

Journalist, Lithuania

Oana Despa

Journalist, Romania

Ivo Ivanov Gudinov

Assistant and PhD student at the Institute of Robotics "St. Ap. and Ev. Matthew" Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria

Marija Vasilevska

Project Manager, Center for Social Innovation Blink 42-21, North Macedonia

David - Leonard Bularca

Journalism Student, Romania

Florin Râșteiu

Journalist, Gen, știri, Romania

Oana Brîndușe

Visual editor, Genstiri, Romania

Denisa Cotor

Social Media Manager, Gen, știri, Romania

Alexandra Clapa

Editor, Gen, știri, Romania

Cătălin Anghel

Journalism Student, Romania

Daria Oglan

Editor, Gen, Știri, Romania

Spyridoula Markou

Journalist/fact-checker, Ellinika Hoaxes, Greece

Mariia Shevchenko

Journalist, documentary film director, Ukraine

Oleksandra Ochman

Media manager, CNN journalist, Ukraine

Liepa Želnienė

Journalist, Lithuania

Salpi Ozgur

Program Director of 3H Movement, Blogger, Turkey

Olena Yabchanka

Creator of the "100__museums"

Olga Smolyarchuk

Communication manager and graphic designer, Ukraine

Sylwia Czubkowska

Lead Editor Spider'sWeb+, Poland