LAB 10 - The search for truth in a ‘post-truth’ world

7 November 2019 - 14.30-16.30 - ROOM 6 - Interpretation: FR/EN

Against the overflow of information citizens have started to gather and use more offline, real, face-to-face interaction. The goal is to be informed and construct an opinion by participating directly in the exchange of information. There is a whole new era of shared knowledge that exists outside of the traditional and digital spectrums. How can we foster and improve the exchange between citizens about their opinions? How to reconcile traditional medias and digital medias?

initiative 1

Democracy Accelerator, Finland

Democracy Accelerator develops democratic innovations to create a more inclusive, participatory and informed society. In the Constructive Journalism Initiative, we organize public meetings, in which the participants discuss about important societal issues, facilitated by journalists. The goal is to decrease opinion polarization, mitigate “opinion bubbles”, decrease the distribution of fake information, strengthen the role of reliable information and enhance public deliberation by creating a more constructive role to the media. One example of constructive journalism is the Finland Talks event, organized by the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat. The deliberation pairs were formed with AI: an algorithm formed the pairs based on their opinions, which they had expressed in an online questionnaire. The people who represented the most opposite viewpoints were partnered up. Thousands of people deliberated in face-to-face meetings about timely societal topics. As a result, the participants reported increased understanding of opposite political view points and stronger social cohesion.

Presenter(s)

Tanja AITAMURTO

Assistant Professor

Finland

initiative 2

Better News, Iceland

Better News is a global neighborhood community that bridges the gap between online and offline by enabling us all to report, edit and participate in our news. Local news with expert involvement delivered to local residents and from there to global interest, depending on the subject. News stories are reported by local members of Better News. Locals, journalists and specialists are notified, improving and adding to the report. A fact-checked news report with on-site coverage has been created.

Presenter(s)

Gunnar GRÍMSSON

Founder of Better News

Iceland

Gunnar Grímsson from Iceland is the founder of Better News who has done groundbreaking work in electronic democracy and online participation, starting in Iceland and expanding into numerous other countries. As CEO and co-founder of the Citizens Foundations he received numerous awards in Iceland and internationally, consulting, giving lectures and leading workshops on numerous facets of on-line collaboration. Gunnar is now focused on designing and raising money to realize Better News which is an online community for crowd-sourcing our news in a new and revolutionary way which will help us regain our trust in our news and each other.

initiative 3

Youthfully Peaceful, The BogotArt Foundation, Colombia

Youthfully Peaceful is an initiative that wishes to enhance a more democratic society. Its actions are to create letter exchanges between FARC ex-combatants and civil society in order to then achieve face-to-face dialogues between these ex-combatants and young people.

Presenter(s)

Leonardo PARRAGA

Executive Director, The BogotArt Foundation

Colombia

Leonardo is a Colombian activist who is passionate about community empowerment and social justice. He is the founder and director of the BogotArt Foundation, an organization established with the aim of promoting a more democratic art and cultural scene in the city of Bogotá, Colombia. He holds a Bachelor of Art in Business Management with a minor in Journalism. Leonardo and his team use art to transform marginalized neighborhoods into cultural hubs. Moreover, due to its contributions to building inclusive cities through the arts, BogotArt was recognized during the UN-Habitat 2014 World Cities Days.

Discussants

Discussants are invited to take part in the Labs in order to share their experience with the presented democratic initiatives and try to bring broader perspectives to the following discussions.

Sasa PAUNOVIC

Member of the Serbian Delegation, President of the Municipality of Paracin

Serbia

Stefan SCHENNACH

Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Austria

moderator

Gulnara AKHUNDOVA

Head of Department for Global Response, International Media Support

Gulnara Akhundova is Head of International Media Support (IMS) Global Response Department and a human rights defender with wide-ranging international advocacy expertise. Akhundova has reported on and advocated for scores of journalists and media workers who have been censored, threatened, intimidated, unjustly prosecuted, imprisoned, attacked, blackmailed or murdered. She specialises in Eurasia politics, international human rights law, Council of Europe & UN Human Rights Council. Akhundova has done research and publications on violations of press freedom and contributed to international media outlets, including French Liberation, the Independent, and Huffington Post.

rapporteur

Nuria VILLANOVA

Coordination and mainstreaming of communication campaigns, OECD

Nuria Villanova works for the OECD on the coordination and mainstreaming of communication campaigns and the promotion of the OECD Better Life Index, a project on citizen engagement and measurement of well-being. Prior to working at the OECD, she worked in the private sector as a consultant for EU Government Affairs in Brussels. Nuria graduated from Sciences Po Paris with a specialisation in Latin American politics and holds a Dual Masters’ Degree in International Public Management and Political Economy from the Paris School of International Affairs and the London School of Economics.