This Italian region now has Europe’s highest Tibetan bridge
It’s not for the faint-hearted
"Right to information and free speech: Disinformation in the age of digital media" took place on 18 April at New Bulgarian University
On 18 April, the Read Twice project held its first of several educational training seminars in Sofia, Bulgaria. The session was titled “The Right to Information and Freedom of Speech” and focused on building up media literacy skills and techniques for fighting disinformation.
The event was held at the New Bulgarian University and was open to students of all fields. It focused on sharing the experience of young media professionals who had participated in Read Twice’s capacity-building workshops in Berlin and Porto taught there by experts from Alliance4Europe, LUSOFONA University, Der Spiegel, Publico and Deutsche Welle among others.
Read Twice is a project funded by the EU’s C.E.R.V. programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values). Its goal is to tackle disinformation and limit the spread of fake news by enhancing citizens` skills to assess information critically, identify vicious and harmful media content and distinguish between facts and opinions.
In March, the project led 30 young media professionals from Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, three countries that rank among the lowest in terms of media literacy, according to the 2021 Media Literacy Index, to valuable capacity-building workshops in Porto and Berlin.
Now as part of the second project stage, the session at New Bulgarian University allowed the young professionals to transmit their newly-acquired knowledge to their peers. The focus was on the human rights aspect of the problem with disinformation, as the right to truth and freedom of speech and information forms the basis of a democratic society. Consequently, diminishing these rights diminishes the strength of any democracy, an opinion seconded by Joseph Borrel, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Additionally, the trainers also focused on the digital aspect of information, as well as all the new challenges of AI tools. As a counterpoint, they also showcased new digital techniques for fact-checking such as CrowdTangle, InVid and Public Editor.
The seminar covered a wide range of subjects related to disinformation, from the role human emotions and emotional manipulation play in the spread of fake news to the classic journalistic methods for fact-checking, as well as practical methods of distinguishing AI-generated images from real ones.
The lecturers included Yoana Nencheva, head of the Political Science Club in NBU, Teodora Stamenova, member of the Youth Council for the city of Sofia, Vanina Ninova, researcher at the Centre for European Refugees, Migration and Ethnic Studies, Roberta Koleva, anthropologist and freelance journalist, Valentin Aleksandrov and Mila Simeonova, students from Sofia University and Eneya Georgieva, editor at Forbes Bulgaria.
What are the reasons for that and are there any possible solutions for that problem?
Possibly making it the only legislature in the world with a religious temple on-site
It’s not for the faint-hearted
Presenting the next chapter in the Dutch capital’s ‘Stay Away’ campaign aimed at rowdy tourists
The City says this has become a necessity due to the increasing number of incidents involving these vehicles
That way you can notify a canal lock keeper to open the gates so the animals can swim through
The organizers had been considering different Parisian spots, but always with the idea of the flame being visible to the people
Electricity production in that Eastern European country will not release direct CO2 emissions anymore
Possibly making it the only legislature in the world with a religious temple on-site
This initiative is not just about making books more accessible – it has larger ambitions in its sights
We owe the unusual cultural icon to this country in Europe
The country’s capital has been a pioneer in crafting policy and initiatives to improve coexistence between people and pets
Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment.
Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements.
Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces
Catch up with some recommendations for the 2024 European Capital of Culture programme from the mayor of Tartu
An interview with the ICLEI regional director for Europe аfter the close of COP28
An interview with a member of the No Hate Speech Network team