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NaUKMA at Oxford: Expert Discussion on Elections, Media, and the Challenges of Our Time

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Published on Monday, 28 April 2025 14:34

On April 24, 2025, the Institute of European and Comparative Law (IECL) at the University of Oxford hosted the expert discussion "Elections and Media: Newest Challenges, Threats, and Response", which brought together leading scholars and practitioners in electoral law, information security, and media studies from across Europe.

The event focused on the pressing issues faced by modern democracies in organizing and conducting elections in the 21st century, including the growing impact of disinformation, cyberattacks, and manipulative tactics on electoral processes. Participants explored academic perspectives on strategies to safeguard the integrity of elections, promote trustworthy information environments, and strengthen democratic resilience.

The National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy was represented by Dr. Volodymyr Venher, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Dr. Yurii Kliuchkovskyi, Associate Professor at the Department of General Theory of Law and Public Law.

Representatives from leading universities participated in the discussion, also including: Ilia State University (Georgia) – Prof. George Papuashvili, Georgia was also represented by Ms. Nino Rizhamadze, Jagiellonian University (Poland) – Prof. Monika Florczak-Wątor, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu (Romania) – Prof. Bianca Gutan, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” (Italy) – Prof. Francesco Clementi, Vilnius University (Lithuania) – Dr. Indrė Isokaitė-Valužė and Dr. Haroldas Šinkūnas, West University of Timișoara (Romania) – Dr. Andreea Verteș-Olteanu, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University (Romania) – Dr. Alina Gentimir, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary) – Dr. Zoltán Pozsár-Szentmiklósy.

The discussion was structured into two key thematic sessions:

Section I addressed “Healthy media environment in election campaigns: current challenges and threats”. It focused on the legal frameworks, oversight mechanisms, and practical challenges of ensuring fair and transparent media coverage during election periods, especially in the context of new technologies and AI.

Section II explored “Building Trustworthy Election Campaigns: Combating Dis/Mis-Information, Hate Speech and Manipulations”. This session concentrated on preventive and reactive measures to counter disinformation, hate speech, and manipulation targeting voters, candidates, and election authorities.

The panel sessions were moderated by Dr. Leah Trueblood, Fellow and Tutor in Public Law at Worcester College, and Dr. Volodymyr Venher, Dean of the Faculty of Law at NaUKMA.

We sincerely thank Sayenko Kharenko, AVELLUM, EVERLEGAL and Truth Hounds for their invaluable support in making this important discussion possible!