With the highest internet access in the western Balkans, Kosovo faces vast threats to its information integrity. NDI’s global mission in supporting and strengthening democratic institutions recognizes this growing threat to democratic institutions and political and social fabrics globally. While the internet has empowered billions with access to knowledge, it has also empowered those seeking to undermine democracy. Since 2019, NDI/Kosovo has worked to identify the risks to Kosovo’s democracy by holding conferences to raise awareness of this threat and by monitoring and reporting on the online information environment that is especially vulnerable to threats to information integrity.

NDI held its fourth conference on information integrity, DISICON, on November 29 and 30 in Pristina, Kosovo, with the overarching theme of “Understanding Citizens’  Vulnerabilities to Disinformation: How Democracies Navigate the Online Information Space?” The conference brought together experts from various fields, including technology, social media, journalism and civil society, to analyze and understand the vulnerabilities of citizens to disinformation in the online information space. DISICON's program also included workshops facilitated by META Facebook with students from public and private universities in Kosovo to address the importance of maintaining information integrity as a means to support democracy. During the two-day event, 110 guests participated in person, and 53 students attended the workshop. This edition of DISICON also featured for the first time participants from NDI's Regional Information Integrity Forum, joining in person from Kosovo, Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

World-renowned practitioners in journalism, academia, media and government, including the keynote speaker CNN Chief Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, enriched the discussion. DISICON’s program also included journalism students from public and private universities in Kosovo to discuss the urgency of information integrity in Kosovo and how they can contribute to strengthening democracy within their country. 

A conference summary can be downloaded below.

This conference summary and the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) Information Integrity Conference - DISICON - in Kosovo are made possible through the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).