“Countering Information War – Lessons Learned from NATO and Partner Countries”
Expert Workshop in Tbilisi September 27 – 28, 2016
Venue: NATO Liaison Office in Georgia, Tsinamdzgvrishvili street No. 162
DAY 0, MONDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER Arrival of participants 20:00 – 23:00 WELCOME DINNER (IN THE SHADOW OF METEKHI, 29A QUEEN KETEVAN AVE)
DAY 1, TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER
9:30 – 10:00 REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS
10:00 – 10:30 OFFICIAL OPENING
KETEVAN CHACHAVA, Director, Information Center on NATO and EU, Georgia WILLIAM LAHUE, Head of the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia/ NATO Liaison Officer in South Caucasus, Georgia DANIEL MILO, Head of Strategic Communication Initiative, GLOBSEC Policy Institute, Slovak Republic
10:30 – 11:30 SESSION 1: CONVENTIONAL WAR: INTERNATIONAL CONTROL OF NARRATIVE
What are the lessons learned from recent armed conflicts when it comes to their information war components? How was propaganda used to influence the perception of good and evil in the armed conflict by the public at the national and international levels? What needs to be done to improve our resilience from illicit propaganda narratives, especially in the early phases of the armed conflict?
COLONEL AIVAR JAESKI, Deputy Director, NATO Center of Excellence for Strategic Communication in Riga, Latvia TORNIKE NOZADZE, Head of the Strategic Communication Department, State Ministry of Georgia for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Led by: BRIAN WHITMORE, Senior Russia Analyst, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Prague
11:30 – 12:00 COFFEE BREAK
12:00 – 13:30 SESSION 2: PROPAGANDA: OLD CONCEPT, NEW METHODS
The West was able to resist the communist propaganda for decades. What remained the same and what has changed in terms of information war methods since the Cold War period? Are we more vulnerable now than before? What needs to be done to improve our resilience in the „peace-time“?
YEVHEN FEDCHENKO, Director, StopFake.org, Ukraine ELENA MARZAC, Director, NATO Information and Documentation Centre, Moldova Led by: IRAKLI PORCHKHIDZE, Vice President, Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies, Georgia
13:30 – 14:45 LUNCH
14:45 – 16:15 SESSION 3: STRATEGIC CORRUPTION: ILLICIT MEANS OF INFLUENCING POLICY-MAKERS
Individual decisions of the official representatives make the difference in the defence of a democratic society. What are the tools employed by the intelligence agencies to corrupt decision-makers in the democratic countries? What are the best practices developed in the democratic world to minimize their destructive influence? What needs to be done at the national and alliance levels to cope with the problem of strategic corruption?
EKA GIGAURI, Executive Director, Transparency International, Georgia FILIP DJURANOVIĆ, Director, Communication Team of Governmental Office, Montenegro Led by: MILAN NIČ, Head of the European Programme, GLOBSEC Policy Institute, Slovak Republic
16:15 – 16:45 COFFEE BREAK
16:45 – 18:15 SESSION 4: EDUCATION: INCREASING RESILIENCE OF THE SOCIETY
What are the functions of the information war when it comes to influencing of the public opinion? How can the state immunize the citizenry through formal and informal education? What should be the role for our education systems in the 21st century? What should be taught in schools in order to prevent young people from falling into the trap of extremist ideologies or conspiracy theories? How can the state raise the new generation of democratic patriots?
YURIY LADYSLAVOVYCH BOSHYTSKY, Rector, Kyiv University of Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine IRINA ABULADZE, Project Manager, Millennium Challenge Account - Georgia “Trainer Educators for Excellence" National Centre for Teachers Professional Development Led by: HOVHANNES NIKOGHOSYAN, Adjunct Lecturer, Political Science and International Affairs, American University of Armenia
20:30 – 23:00 DINNER
DAY 2, WEDNESDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER
09:30 – 10:00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: INTERNATIONAL INFO-WARS IN THE PERIOD OF TERRITORIAL CONFLICTS: LESSONS LEARNED
KETEVAN TSIKHELASHVILI, State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equalities, Georgia
10:00 – 11:30 SESSION 5: JOINT CAPABILITIES: WHAT ROLE FOR NATO?
How does NATO defend itself in the information war? What are the weaknesses in the information defence? Is NATO communicating effectively to the public in its member states and partner countries? What are the needed synergies between the HQ and the institutions in national capitals? How should NATO prepare for high-intensity information warfare in the world of social media?
WILLIAM LAHUE, Head of the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia/ NATO Liaison Officer in South Caucasus, Georgia IRAKLI ALASANIA, Former Minister of Defence of Georgia Led by: NODAR KHARSHILADZE, Senior Fellow, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, Georgia
11:30 – 12:00 COFFEE BREAK
12:00 – 13:30 SESSION 6: RADICALIZATION AND FOREIGN FIGHTERS: THREAT WITH NO BORDERS
What are the trends in radicalisation of the Western population? What are the potential consequences of extremism and radicalisation for democratic societies? What are the lessons learned from countries where this phenomenon is the most accurate? What are the best practices in solving the problem of foreign fighters? What shall be done at the NATO level and what by the member and partner countries?
OLIVIER DE FRANCE, Research Director, The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, France JEANINE DE ROY VAN ZUIJDEWIJN, Research Fellow, The Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Netherlands Led by: DANIEL MILO, Head of Strategic Communication Initiative, GLOBSEC Policy Institute, Slovak Republic
13:30 – 14:00 CLOSING OF THE WORKSHOP AND SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
MILAN NIČ, Head of the European Programme, GLOBSEC Policy Institute, Slovakia
14:00 – 15:00 LUNCH
20:00 – 23:00 DINNER
Participants:
ALEX PETRIASHVILI, Secretary General, „Free Democrats“ Political Party, Georgia
AMB. RUDOLF MICHALKA, Ambassador of Slovakia to Georgia ANA NIORADZE, Programme Assistant, NATO – Georgia Professional Development Programme, Georgia ANDREA KEERBS, Regional Director, International Republican Institute, Georgia EREKLE SHUBITIDZE, International Communication Division, Strategic Communication Department, Ministry of Defence of Georgia GIORGI MOLODINI, Head of Stratcom Department, Ministry of Defence of Georgia
GIORGI VARDISHVILI, National Expert, Office of the EU Special Representative for South Caucasus – Tbilisi Office ILIA KOBERIDZE, Head of Stratcom Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia INNA KUZNETSOVA, Chief Editor of the Kyiv Office, Radio Svoboda (RFE/RL), Ukraine
IRINA SHAMILADZE, Head of the NATO Unit, Information Center on NATO and EU, Georgia
IVANE CHKHIKVADZE, Civil Society Program Coordinator, Open Society Georgia Foundation, Georgia JAKUB JANDA, Deputy Director for Public and Political Affairs, European Values Think-Tank, Czech Republic
JÁN CINGEL, Research Fellow, GLOBSEC Policy Institute, Slovak Republic
JANA ŽILKOVÁ, Research Fellow, GLOBSEC Policy Institute, Slovak Republic
KETEVAN KUPRADZE, Chief Specialist, Information Center on NATO and EU, Georgia
KONSTANTIN OTKHMEZURI, Deputy Head of the Analytical Department, Ministry of Defence of Georgia
LELA LASAREISHVILI, Chief Specialist, Information Center on NATO and EU, Georgia, Secondee from the International Relations Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, NATO – Georgia Professional Development Programme, Georgia
LÓRÁNT GYÖRI, Analyst, Political Capital Institute, Hungary
MAGNUS GEIR EYJOLFSSON, Public Diplomacy Officer, NATO Liaison Office in Georgia
MARIAM DOLIDZE, Head of Public Affairs Division on EU, Information Center on NATO and EU, Georgia
MARIAM JAFARIDZE, Senior Specialist, Information Center on NATO and EU, Georgia
NINA MEZVRISHVILI, Head of Political and Planning Division, Strategic Communication Department, Ministry of Defence of Georgia NINI MAGRADZE-JANJGAVA, Chief Specialist, Information Center on NATO and EU, Georgia
NINO ROBAKIDZE, Program Manager, Transparency International Georgia
SANDRA KHADOURI, Senior Strategic Communication Advisor, NATO Substantive Package for Georgia SHORENA ZAKARIADZE, Main Specialist, NATO Integration Division, Ministry of Defence of Georgia
TAMAR KINTSURASHVILI, Media Development Fund, Georgia
TAMAR TCHITANAVA, Head of the NATO Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
TENGIZ PKHALADZE, Foreign and Security Policy Advisor of the President of Georgia
VANO PIRTSKHALAISHVILI, Department of Public Relations and Relations with International Organizations, Office of the National Security Council of Georgia
VEACESLAV BERBECA, Security Expert, IDIS Viitorul, Moldova
VIKTORIIA ROMANIUK, Head of Media Communications Program, Ukrainian Catholic University, Ukraine