Ukraine’s lessons: Fighting disinformation and defending democracy
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Debate ahead of the Inteational Democracy Day
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Wednesday,9/13/2025,16h00-20h00
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at the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation (HBS),Schumannstr. 8,10117 Berlin
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Ukrainian citizen groups are one of the main drivers of democratic change in Ukraine. In a context where parts of the state are corrupt or weak,citizens have stepped in to ensure transparency and progress of reforms,increase public awareness and sensitivity to disinformation. The Ukrainian civil groups proved they are fast and flexible to respond to the disruption of a deep crisis. But is their approach sustainable? Can they maintain the momentum?Citizen groups work to build a transparent state and a democratic society while informational aggression is one of the main battlefields of the conflict with Russia. How do civil groups deal with this challenge? How do they respond to measures like the President’s recent ban of popular Russia websites and social networks? What are the main lessons leaed and can they guide other countries in fighting disinformation,particularly during election period? Can Ukraine’s experience inspire EU citizens in a context where democracy has become under pressure?
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Programme
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15h30-16h00 Registration and coffee/tea
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16h00-16h20 Opening remarks
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Rostyslav Ogryzko,Minister-Counsellor of the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany
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Ellen Ueberschär,President Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
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Michael Meyer-Resende,DRI Executive Director
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16h20-18h00 Panel I: Old lies,new approach –fighting fake news in Ukraine
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Yevhen Fedchenko,Co-founder of StopFake.org and Head of Joualism School at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy
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Dmytro Zolotukhin,Deputy Minister,Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine
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Tetiana Popova,Senior Strategy Communication Expert,NGO Information Security
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18h15-19h45 Panel II: Civil society in Ukraine – its success story and future
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Andrey Kurkov,Ukraine novelist and independent thinker
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Susann Worschech,Research associate at the European University Viadrina
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Oleg Rybachuk,Founder of Centre UA,New Citizen Public Campaign and the Civil Movement “Chesno”
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Andreas Prothmann,Head of the Ukraine Task Force,Federal Foreign Office
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Moderator: Matthew Kaitschnig,POLITICO’s chief Europe correspondent
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Language: English with simultaneous translation into German
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Cocktail reception and screening of Tim White’s documentary “Nothing but Lies: Fighting Fake News” (25 min,English)
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We hope you can join us! To confirm your participation please RSVP by Monday 11 September