The Countering Disinformation Environment in Bulgaria (CoDE) project is a collaborative effort aimed at enhancing Bulgaria’s resilience against disinformation. This three-year initiative (2023-2026) involves key players from Bulgarian academia, the public sector, and technology companies, including Sofia University’s Faculty of Economy and Business Administration, Faculty of Philosophy, the Big Data for Smart Society Institute (GATE) the Institute for Information and Communication Technologies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the European Software Institute (ESI), and technology companies Identrics, Webcentric, and Contipso. The project is funded by the America for Bulgaria Foundation.
The CoDE project focuses on supporting counter-disinformation efforts in Bulgaria by providing a collaborative platform for developing and testing data analytics tools and training methods. It aims to strengthen expert capacity for systematically analyzing the information environment and mitigate the impact of disinformation.
Key objectives and tasks of the CoDE project include:
- Consolidation of Best Practices: CoDE consolidates best practices for analyzing the information environment and information society.
- Development of Tools and Training: The project emphasizes the development of advanced tools, provision of training, and creation of collaborative environments to address disinformation.
- Establishment of an Effective Ecosystem: CoDE unites teams from academia, industry, the public sector, and NGOs to form a sustainable ecosystem for analyzing disinformation.
The project unfolds across three phases:
- Analysis and Conceptualization: The first year focuses on analyzing and conceptualizing Bulgaria’s information environment.
- Presentation of Guidelines: In the second year, guidelines for refining and presenting solutions to stakeholders will be developed.
- Optimization and Demonstration: The final phase involves optimizing the developed tools and showcasing the results through demonstrations.
Upon the successful conclusion of the project, a sustainable ecosystem for analyzing the information environment will be established, ensuring continued relevance and impact beyond the project’s lifespan.
Additional Initiatives:
CoDE is designed to foster a collaborative, dynamic community that spans academia, industry, the public sector, and media. This community will work together to develop insights and approaches to counteract disinformation, thus bolstering Bulgaria’s overall resilience.
ESI, a key partner, will focus on addressing the limited availability of advanced tools for studying disinformation in Bulgaria, contributing to a stronger analytical framework.
Contact and Further Information:
For more details about the CoDE project or collaboration opportunities, please contact Project Manager Ch. Ass. Irena Mladenova, PhD, at codenetwork@nullgooglegroups.com.
Further updates on this initiative will be made available soon.
Learn more about CoDE here: https://iict.bas.bg/code/
Funding Acknowledgment:
The America for Bulgaria Foundation (ABF) provides support for CoDE and its partners. The statements and opinions expressed in the project are those of the project partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ABF. ABF is an independent, nonpartisan American grant-making foundation working to strengthen Bulgaria’s private sector and democratic institutions, building on the success of the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund, established by the U.S. Congress in 1991. Learn more at www.us4bg.org.