"CINergy": Working together to counter disinformation and negative narratives

60 young influencers, fact checkers, journalists and members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are taking part in the project. They come from countries in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans and the Baltics, and even though their cultures differ, they have one thing in common: experiencing conflicts, crises and wars. The CINergy Media Forums in Krakow, Belgrade and Berlin are bringing the participants together to find creative approaches to disrupt disinformation campaigns and counter negative narratives.

Getting to know a stranger in just 15 minutes

You need to have trust when sharing personal stories, but how do you develop that trust with dozens of people you've never met before? "CINergy" participants sketched a tree: the leaves showed their various hobbies, talents and preferences while the roots reflected their similarities, such as values. They could then see what they had in common, gain each other's trust and build friendships.

The Spaghetti Challenge

Can spaghetti promote teamwork and solution-oriented thinking? It can! In small groups, participants built a tower using raw spaghetti and tape, and crowned it with a marshmallow. The exercise reflected each participant's strengths and enabled them to work as a team, look for solutions and develop a strategy. The conclusion: Working together can be highly effective.

Innovative ways to reach an audience: Initial concepts for a media project

War, injustices, security, youth protection, and mental health were topics the participants focused on. They discussed causes and effects as well as how the media can contribute to solutions. One idea was a social media campaign on mental stress due to non-stop news about the war.