On 2 and 3 May 2024 in Kébili, Tunisia, a Latvian journalist, former Representative of Latvia to the International Programme for the Development of Communication of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from 2019 to 2023, Rita Ruduša, is taking part in the Hackaton Nefzawa City organised by the association of Youth Media and Animation, Nefzawa, of Tunisia.
The Hackaton Nefzawa City is a new, innovative event that addresses development of digital literacy-based media through panel discussions and workshops. The panel discussions aim to explore journalism and artificial intelligence, its impact on the freedom of expression, as well as the advancement of journalism and fighting disinformation. At the same time, practical masterclasses are offered on media and information literacy and development. The event brings together high-profile experts on media, technologies and artificial intelligence from Tunisia and international organisations, including the Deutsche Welle Akademie and the Journalism Trust Initiative.
During the festival, Rita Ruduša moderated a workshop on deepfakes in the audiovisual format and threats they pose during a pre-election campaign; she also took part in an expert panel entitled “The Impact of AI on Freedom of Expression”.
According to UNESCO, various kinds of elections are held in 81 countries in 2024 potentially involving 2.6 billion voters; therefore, fighting disinformation, advocating press freedom and public access to information are of particular importance. “Latvia is an exporter of expertise in the field of media literacy; moreover, it is an exporter who is learning and following the latest challenges. One of those is artificial intelligence – it is important to be a participant in an international dialogue that seeks solutions for the MI to become a tool for positive change rather than a threat to democratic freedoms,” Rita Ruduša underlined during the seminar.
The participation in the forum by Rita Ruduša is a follow-up to the international conference, “Rebuilding Trust in Media”, organised by the Latvian Permanent Representation to UNESCO and its partners for North African journalists and media practitioners in Tunisia on 30–31 October 2023 as part of the UN Global Media and Information Literacy Week.
The Latvian expert’s participation was implemented as part of the public diplomacy programme in support of the lobby campaign of Latvia's candidacy for the United Nations Security Council. The campaign under the motto of “Together for peace and resilience” aims at ensuring successful election of Latvia to the United Nations Security Council for the 2026–2027 term in the 2025 election, at which Latvia is running for an elected member’s seat for the first time. Membership of the UNSC will be a key instrument in pursuit and protection of Latvia’s foreign policy interests, as well as making it possible for Latvia to expand the scale of its international cooperation, thereby contributing to world peace and resilience.
