In a move to bolster the capacity against disinformation, Sofia University, in collaboration with representatives from Bulgarian academia and technology companies, has launched the Countering Disinformation Environment in Bulgaria (CoDE) project. This initiative aims to unify and enhance efforts to counteract disinformation across the nation.
The CoDE project is a collaborative effort between the Faculty of Economy and Business Administration, the Faculty of Philosophy, and the Big Data for Smart Society Institute (GATE) at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski,", the Institute for Information and Communication Technologies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the European Software Institute - Center Eastern Europe (ESI CEE), and technology companies Identrics, Webcentric, and Contipso. The project has received funding from the America for Bulgaria Foundation.
This three-year endeavour is designed to support ongoing counter-disinformation activities in Bulgaria by providing a collaborative platform for the development and testing of data analytics and training tools. The project's ultimate goal is to strengthen the expert capacity to systematically analyze the information environment, thereby enhancing Bulgaria's resilience against disinformation.
The initiative commenced with the ambitious objective to explore and analyze Bulgaria's information space, aiming to foster the development and sustainable growth of a dynamic and interactive community. This community will span academia, industry, the public sector, and media, encouraging a collaborative approach to understanding and combating disinformation.
Here, at ESI CEE, we will specifically focus on addressing issues, such as the limited availability of advanced tools for studying disinformation in Bulgaria.
The CoDE project represents a significant step forward in the collective effort to understand and mitigate the impact of disinformation in Bulgaria. By leveraging the strengths and expertise of its diverse partners, the project seeks to establish a comprehensive and effective framework for counter-disinformation efforts.
For those interested in learning more about the CoDE project or exploring opportunities for collaboration, project manager Ch. Ass. Irena Mladenova, PhD, can be contacted via email at codenetwork@googlegroups.com.
Further details about this initiative for informed and resilient digital discourse in Bulgaria will be made available soon.
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The support for the Funding Party and each project partner individually is provided by the America for Bulgaria Foundation. The statements and opinions expressed here are solely those of the Funding Party or the respective project partner and do not necessarily reflect the views of the America for Bulgaria Foundation or its partners.
The America for Bulgaria Foundation (ABF) is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonpolitical American grant-making foundation working in partnership with Bulgarians to strengthen the country’s private sector and related democratic institutions.
ABF builds on the success of the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund, an investment fund created in 1991 by the U.S. Congress with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development. For more information, please visit www.us4bg.org.