DIACOMET partners are organizing a panel discussion at the 29th Forum 2000 Conference, held between October 12th and 14th 2025 in Prague, Czech Republic. The theme of this year’s conference, which is an important international event and one of the biggest such events in Central and Eastern Europe, is “Facing the Odds: Democratic Resilience in Action”.

Our session, titled “The Possibility of Dialogue-Based Communication in the Modern Era”, will take place on Tuesday, October 14th, between 09:45 and 10:45 at the Prague Congress Centre, Joan Kagezi Hall.

Our representatives will focus on the devastating effects of algorithms, intensified communication polarization, and the omnipresence of fake news, disinformation, and factual relativization, which have become everyday phenomena. These distortions in communication have significant impacts on international relations, geopolitical decisions, elections, and democratic processes.

They will jointly search for answers to the following questions: How is it even possible to maintain democratic, dialogue-based communication in polarized societies? What does ethical communication mean, and how can we promote it? How can we overcome the logic of sectarianism, tribalism, and algorithmic domination?

The session will be moderated by Erik Uszkiewicz (Vice-Chair, Hungarian Europe Society, Hungary) with speakers:

– Václav Štětka (Professor, Loughborough University, Czechia/United Kingdom)

– Kristina Juraitė (Professor and Head of the Department of Public Communications, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania)

– Aiste Meidute (Editor and Fact-Checker, Delfi, Lithuania)

– István Hegedűs (Chair, Hungarian Europe Society, Member, International Coalition for Democratic Renewal, Hungary)