Building Online Resilient Communities to Disinformation Propaganda with a Focus on Gender Mainstreaming and Hybrid Threats via Cyberspace

Partnering with academia (Law faculty from University “Goce Delcev” – Shtip, -LF-UGD), Euro-Atlantic Council of Macedonia (EACM) and local CSO’s from Shtip, Struga and Sveti Nikole, from 01.11-28.12.2021, “Cyber Security, Corporate Security and Crisis Management Initiative – C3I” will instigate disinformation community resilience with a focus on gender mainstream through a highly dynamic and effectively managed collaborative set of activities. These activities designed to build capacities and raise awareness among local stakeholders as a method of change and impact will include:

1. One-day online kick-off workshop-WS aiming to build trust and cooperation between community-relevant stakeholders and increase awareness about the harmful effects of the disinformation campaigns with a focus on gender mainstreaming among key community personnel;
2. Two days of capacity building training designed to build capacities of academics, local CSOs, local authorities, admin personnel to deliver know-how against disinformation and propaganda type of activities with a focus on gender mainstreaming including other forms of hybrid threats via North Macedonian cyberspace;
3. Development of end-users’ friendly community-based disinformation safety protocol against disinformation and propaganda (produced through collaborative efforts by project’s consortium, trainees and graduate and postgraduate students);
4. Conduct and publish baseline study research and policy recommendations for national and local authorities to enhance community resilience against disinformation, propaganda with a focus on gender mainstreaming and other forms of hybrid-based threats via cyberspace and
5. Half-day promotional WS – to promote NATO PDD support and project outcomes.

The project will fulfill the following objectives:

1. Instigate community stakeholders’ (local authorities, CSOs, university professors, graduate and post-graduate students) collaborative engagement and trust against disinformation, propaganda and forms of hybrid threats via cyberspace;
2. Raise awareness among relevant community stakeholders’ personnel about the harmful effects that disinformation campaigns (with a specific focus on gender mainstreaming) can have on democracy and Euro-Atlantic agenda and values at the community level;
3. Raise awareness and build capacities – knowledge and understanding among graduate and postgraduate students, university professors and personnel, local CSO’s and local authorities to identify, report and reject disinformation, propaganda with a focus on gender mainstreaming and other hostile information activities as well as hybrid threats via cyberspace;
4. Conduct baseline study research and based on that produce policy recommendations for national and local authorities to enhance community resilience against disinformation, propaganda and other forms of hybrid-based threats via cyberspace and
5. Develop end-users friendly community-based disinformation safety protocol against disinformation and propaganda (produced through collaborative efforts by project consortium, trainees and graduate and postgraduate students).

Link from the project event in Stip: Building Online Resilient Communities to Disinformation Propaganda with a Focus on Gender Mainstreaming and Hybrid Threats via Cyberspace

Link from the project event in Strumica: Successfully accomplished two-day capacity building training

Link from the project research study: Toward community resilience against disinformation & propaganda with a focus on gender mainstreaming and forms of hybrid-based threats via cyberspace

Link: End-users’ friendly community-based disinformation safety protocol against disinformation and propaganda

Promotion videos

This project is supported by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division