WECF Georgia hosted a regional conference on gender disinformation and ethical media coverage in Tbilisi on December 13, 2022. Over 60 stakeholders participated in the conference (90% female), representing the media and gender disciplines. The conference managed to combine global with regional viewpoints and experiences showing more similarities rather than differences in anti-gender campaigns in various countries and its role in spreading, explaining, and combating mis- or disinformation.

Sascha Gabizon, executive director of Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF),  and Tamar Kintsurashvili, executive director of Media Development Foundation (MDF), opened the conference. There were 17 speakers from five countries, including the U.S, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, and Russia, who presented their latest research, experiences, and recommendations to the guests online and offline. Guests and speakers included media, propaganda and disinformation researchers and practitioners, as well as gender researchers, feminist and LGBTQ+ activists. The conference facilitators were Tamar Kintsurashvili, Amalia Oganjanyan, and Mamuka Andguladze, all experienced experts in communication, media, and propaganda research.

The conference was split up in three sections:

1. “Anti-liberal discourse and gender disinformation for internal political clashes in regard to Russian / Anti-Western propaganda” 
2. “Harassment cases of female journalists and female human rights defenders online / offline and their main challenges“
3. “Gender-sensitive coverage – a case of media ethics and/or media education”

The event provided a safe space for participants to exchange views and opinions, allowing them to openly discuss their experiences, concerns, and solutions. The audience was eager to learn more about the subject and had many questions in response to the speakers’ presentations and speeches. They were particularly interested in learning how to increase awareness of the issue, ensure better collaboration between different stakeholders, and increase reach.

Ultimately, the conference was a success and paved the way for promising future collaboration between gender and media researchers and practitioners. 

Read the full overview of the sessions’ main talking points, the main takeaways and recommendations in the “conference outcomes: report”.