GMF Leadership Programs Announces New Alumni Leadership Action Projects - The future of Democraty

The German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Leadership Programs is delighted to announce the new winners of this year’s Alumni Leadership Action Projects cycle. Each year, GMF awards special mini-grants to alumni who are passionate about creating positive change in the transatlantic community. As we begin planning to rebuild our societies after the coronavirus pandemic, these ALAP mini-grants will prove to be some of the most impactful to date. This year, the GMF program is funding 19 impressive projects in four thematic areas: Future of Democracy, Identity and Inclusion, Business and Society, and Citizens Diplomacy.

THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY

Empowering Young Leaders in the Time of the Pandemic

Irakli Gabidzashvili (LL’19), Maria Stratan (LL’19), Alexandru Rotari (LL’19), Sergiu Gherghelejiu (LL’19), Teona Surmava (LL’19), Yevheniia Romanova (LL’19)

The goal of the project is to support democratic development in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine by empowering young people aged 18-25 from these countries and creating an online number of 25 to 30 students and young professional who will gain a better understanding of democracy in the 21st century through a series of trainings, webinars, and mentoring sessions. The topics will include finding creative ways of solving problem at the grassroot level, fighting disinformation/fake news, active citizenship during and in the post-pandemic era, and trust in institutions.

United States, Eastern and Central Europe: Sharing Best Practices on Searching for the Vision about the Role of the Media in Digital Age and Polarization

Nataliya Gumenyuk (MMF’17), Rickey Bevington (MMF’14), Amol S. Naik (MMF’10), Hanna Shelest (MMF’2016), Leonid Litra (MMF’20), Karine Ghazaryan (MMF’20), Bartosz Wisniewski (MMF’20)

The project’s goal is to conduct research, transatlantic interdisciplinary webinars, and debates with experts, researchers, media analysts, and practitioners from the United States, and Eastern and Central Europe, who are searching for ways to articulate the role and mission of the media in overcoming toxic polarization in the public sphere and guarding liberal values.

Your Online Freedom

Tamar Mkurnalidze (LL’19), Lilit Arzoyan (LL’19), Ariadna Shatova (LL’19)

The project aims to improve digital security for women and girls from minority groups in Armenia, Georgia, and Ukraine by raising awareness of cyber risks and promoting safe digital behavior. The project identifies digital literacy and safe digital behavior resources and best practices to create a set of digital literacy cards to be disseminated online, covering the following issues: personal data protection, safe use of social media, cyber threats and beyond, fact checking, and online educational resources.

Lead the Future

Dirkje Jansen (MMF’14)

The project goal is to develop a relevant and future-oriented training curriculum for female political talent in the Netherlands that would allow them to progress in their carriers individually and as a group. Six selected participants will take part in a three-day journey-mapping leadership program, based on expert trainings and tailor-made webinars, to develop their skills and create a support network around them that will allow them to leverage like-minded coalitions across political parties. GMF alumni will be invited to share best practices as well. The long-term goal is to create a level playing field in which female political talent can rise and be sustained.

The Oligarch Project—Economic Power, Democracy, and the Responsibility of the West

Vasyl Myroshnychenko (MMF’19), Sebastian Schwark (APSA’05)

The project aims to help consolidate young democracies by analyzing and assessing the impact of oligarchs on democratic transition as well as the role of Western infrastructure and the complicity of Western actors in oligarchic power. The initiative seeks to identify best practices for civil society and political leaders in their struggle for more democratic political representation and government in dealing with oligarchs and oligarchic power structures, and to raise awareness of potential loopholes in the West that allow the oligarchic power structures to flourish, by hosting an international conference with stakeholders from both sides.

Disinformation in the Post-Pandemic Era

George Melashvili (PDN’20)

The goal of the project is to strengthen citizens’ trust in public institutions that was diminished by the disinformation campaigns during the coronavirus pandemic. The project will look to increase public awareness on the significance of vaccination, identify fake news and conspiracy theories on vaccines, and reveal the truth through by engaging relevant experts in discussions as well as by creating a reliable set of informative materials to support immunization.

Building a Common Europe-U.S. Community of Online Citizen Counter Speakers

Léa Bodossian (MMF’13)

The project aims to address hate speech and misinformation by fostering and developing the engagement of U.S. citizens to counter these threats online. The #iamhere movement established in Europe will serve as a best practice example for building a similar online community of citizens, using the same methods, in the United States. The approach is based on an online community of citizen-activists responding to hate speech and disinformation with respectful, fact-based comments, and attempting to shift the conversation to a more conciliatory one, on issues permeating from the virtual space into anti-democratic actions and attitudes.

Equal Partners: Transatlantic Perspectives on Young People’s Role in Strengthening Democracy

Jennifer Ross (MMF’12), Ruth Hunt (MMF’11), Sam Dick (MMF’14), Kajal Odedra (MMF’20), Zoe Flood (MMF’17), Jenny Kleeman (MMF’13)

The project aims to inspire action to strengthen young people’s role as equal partners in democracy by showcasing perspectives and initiatives from the United Kingdom, across Europe, and the United States through a series of alumni and youth expert dialogues. The project will culminate in a transatlantic dialogue between alumni experts and young experts to draw out the key findings of the process and the key messages and stories that will be showcased in a short film. In addition, the project will explore the possibility of establishing a transatlantic youth and democracy network to continue the dialogue, inspiration, and information sharing.

Learn to Trust Again: Overcoming the Crisis of Trust in the Transatlantic Space

Alina Poghosyan (PDN’19)

The project aims at a better understanding of the crisis of trust in public institutions and the changes of overcoming it on both sides of the Atlantic. This crisis of trust has various manifestation and structural reason but just as many similarities for the transatlantic countries. The initiative proposes a series of video-talks involving ten GMF alumni from Europe and the United States to highlight the shared aspect of this crisis as well as the regional specificities. The videos will be produced, broadcasted, and disseminated worldwide with the support of the BoonTV’s media production team in Armenia.

GMF Leadership Programs Announces New Alumni Leadership Action Projects

The German Marshall Fund of the United States' Leadership Programs is delighted to announce the new winners of this year's Alumni Leadership Action Projects cycle. Each year, GMF awards special ...

https://www.gmfus.org/press-releases/gmf-leadership-programs-announces-new-alumni-leadership-action-projects

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The infodemic that accompanied the spread of the coronavirus looms large, complicating efforts to contain the virus. Civil society, tech companies, media organizations, and governments must tackle ...

https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/enhancing-the-alliance-for-healthy-infosphere-how-to-build-transnational-resilience-against-information-manipulation/