SUSU is to Hold Communication Leader of the 21st Century International Forum Once Again

It is for the fourth time that SUSU becomes the venue for holding the largest International Scientific and Educational Forum called Communication Leader of the 21st Century”. The event is to be held at the university from 18th till 24th of March of 2019 under support of the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA). Since 2016, SUSU has been an institutional member of EJTA which unites more than 70 leading centres of journalism training in Europe, and successfully cooperates with European universities. The Communication Leader of the 21st Century Forum is of interdisciplinary nature; it includes events within practically all majors and specialties of SUSU’s Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities.

“This year for the Forum programme, we have planned such events as sociological practicum, awarding of winners of the Society Through My Own Eyes Contest, a roundtable discussion entitled ‘Representative Democracy: Questions for a Deputy’,” said Director of the ISSH, Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor Elena Ponomareva. “Psychological Workshop of the Forum will present a seminar entitled ‘How to Understand Each Other: Psychological Types and Efficient Communication’. The Historical Aspect section will feature a conference entitled ‘Experience of Scientific Communication of the 21st Century: Youth Discussion Pedestal’. Big philological assembly of the Forum includes the 12th International Science-to-Practice Conference of Young Scientists called ‘Language. Culture. Communication’ as well as an international roundtable discussion entitled ‘Russian Language Art: Problems of Interpretation and Teaching’, traditional philological games and a new laboratory of theatre criticism opened on the occasion of the Year of Theatre, etc.”

The main topic of the Forum is the problem of handling verification of information in the international digital media space. During the time of post-truth politics, fast journalism and dilution of democratic values and because of increasing frequency of fake news, the world has faced a pressing need to verify information, organise fact-checking and teaching this procedure to the new generation of leaders.

“Within project-based learning, our university together with higher education institutions of Belgium, Finland, Spain, Greece, Sweden, and Holland takes an active part in Eurofactcheck international project,” said Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at SUSU’s Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, Liudmila Shesterkina. “We teach our students international and interdisciplinary methods of fact-checking and information verification. Together with European colleagues, SUSU students and guests of the Forum will discuss problems of qualitative journalism, evaluate the importance of distribution of verified information in mass media and social networks, and enhance the level of their media literacy, which undoubtedly is important under conditions of development of the digital media environment.”

Scheduled in the Forum programme are: official opening ceremony, trend-session featuring the Rector of SUSU Aleksandr Shestakov; the President of the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA), Honorary Professor of SUSU’s Faculty of Journalism, Nico Drok; a member of SUSU’s Supervisory Council, Director General of International Press Club Communication Agency, Aleksandr Chumikov; Associate Professor at the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at the Aristotle University (Greece), Nikos Panagiotou, and other practitioners in the sphere of mass communication. The programme also includes an online master class on International Fact-Checking Technologies and drawing of results of the Festival: the Media Planet contest and the Congress on Advertising and Public Relations, as well as master classes by leading specialists. The Forum is organised with participation of the European Journalism Training Association, the Aristotle University (Thessaloniki, Greece), and universities of Belgium and Finland, which emphasizes the international nature of the scientific-and-educational event and promotes broad development of international relations.