Brussels Stakeholder Workshop

 

Due to recent developments concerning the coronavirus, the meeting has been cancelled.

The Action’s final stakeholder workshop will take place on March 16, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. This event will present the findings of this EU-funded research network that has examined where conspiracy theories come from, who believes in them, and what their consequences are. The network has involved 150 scholars from more than 30 countries. This final meeting will include a workshop for educators in the morning, followed after lunch by two round table discussions. We will also launch the Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories (a collection of 50 state-of-the-art essays); a podcast series made in collaboration with The Conversation; a set of teaching materials and a database of other resources for educators; and a brief guide to conspiracy theories and recommendations on what to do about them.

Date:

March 16th, 2020

Location:

Manos Conference Center, Grande Place Meeting Room, 135 Chaussée de Charleroi, Brussels, Belgium

Preliminary Program:

09.30 – 10.00           Registration and Coffee

10.00 – 12.00           Workshop for Educators

Moderators: Jaron Harambam (Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam)

This session is for those involved in education, and will share ideas and experiences about how to deal with conspiracy theories and critical digital literacy. We will discuss the classroom materials we have produced, and a database of resources from across Europe and beyond.

12.00 – 13.00          Lunch       

13.00 – 13.15          Introduction

Michael Butter (Tübingen) and Peter Knight (Manchester)
Outline of the COMPACT project, the Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, the podcast series and the brief guides

13.15 – 14.30          Panel Discussion: Conspiracy Theories and Politics

Are conspiracy theories harmless entertainment, a sign of healthy scepticism, or do they lead to political disengagement, and violence?

Moderator: Eiríkur Bergmann (Bifrost University, Iceland)
Péter Krekó (Political Capital Institute, Hungary)
Monika Richter (East Stratcom Task Force)

14.30 – 15.00          Coffee

15.00 – 16.15          Panel discussion: Conspiracy theories and science

In the era of fake news, do conspiracy theories present particular problems for science communication?

Moderator: Rebecca Asher (Sense About Science, UK)
Laura Smillie (Knowledge Management Directorate (H1), EC)
Stephan Lewandowsky (Bristol University, UK)
Paul R Hunter (Norwich School of Medicine, UK)
David Robert Grimes (Dublin City University; Author, The Irrational Ape)

16.30 – 17.30         Wine reception