At the International Conference “Defending Democracy: Battlefield of Truth”, held at the Hotel Continental in Skopje, North Macedonia, political leaders, journalists, civil society representatives, and educators from across Europe gathered to discuss the challenges of defending democratic values in the face of disinformation, hybrid warfare, and authoritarian threats.
Dr. Wolfgang Ressmann, Chairman of the New European People’s Forum and founder of Youth for Media, delivered opening remarks highlighting his decade-long experience with the Media Dialogue project. Initiated shortly after the Maidan revolution in 2015, Media Dialogue brings together journalists, students, academics, and NGOs from Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Moldova to strengthen media literacy, support independent journalism, and promote European democratic values.
In his address, Dr. Ressmann spoke about the ongoing threats to freedom and democracy in the region, the repression faced by journalists in Belarus and Georgia, and the urgent need to support Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and European future. He emphasized the importance of solidarity, dialogue, and learning from Ukraine’s resilience to secure a free and democratic Europe.
Opening Remarks by Dr. Wolfgang Ressmann
First, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Wolfgang Ressmann. I come from Germany, and I serve as Chairman of the New European People’s Forum and of the organization Youth for Media. Through Youth for Media, we run Erasmus+ projects focused on media literacy and practical media work with young people and youth workers.
Beyond that, I would like to share my experience concerning Ukraine. For the past ten years, we have been running a project called Media Dialogue. The project began shortly after the Maidan revolution, in 2015, with the idea of bringing together journalists, journalism students, scientists, and NGOs to support Ukraine’s struggle for a new democratic society.
Our goal was to exchange knowledge and ideas about how a free and independent media system could function, and how we could help each other in building a new Ukraine based on European values — freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and democracy. At that time, we felt that a new era for these values had begun.
Soon after, we decided to include other former Soviet republics in this network. The Belarusian Association of Journalists joined first, followed by Georgia and Armenia a year later — in Armenia, a group of artists, and in Georgia, Caucasus University together with several NGOs. Most recently, Moldova became part of Media Dialogue.
At the beginning, we were rather optimistic — we believed that democratic development, step by step, could one day include Russia as well, and that dialogue was the best way to promote European values. That was our guiding idea.
However, things changed dramatically. In 2020, we witnessed the massive protests in Belarus after the stolen presidential election and the brutal crackdown that followed. Many of our Belarusian partners were forced into exile; the entire journalist organization now lives between Poland and the Baltic states, expelled from their country — and some even imprisoned.
Let me share just one personal story that shows what living under the influence of Putin’s ideology means in real human terms. A young Belarusian journalist I know — only 20 years old — had taken photos and videos of the demonstrations. She was arrested and placed in a cell with 20 other women in a room of only 20 square meters. For 30 days they were kept there, most infected with COVID-19, deprived of sleep, given very little food. After this cruel experience, the regime told them: “You have three hours for medical help, and then you can restart your life in Belarus.” She, of course, fled the country and now lives in exile.
This is what repression — and indeed torture — looks like under a state controlled by Russia’s ideology.
Just last week, we were in Georgia, planning to continue our Media Dialogue work with students of Caucasus University, organizing media trainings and promoting media literacy through Erasmus+ cooperation. However, our Belarusian colleagues warned us: “We are afraid to go to Georgia — we might be sent to Russia, and then to Belarus.”
In the end, we couldn’t run the project there. We stayed in Georgia for two days, waiting for a government permit that never came — a permit just to conduct a media training. We’ve worked with this university for 15 years, but today, such activities are no longer allowed.
When we met with local journalists in Tbilisi, one of them said: “This morning we are talking about government repression. By this evening, we might be arrested.” That is the reality in Georgia today.
We all saw the massive protests against the so-called Georgian Dream government. But initiatives like this one today — events organized by Civil and supported by the German Federal Foreign Office — are now impossible to hold in Georgia. We had to move our work to Armenia and connect with our Georgian colleagues only via Zoom.
This shows very concretely what happens if we fail to stop the war in Ukraine and fail to support Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and its people’s right to a European future. If Ukraine falls, the next steps will follow.
Only four weeks ago, I was in Tallinn, Estonia, for another project. Just days before, Russian fighter jets had entered Estonian airspace for twelve minutes. These threats are not abstract — they are real, and we are seeing their consequences across the region.
If we want to defend our freedom and the future of our societies — not only in the EU but also in the Balkans — we must stand together. We must reject Russian imperial ideology and give Ukraine everything it needs to defend itself: weapons, resources, and a clear perspective for rebuilding.
As Roger Casale said earlier, we must also learn from Ukraine — both militarily and civically. That is how we build a common future for Europe.
Let me be clear: Russia is not our enemy. None of us in Western Europe or the Balkans want a war with Russia. But we must protect Ukraine, because in doing so, we protect our own values — freedom, democracy, and human dignity.
We want to live in societies where stories like those from Belarus can never happen again — where freedom of the press and freedom of thought are guaranteed.
That is why what we are doing here today in Skopje — together with our partners from North Macedonia, Germany, and the Westminster Alliance for Ukraine — matters so much.
We are united in defending democracy, in standing with Ukraine, and in keeping alive the European values that connect us all.
This is what I have learned from ten years of working on Media Dialogue across the countries of the former Eastern Partnership — and it is why we must continue this common fight for truth, freedom, and democracy.
The panel was held as part of the international conference “Defending Democracy: Battlefield of Truth”, organized within the framework of the project “Democratic Navigator”, with the support of the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.