IE University Hosts CIVICA Honours Seminar “Democracy and Misinformation”

The CIVICA Honours Seminars provide an “immersive and intensive 3-to-5 days learning experience to master's students across the CIVICA alliance”.  In this edition, over the course of a week, around 20 master’s students from Hertie School, the London School of Economics, the Warsaw School of Economics, and IE University delved into complex topics such as the relationship between democracy and populism or fake news over a span of four days. Professor Nina Wiesehomeier, who mainly researches topics related to comparative politics, and Professor D.J Flynn, who explores themes like misinformation and its effects on public health, guided the discussion. This Honours Seminar provided European master’s students with a multidimensional learning opportunity through lectures and practical exercises and experiences, including a visit to the European Parliament Office in Madrid.

Participants were welcomed by Carlos Rullan, Public Relations Officer, and Franco Panciera, from Institutional Relations. During the visit, they discussed the functioning of European institutions, decision-making process, as well as last year’s elections. They further explored the topic of misinformation and the nuances that it presents compared to disinformation. Disinformation is disseminated with an intention to cause harm and is fought against through fact checking communities and media literacy training in the European Union. CIVICA master’s students were also reminded that “Exposure to misinformation is the new normal”. In this regard, Carlos Rullan and Franco Panciera asserted: “What can we do? We need a whole-of-society approach (media, CSOs, institutions, academia), to develop critical thinking and to boost media literacy”. 

Through such experiences, participants were able to connect with fellow master’s students from leading European universities to make the most of these days in Madrid, in line with the spirit of international knowledge exchange of the CIVICA alliance. According to Carolina Parilli (Executive Director master programs at IE School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs), the CIVICA Honours Seminars provide not only an outstanding academic experience but also a unique opportunity to make connections.

Borja Santos, Vice Dean of IE School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs, further emphasized the importance of knowledge exchange in the opening ceremony. He reminded participants that CIVICA is a “network of excellence”. CIVICA represents the “integration and identity of Europe”, as exemplified in this selection of students, which comprise more than ten nationalities. The Vice Dean of IE School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs additionally highlighted the importance of the topic of this Honours Seminar: “Misinformation could be the topic. Most challenges are global nowadays and the problem of misinformation is that it is transversal”.

At the closing ceremony, Maria Eugenia Marin, Vice Provost for Global Academic Partnerships and Alliances at IE University, and a member of the CIVICA Steering Committee, exchanged some impressions with participants about this week. CIVICA master´s students valued the relevance of the topic that concerned this learning experience as much as its organizers. In the words of Ana Lucia Yugueros Gonzalez, student of the master in International Development: “[Misinformation] is related to everything that is happening right now. And young people can make the difference”.