The global challenge: Building resilient citizens in an age of disinformation

Presented in partnership with the NATO Public Diplomacy Division

When

4.00pm–5.00pm

29 April 2021

Type

Webinar

Details

Brussels/Rome time: Thursday, 29 April, 8.00am-9.00am CEST

NATO and Australia relations date back over a decade with Australia being one of the most important contributors to NATO’s missions and operations. Today, NATO and Australia face a new set of global security challenges — from systemic competition, authoritarian powers and non-state actors — that challenge the rules-based order. These occur through cyber threats and the malicious use of new technologies, as well as, other asymmetric threats.

The NATO2030 initiative, led by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, envisages a more global approach of NATO to world security. Under this new vision, Australia and other Asia-Pacific partners work with NATO to expand shared security interests beyond the Atlantic. 

The United States Studies Centre and the NATO Public Diplomacy Division present joint NATO Expert Talks. This series of talks with USSC and NATO experts will explore the challenges ahead of NATO and Australia and propose areas where furthering and deepening cooperation can offer solutions.

One of the identified solutions in fighting disinformation has been to build societal resilience. How have NATO and its member states fared so far and what is NATO’s strategy in fighting disinformation? How has Australia performed on this front? What can NATO and Australia learn from each other?

This first panel discussion brought together NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Ambassador Baiba Braže and USSC Non-Resident Fellow Dr Jennifer Hunt to explore how disinformation and propaganda, pursued by state and non-state actors, aims to erode the trust and credibility of democratic institutions and systems. The discussion was moderated by USSC Lecturer and NATO Defense College Partners Across the Globe Fellow Dr Gorana Grgic.

Featuring

  • Ambassador Baiba Braže
    Ambassador Baiba Braže
    Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, NATO

    Ambassador Baiba Braže was appointed Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy in May 2020. She advises the Secretary General on issues within her remit, oversees the coordination of all Strategic Communications activities across all NATO civilian and military bodies and commands, and also directs all public diplomacy activities.

  • Dr Jennifer Hunt
    Dr Jennifer Hunt
    Lecturer in Security Studies, Macquarie University

    Dr Jennifer S. Hunt is a lecturer in security studies at Macquarie University. She was formerly a Non-Resident Fellow at the United States Studies Centre. Dr Hunt has published on comparative national security policy of cyber and energy issues in the United States, Australia and the Arab Gulf. She has served as a delegate at the Shangri-la Security Dialogue and attended the World Economic Forum at Abu Dhabi.

  • Dr Gorana Grgic
    Dr Gorana Grgic
    Senior Lecturer in US Politics and Foreign Policy, United States Studies Centre (jointly appointed with the Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney)

    Dr Gorana Grgic is a jointly appointed Senior Lecturer at the Department of Government and International Relations and the United States Studies Centre. Her research interests include US politics and foreign policy, transatlantic relations, conflict resolution and democratisation. She is the author of Ethnic Conflict in Asymmetric Federations (Routledge 2017).

The Foreign Policy and Defence Program receives funding support from the following partners