FIMI as a global threat in a year of elections
Monday 14 October 2024, 09.00 -14.30
One Birdcage Walk, SW1H 9JJ London
08:30- 09:00 – Registration
09:00 – 09.15 - Welcome and opening remarks
Pedro Serrano, EU Ambassador to the UK
Irène Mingasson, Head of Unit, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), European Commission
Moderator: Jessica Cecil
09:15 – 10.15 - Session 1 – FIMI as a global threat to democracy
Speakers:
Filip Grzegorzewski, Head of Division, Information integrity and Countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, European External Action Service
Jonny Hall, Director, The Cyber, Information and Tech Threats Directorate, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Laura Brincourt, Deputy Head of the Coordination & Strategy Bureau, VIGINUM, France
Vukosava Crnjanski, Director, Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability
Kenddrick Chan, Head of Digital Int'l Relations project, LSE Ideas and Senior Policy Analyst (Geopolitics), Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
Q&A
10:15 – 10.30 tea/coffee break
10:30 – 11:00 - Session 2 - Lessons from Ukraine: countering FIMI, Russia’s key weapon of war
Speakers:
Daryna Harib, Centre for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine
Professor Andrew Wilson, Professor of Ukrainian Studies, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London
Q&A
11:00 – 12:00 - Session 3 – Building broader partnerships for collective responses
Speakers:
Justin Arenstein, Chief Executive, Code for Africa, African network for investigative journalism
Dr Joana de Deus Pereira, Senior Research Fellow, RUSI Europe
Tom Southern, Director of Special Projects, Centre for Information Resilience, UK
Q&A
12:00 - 12:15 tea/coffee break
12:15 – 13:15- Session 4 – Security implications from the evolving threat of FIMI
Speakers:
Margarita Akhvlediani, Programme Director, GO Group Media / JAMnews, Georgia
Carrie Goux, Acting Deputy Coordinator for Operations, Global Engagement Centre, U.S. Department of State
Dr. Nad’a Kovalčíková, Senior Analyst and CFI Project Director, EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
Sabrina Spieleder, Head of Information Environment Assessment, Public Diplomacy Division, NATO
Q&A
13:15- 13:30 – Closing remarks
Aude Maio-Coliche, Director, Strategic Communication and Foresight, European External Action Service
End of plenary proceedings
13:30 – 14:30 – Networking lunch provided by the EU-funded Countering Foreign Interference (CFI) project led by the EUISS
14:30 – 16:00 – Breakout session: Strengthening Cognitive Security - From Bias to Brain Warfare? Enhancing Cognitive Security Against Malign Actors
This closed-door session will focus on the topic of strengthening cognitive security, including the role of Artificial Intelligence and deep-fakes in disinformation, cognitive bias, and strategies to build resilience against foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). The session will be run by the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) under the Chatham House rule to facilitate an open exchange of ideas. To express interest, please indicate below.
Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom