[Conference] Hybrid and Information Threats: From Recognition to a National Systemic Response
Hybrid threats that combine military, political, economic, cyber and information methods represent one of the most complex security risks to democracy today. Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), as part of these threats, aim to cause institutional paralysis and social crisis through the abuse of information channels. North Macedonia, as a NATO member country, with a Euro-Atlantic orientation and geostrategic position in the region, is in an environment where disinformation campaigns are often used to influence public perception, polarize society and undermine trust in institutions.
The Institute of Communication Studies (ICS) cordially invites you to attend the conference “Hybrid and Information Threats: From Recognition to a National Systemic Response”, which will be held on 28.11.2025 (Friday), 12:30 – 15:30, at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Skopje.
The conference will feature keynote addresses from the Prime Minister of RNM Mr. Hristijan Mickoski and the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to North Macedonia Mr. Matthew Lawson. The panel discussion will feature the Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski, as well as professors and experts in the field, from the country and from Europe. The event will promote the policy paper prepared by the ICS titled “Institutional Response to Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference in North Macedonia: Models and Policy Options”.
Please find below the agenda for the event.
The conference is organized within the project “TRACE: Tracking, Exposing, and Countering Hidden Foreign Manipulations and Interferences”, which is supported by the British Embassy in Skopje.
Please confirm your attendance by registering at THIS LINK no later than 26.11.2025 (Wednesday).
Agenda
| Time | Session |
| 12:00-12:30 | Event registration |
| 12:30-13:00 | Welcome addresses
Prof. Zaneta Trajkoska, PhD, Director, Institute of Communication Studies Mr. Matthew Lawson, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to North Macedonia Prof. Hristijan Mickoski, PhD, President of the Government of RNM |
| 13:00-13:10 | Panel Discussion: The New Battlefield – Understanding and Responding to Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference
Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Vesna Poposka, PhD, Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” |
| 13:10-13:20 | Institutional Response to Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference in North Macedonia: Models and Policy Options – Presentation of the Policy Paper
Assoc. Prof. Aleksandar Grizhev, PhD, Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” |
| 13:20-13:30 | National Digital Bulwark: The Infrastructure Behind the New Cybersecurity Law
Stefan Andonovski, Minister of Digital Transformation |
| 13:30-13:40 | Countering hybrid threats: how North Macedonia can benefit from European expertise
Miroslav Sazdovski, Senior Analyst, European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE), Helsinki, Finland |
| 13:40-13:50 | A Call to action in the Western Balkans: strategies for managing contemporary information threats
Assoc. Prof. Kire Babanoski, PhD, Faculty of Security – Skopje |
| 13:50-14:00 | Looking ahead: opportunities for building resilience Miran Choklo, Hybrid Warfare Research Institute, Zagreb, Croatia |
| 14:10-14:50 | Discussion |
| 14:50-15:00 | Conclusions and guidelines
– Summary of the main findings and recommendations; – Encouraging political and strategic support for inter-institutional coordination and implementation of a national model for response to FIMI. |
| 15:00-15:30 | Conference mixer |