The nature of war and conflict is ever changing. Modern warfare combines old and new methods in order to subdue the enemy’s societal will to fight. These new conditions create unprecedented pressure in modern societies, even in peacetime, as hybrid threats, take advantage on our connectivity and reliance on information technology. In this webinar we are going to discuss on what is a hybrid threat and what threats modern societies face.
Moderators:
- Professor Panagiotou Nikolaos
- Mr Smilianis Christos
Speakers:
- Major Eric Slocum, Officer of the US Army and assistant Military Attaché of the US Embassy in Athens.
- Dr. Oscar Jonsson, Academic Director for the IE Center for the Governance of Change.
- Mr.Thanos Sitistas, Senior editor/ fact-checker at Ellinika hoaxes.
- Dr. Angelos Kaskanis, Ph.D. Terrorism and Security Studies. Project Manager, Tactics Institute for Security and Counter-Terrorism.
Agenda:
The purpose of the webinar is to explore what threats modern societies face. Initially there is going to be a brief introduction on what are hybrid threats and how they have changed warfare.
Dr. Kaskanis and Dr. Jonsson are going to give more in-depth knowledge and will give examples how our societies are threatened by internal and external actors.
Dr Kaskanis is going to emphasize on terrorism and the hybrid threats related to this concept.
Dr. Jonsson will speak on misinformation/disinformation that target institutions and social cohesion.
Mr. Sitistas is going to speak from his own personal experience, in myth-busting, on how fake news can affect the social cohesion and how difficult it is to tell apart fake news originated from people’s misconceptions and profit-seeking individuals, from those originated to actors who want to harm the societies integrity and functioning.
Major Slocum is going to speak on the role that national authorities of democratic countries can play on the protection of the society, and in order to deal with hybrid threats and to protect society, without compromising democratic values and the citizens liberties.
This event is co-organized by Digital Communication Network SouthEast Europe Hub (DCN SEE) and World Learning and is part of DCNSEE’s Ideas in Action – Digital Engagement, a series of virtual events launched in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. DCNSEE is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Citizen Exchanges.
DCN SOUTHEAST EUROPE HUB is a consortium of Aristotle University, Digital Communication Network, non-profits, public and private organizations and companies involved in the fields of digital communication, social impact campaigns, technology, and innovation. It is a unique, interdisciplinary coalition tapping into the best talent and resources across Europe.