The Atlantic Council of Montenegro is glad to be part of the consortium of partners from the Western Balkan and Visegrad countries, in implementation of the project „Increasing awareness of the hybrid threats: Strengthening resilience in the Western Bakans“, supported by the International Visegrad Fund.

The aim of the project is to strengthen the resilience of the civil society members from the WB region. Society in the WB appears to be vulnerable to the influence of propaganda, disinformation, and hybrid threats that undermine the democratization process and stability in the region. Through the mobilization and activation of CSOs in the WB, the critical thinking of people will be strengthen, but more importantly, it will raise awareness about disinformation, especially in the online space.

The goal of the project is to create a network of active future leaders from CSOs who will act as multipliers in their communities, thus addressing hybrid threats and disinformation in the Western Balkans. The main objective is to activate and strengthen the capacities of young leaders from CSOs who aspire to become visible actors in the fight against disinformation and third-party propaganda.

The hybrid threat associated with the dissemination of disinformation and propaganda by third actors is a regional problem that can be more effectively addressed through international cooperation and the exchange of experiences and best practices with other actors. The V4 countries involved in the project share many similarities when it comes to the problem of spreading disinformation, especially in the online space. The root causes or root causes of the hybrid threats in question are very similar.

The project uniquely combines the extensive experience of the implementers and their Visegrad partners -in working with NGO/CSO communities, with extensive expertise in working with vulnerable communities threatened by disinformation, propaganda and hybrid threats, and (3) with the extensive experience of some of the Visegrad partners working to refute/debunk disinformation and malicious fake news on the internet using facts, common sense and a healthy dose of critical thinking.

Participants in this project will gain knowledge and tools in an interactive way.

The project is led by the Euro-Atlantic Council of North Macedonia, together with 9 partners from the Western Balkan and V4 countries: Strategic Analysis SK, Asociace pro mezinárodní otázky/Association for International Affairs, KIPRED, Youth Atlantic Treaty Association of Albania, Institute of Central Europe, Atlantic Council of Montenegro, Atlantic Council of Srbije, CEID and FSI.