VerityCon2023, the largest conference on freedom of expression in the Western Balkans, kicked off tonight in Tirana.

Organized under the auspices of the Western Balkans Fund, with the support of the Embassy of Japan to Albania and the International Visegrad Fund, VerityCon23 connects over 60 leading experts, journalists, civil society representatives, and policymakers from the WB Area, V4 countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia).

Welcoming the guests, the Executive Director of the Western Balkans Fund, Dr. Murra, underlined that: “For three days, this conference will serve as a platform for open discussions among many distinguished stakeholders, with an emphasis on fostering the right to freely express ideas in relation to combating false information, misleading content, and deliberate falsehoods, including impacts from external sources.”

For the full remarks, please check the previous article

Dr. Murra continued by underlining: “VerityCon2023 will attempt to address all these pressing issues and encourage open and honest discussion, brave and lucid ideas, and innovative and out-of-the-box solutions.”

The Ambassador of Japan to Albania, Mr. Takada, joined the stage. “I hope that you will have a productive and enjoyable time here. I would like to express my great thanks to Dr. Murra and the staff of WBF, and Petr Mares for putting this all together. This is our fifth project together and I appreciate the support you have lent to us.”

“VerityCon2023 will attempt to address all these pressing issues and encourage open and honest discussion, brave and lucid ideas, and innovative and out-of-the-box solutions

Gjergj Murra, Executive Director of the Western Balkans Fund

The Ambassador continued by saying: “The cooperation we have is very important in advancing the relation in the WB Region. This time, the Japanese government provided financial support for the project in the framework of the WB cooperative initiative launched by former Prime Minister Abe of Japan in January 2018. Today, almost two years since the start of the year in Ukraine, Russia’s disinformation campaign and proliferation of disinformation and misleading content are undermining the very fabric of our societies.”

According to H.E. Takada: “This issue becomes more complex in a region like Western Balkans, where conflicts have never been truly put to rest. I believe that the weaponization of information presents unique dangers, as it leaves behind a trail of confusion, turmoil, and division.”

This issue becomes more complex in a region like Western Balkans, where conflicts have never been truly put to rest. I believe that the weaponization of information presents unique dangers, as it leaves behind a trail of confusion, turmoil, and division.

H.E. Takada Mitsuyuki, Ambassador of Japan to Albania

The director of the International Visegrad Fund, Ambassador Mares, started by complimenting the Western Balkans Fund for the organization of this very important conference.

“This conference is an extremely important topic. A topic we all have to face together. It is the same problem here in the Western Balkans as it is in Japan, the US, Central Europe, etc. You are facing problems that are completely new now because of the efforts of powers to disinform, but because we are living under a new situation. Does truth mean to be right or to be wrong?”

It is the same problem here in the Western Balkans as it is in Japan, the US, Central Europe, etc. You are facing problems that are completely new now because of the efforts of powers to disinform, but because we are living under a new situation

Ambassador Petr Mares, Executive Director of the International Visegrad Fund to Albania

Closing the opening ceremony, Mr. Kastriot Robo, from the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, said: “I would like to reconfirm the deep commitment of Albania to strengthen the values of cooperation enshrined in the fundamental agreement of the establishment of the Fund.”

“I have to mention that disinformation and fake news are something that have always happened. However, what is new today is the intensity, the will, and the instrument used by third countries to advance their malign influences. War is not only about bombs but also about the mind of the people, how to conquer the understanding of the people. The first casualty of the war is the truth, and a clear example is the war in Ukraine and the recent conflict in Israel,” he added.

VerityCon2023, the largest conference on freedom of expression in the Western Balkans, kicked-off tonight in Tirana.

Organized under the auspices of the Western Balkans Fund, with the support of the Embassy of Japan to Albania and the International Visegrad Fund, VerityCon23 connects over 60 leading experts, journalists, civil society representatives and policymakers from the WB Area, V4 countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungari and Slovakia).

Welcoming the guests, the Executive Director of the Western Balkans Fund, Dr. Murra, underlined the importance of focusing on the truth and combating disinformation at every cost.

REMARKS OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GJERGJ MURRA, AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Honorable friend, Ambassador Takada,

Dear Petr

Excellencies, Ambassadors, and representatives of the diplomatic community,

Dear Friends,

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to the VerityCon23 International Conference, the largest conference of the year in our region, focusing on freedom of expression.

For three days, this conference will serve as a platform for open discussions among many distinguished stakeholders, with an emphasis on fostering the right to freely express ideas in relation to combating false information, misleading content, and deliberate falsehoods, including impacts from external sources.

VerityCon2023 will attempt to address all these pressing issues and encourage open and honest discussion, brave and lucid ideas, and innovative and out-of-the-box solutions.

I am confident that there has never been a better time to speak about the importance of the truth.

In the troubled time we are living in since the Russian Aggression in Ukraine, and due to the exponential rise of propaganda and the proliferation of fake narratives promoted often by third, malign entities, the need for true and verified information is not only obvious but vital.

This is exactly what we aim to do at this Conference. Explore and recommend new ways on how to best navigate the disinformation era.

Without going further, I would like to wholeheartedly thank the Embassy of Japan in Tirana and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for supporting our attempts to shape a better future, a future built on cooperation and reconciliation.

Special appreciation to Ambassador Takada, who is attending his last joint activity.

Dear Ambassador, the contribution Japan is giving toward the democratization and development of our region is greatly appreciated by all of us.

I am confident that the remarkable cooperation established during your tenure will continue to have long-lasting effects for many, many years to come.

Sincere appreciations to the International Visegrad Fund and the governments of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia for their support.

I would like to inform you that only half an hour before the start of this ceremony, the Western Balkans Fund and IVF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding, aiming to solidify a solid partnership started since the day of our existence.

I am confident that this document will be the basis of enhanced cooperation, bringing even more benefits to our stakeholders in the Western Balkans and the V4 countries.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank our founding fathers, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, for the ever-increasing support provided to our Fund.

Without taking much time, I would like to remind you that our advocacy events started back in 2019, with the Civil Society Summit.

Year after year, we have progressively done more and more, and 2023 is the first time that we will have two large international conferences within a year.

As a matter of fact, VerityCon follows the hugely successful Unstoppable Conference on women and leadership that took place earlier in February.

This is the best testimony to the continuous growth, not just of the Fund, but of the idea that we represent—the idea that cooperation lies at the foundation of change and the foundation of a better future.

Concluding my remarks, I would like to share my expectations for this conference through a famous quote from a Human Rights Prize winner, Vaclav Havel: “The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human responsibility.=zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzXXXxXxxzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I truly hope that through reflection and by taking more responsibilities to act decisively against misinformation, VerityCon will make a long and lasting contribution.

Thank you!

Over distinguished speakers, moderators and guests have confirmed their participation at the upcoming VerityCon23. At the Conference, we will ask and receive answers about:

What is 𝕯𝖎𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓?

How do We Understand 𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖕𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖆?

How do We Know That We Are Dealing with 𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖞 𝕿𝖍𝖊𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘?

How do We Spot 𝕻𝖘𝖊𝖚𝖉𝖔𝖘𝖈𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊?

How do We Know If It's 𝕮𝖑𝖎𝖈𝖐𝖇𝖆𝖎𝖙?

How do We Know If We Are Dealing with 𝕭𝖔𝖙𝖘?

How do We Know 𝕿𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖘?

How do We Spot 𝕸𝖆𝖓𝖎𝖕𝖚𝖑𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖉 Content?

How to 𝕍𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕗𝕪 an Image?

Taking place from November 14-16 at Plaza Maritim Hotel in Tirana, "VerityCon 23 - Navigating the Disinformation Era" is organized by the Western Balkans Fund and supported by the Embassy of Japan to Albania and the International Visegrad Fund.

This conference is designed to address the challenges posed by disinformation in modern media and will benefit from the insights and knowledge of leading experts in the field. For more, follow our dedicated VerityCon space at the Western Balkans Fund webpage.

𝐌𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐣𝐥𝐨 𝐋𝐚𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐯 | Bringing over two decades of extensive experience in research, media, and journalism, with a specialization in communications and media literacy.

Throughout his career, he has collaborated with a diverse range of teams, spanning from small local civil society organizations to prominent international institutions, including the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the German Development Agency (GIZ).

𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐢 𝐑𝐚𝐬̌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐜́ | An accomplished international relations expert with an extensive career that includes over a decade of service within the Ministry of the Interior of Montenegro. Currently, representing Podgorica at MARRI RC and Vice President of Women4Cyber Montenegro.

𝐀́𝐤𝐨𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐚́𝐭 | A graduate of Sciences Po Paris, the University of Strasbourg, the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and French School of Administration (ÉNA), Bence holds a vast experience as a lecturer, Member of the Cabinet of the President of the European Parliament and former political advisor at the Ministry of Justice of Hungary.

For 15 years I have been working as a journalist in the economy and business sector and for 7 years my work has been focused on investigation, in order to explore what happens in the economy, market’s manipulations, corruption and discover the schemes that big companies apply to get high profits by harming the consumers.

I completed my studies in Journalism at the University of Tirana with high marks and I have a scientific master's degree in the field of "Media Management" at the same university. During this years I was trained by dozens of international centers and organizations, among which I would mention the International Monetary Fund and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

I have worked as a journalist in the field of economic and business at RTV Ora News, then for five years in the same field at the Information Department at Vizion Plus television. My experience has continued in the Information Department at Klan Television for 5 years and then to Euronews Albania as business editor. Form two years I am producing an investigative show on MCN TV, focusing on economic and justice issues.

Since 2016, I am an external collaborator of the regional network Birn, and from 2020 an external associate of the international organization Transparency International. I was the author and officer of the standards implementation in several reports, such as "Grand Corruption Cases", " National Integrity System", etc. I have been engaged in several foreign projects supported by the EU and US embassies in Tirana, projects that essentially raise public awareness about media freedom or other sensitive areas such as money laundering, informality and the rule of law.

I am an engaged citizen who has reacted and protested in dozens of cases when the interests of the journalist community and free speech have been violated. Personally, I respect the principles of free speech as much as I appreciate the responsibility we must have for this right: not to lose its power by abusing it, not to harm innocent parties and serve to the public interest at our best in order to fulfil the purpose of our profession.

With an accumulated a wealth of experience spanning 17 years in the field of social policy, Ms Carovska has successfully implemented a variety of projects supported by esteemed international organizations such as UNDP, UNICEF, IPPF, OSF, REDI, GIZ, FES and UN Women.

A former Minister, founder and President of Macedonian Anti-Poverty Platform, fellow of German Marshal Fund and member of “Friend of Europe”, among many other accomplishment, Ms Carovska will explore among over 80 guests’ ways to navigate in the disinformation landscape in the Western Balkans.

Alec Klein is a consultant, bestselling author and award-winning investigative journalist formerly of the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. His groundbreaking investigations have uncovered a wide array of wrongdoing, leading to significant reforms, congressional hearings, changes in federal law, criminal convictions and more than half a billion dollars in government fines. His investigations have also helped set free many prisoners across the nation who were wrongfully convicted of murder and falsely accused of other crimes. Alec’s work has helped free several people who were unjustly sentenced to life in prison. And he has helped dozens of excessively sentenced prisoners gain their freedom and regain their lives through parole, commutations and pardons.