Meet the Future of AI: Support for the European Democracy Shield: policy, practice and partnerships

About the Event

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In an era of rapid technological advancement and rising geopolitical tension, protecting Europe’s democratic processes has never been more urgent. The “Support for the European Democracy Shield” event brings together leading policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to explore how innovative AI solutions, cross-sector collaboration, and effective policy frameworks can strengthen democratic resilience against online disinformation.

Co-organised by the Horizon Europe projects AI4TRUST, AI-CODE, AI4Debunk, TITAN, veraΑΙ and ELLIOT, with the support of EU Disinfo Lab and EDMO, this event will showcase how European research and innovation are driving forward new capabilities to detect, assess, and counter disinformation – particularly in the age of generative AI and large-scale digital manipulation.

Sessions Overview

Main moderator: Silvia Boi, Senior Innovation Manager, Sistemi Nalder

Institutional speaker: Krisztina Stump, Head of Unit DG-CNECT I.4, Media Convergence and Social Media, European Commission

1. Policy context: The European Democracy Shield
Moderator: Paolo Cesarini, Chair of the Executive Board of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) and Program Director at the European University Institute (EUI)

Speakers:

  • Alberto Rabbachin, Deputy Head of Unit DG-CNECT I.4, Media Convergence and Social Media, European Commission
  • Renate Schroeder, Director of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
  • Wouter Gekiere, Head of Brussels Office, EBU Legal & Policy
  • Marie Bohner, Head of Development and Partnerships, Digital Investigation, Agence France-Presse

2.  Disinformation, Elections and Democracy: Insights from the EU and Eastern Europe
Moderator: Francesco S. Nucci, Owner and AI Strategist, Sistemi Nalder / UNINETTUNO – TITAN and AI-CODE

Speakers:

  • Clara Jiménez Cruz, CEO, MALDITA – AI4TRUST
  • Manuela Preoteasa, Journalist, Euractiv Romania – AI4TRUST
  • Viktoras Daukšas, Head of Debunk.og, Disinformation Analysis Centre – AI-CODE
  • Kevin El Haddad, Senior Researcher, University of Mons / Project Management Officer – WaI4XR, UMONS – AI4Debunk
  • Peter Kreko, Director and Co-Owner, Political Capital Institute / Coordinator of HDMO

3. AI and Disinformation: Tools, Evaluations, and Regulation
Demonstrations of project outputs from TITAN, AI4TRUST, AI-CODE, AI4Debunk, ELLIOT and PROMPT to showcase a deep dive into the latest AI-driven solutions and frameworks for detecting, assessing, and countering disinformation.

Moderator: Riccardo Gallotti, Head of the Complex Human Behaviour Unit, Fondazione Bruno Kessler – AI4TRUST and AI-CODE

Speakers:

  • TITAN – Francesco S. Nucci, Owner and AI Strategist, Sistemi Nalder / UNINETTUNO
  • AI4TRUST – Marcello Scipioni, Project Manager, FINCONS Group & Manuela Proteasa, Journalist, Euractiv Romania
  • AI-CODE – Symeon Papadopoulos, Principal Researcher, CERTH-ITI & Jasminko Novak, Professor of Information Systems at the University of Applied Sciences Stralsund / Head of its Competence Center for Human-centered Intelligent Systems & Sustainability and Vice-Director of the Institute for Applied Computer Science (IACS)
  • AI4Debunk – Kevin El Haddad, Senior Researcher, University of Mons / Project Management Officer – WaI4XR, UMONS
  • ELLIOT – Marc Tuters, Senior Lecturer in New Media & Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam
  • PROMPT – Clément Béness, Head of the AI research, opsci.ai

Closing remarks: Peter Friess, Senior Programme Officer, DG-CNECT, European Commission

This event will gather a diverse mix of stakeholders, including policymakers, academic researchers, AI and data science experts, journalists, civil society representatives, and technology developers committed to strengthening Europe’s information ecosystem.

Programme:

14:00-14:30: Registration
14:30-14:45: Opening & Scene-setting
14:45-15:30: Session 1: Policy context: The European Democracy Shield
15:30-16:15: Session 2: Disinformation, Elections and Democracy: Insights from the EU and Eastern Europe
16:15-16:30: Coffee Break
16:30-17:45: Session 3: AI & Disinformation: Tools, Evaluations and Regulation
17:45-17:55: Consolidated Q&A and Next Steps
17:55-18:00: Closing remarks
18:00-19:30: Networking drinks

Get Involved

Speakers and participants are invited to contribute through short talks, panel discussions, and interactive exchanges. Together, we will shape the future of trustworthy AI and resilient democracy in Europe.

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