I participated in the international conference “Cultural Diplomacy to Counter Disinformation,” which took place September 3-5, 2022, in Berlin. The program included lectures, workshops, and panel discussions among representatives of the Eastern Partnership/EaP countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine).
The conference covered the topics of cultural diplomacy, countering disinformation, and civil society education and echoed the following questions: What is meant by cultural diplomacy? How can diplomacy counter disinformation? How should countries help the voice of the truth to sound louder with the help of cultural heritage and diplomacy? Can culture be the speaking trumpet of dispropaganda? Given that today’s societies are more vulnerable to disinformation and propaganda, the conference’s combination of theoretical and practical components served as a good toolkit for putting this experience into practice in the settings of both the EaP and Southeast European countries.
The conference was organized and implemented by Berlin-based NGO CRISP with the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office and in a partnership with the Civil Society Cooperation Program.
I am grateful to my program and the Career Development Fund of the University of Glasgow for supporting my participation in the conference.
Mariam Gugulashvili, Georgia, cohort 2021–2023.