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POLISH-U.S. CIVIL SOCIETY ROUNDTABLES - “YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRATIZATION”

On September 12, 2023, the seventh meeting was held at the headquarters of the International Institute of Civil Society, within the framework of the “Polish-U.S. Civil Society Roundtables” project, entitled “Youth civic engagement in elections and democratization”. The event was organized by MISO and the U.S. Embassy in Poland, and moderated by Bartosz Kubiak, Head of Aspen Institute Central Europe in Poland.

The keynote speaker was Prof. Marjorie Castle - a lecturer at the University of Utah's Department of Political Science, specializing in the European Union, Ukrainian and Russian politics, international security and democratization, and author of two books on Polish politics. The event was attended by representatives of non-governmental youth organizations and members of the MISO community.

During the Q&A discussion, the speaker presented, among other things, the challenges facing young people today. For example, there was a discussion about the danger of populist governments that manipulate young voters, both in Europe and the United States. As Prof. Castle stated, the problem is not only populists, who spread a false picture of reality, but also the decline of the media, which have few tools to verify the information presented.

Social media, promoting highly emotional and populist posts, with the help of their algorithms, aggravate the situation of young people who are unable to find their way in the new reality. At the same time, they deepen polarization in society. What's more, social media, not having gatekeeping functions - selecting information, have no restrictions on the reproduction of harmful information, the speaker continued.

The meeting ended with a discussion among the meeting participants. It was unanimously agreed that a strong civil society plays a key role in fighting disinformation.

The event was held as part of “Polish-U.S. Civil Society Roundtables” project, implemented by the International Institute of Civil Society and the U.S. Embassy in Poland. These are periodic meetings with the participation of American experts on the development of civil society in selected thematic areas. The aim of the project is to exchange Polish and American experiences, in a roundtable formula, on raising civic competence and the development of civil society, with a particular focus on issues of human rights, disinformation, media freedom, rule of law, and diversity and tolerance - depending on the topic of a given meeting.