The international conference Defending Democracy: The Battlefield of Truth, to be held in Skopje from 8–10 October 2025, is hosted and organized by CIVIL – Centre for Freedom. It is co-organized in partnership with the co-founding members of the Defending Democracy Global Initiative – the New European People’s Forum (international) and Media Dialogue (Germany) – and in cooperation with partner organizations of the Westminster Alliance for Ukraine, including Centro Studi Internazionali (Italy) and the Jean Monnet Association (France).

Over three days, international partners and guests — including journalists, civil society leaders, policymakers, diplomats, and academics from Europe, the Western Balkans, Ukraine, and the United States — will exchange experiences and strategies to strengthen resilience, safeguard democratic institutions and election processes, and stand in solidarity with Ukraine and democratic efforts worldwide.

The conference will explore disinformation, propaganda, and hybrid warfare as direct threats to democratic societies, undermining media freedom, weakening deffence and security, and endangering election integrity.

This conference is part of the Democracy Navigator project, financed by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Day 2 – Thursday, October 9

Theme: Lessons Learned – Safeguarding Democracy
Venue: Hotel Continental | Language: Macedonian

• 08:00–09:30 | Closed-door Strategic Planning Meeting (partners and select participants)
• 09:30–10:00 | Registration & Coffee (doorstep statements for media)
• 10:00–11:00 | Panel 1: Democratic Backsliding: Implications and Consequences

Panelists

• Nikica Korubin – MA in Archaeology and Art Historian, former MP
• Toni Popovski – Political Scientist, Architect, Former Minister of Environment
• Sasho Ordanoski – Prof. Ph.D., Political Analyst
• Dželal Neziri – BIRC Institute, Political Analyst
• Oliver Andonov – Professor at the Military Academy
• Dželal Hodžić – Leader of the Political Party SDA – Macedonia, Columnist and Analyst
• Sefer Selimi – Democracy Lab, Political Analyst

Moderator: Diana Tahiri

• 11:30–12:30 | Panel 2: The Integrity of Electoral Processes and Democratic Resilience: Challenges and Solution

Panelists

• Aleksandar Novakoski – lawyer, former Chairman of the SEC and Chairman of the Working Group on Electoral Reform
• Aleksandar Spasov – Professor of Legal Theory and Philosophy of Law
• Besim Nebiu – Political Analyst
• Xhabir Derala – President of CIVIL – Center for Freedom

Moderator: Biljana Jordanovska

• 14:00–17:00 | Closed-door Workshops
  Working groups; moderators and rapporteurs consolidate discussions into draft joint statement and strategic recommendations
• Evening | Networking & Briefings