Threatscape - Mapping global risks in a changing world

By migsinstituteNews Technology Government

Threatscape - Mapping global risks in a changing world episodes

May 24, 2023 Covering the war in Ukraine: A Conversation with Tim Mak
On February 23rd, 2022, reporter Tim Mak arrive in Kyiv to cover a possible war. The Russian invasion of Ukraine began that same night. After leaving NPR, Tim continued to report from Ukraine, providing regular updates about the war, uncovering war crimes but also writing about the daily lives of Ukrainians.
Our conversation with Tim took place on Twitter Spaces.
Subscribe to Tim's Substack here to follow his work: https://counteroffensive.substack.com/about
27 min
May 16, 2023 Spotlight on Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces have reportedly abducted thousands of Ukrainian children and attempted to deprive them of their Ukrainian identity.

A report published in February 2023 by the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health concluded that Russia’s federal government has systematically reallocated at least 6,000 children from Ukraine to a network of re-education and adoption facilities in Crimea and Russia. In March, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of Russian president Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, for supervising the kidnapping of Ukrainian children for adoption and re-education in Russia.

To discuss Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children, MIGS hosted a Twitter Spaces discussion with Nathaniel Raymond, the Executive Director of Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab, and Aliona Hlvico, Political analyst and Former Ukrainian MP. This is a recording of this discussion.
Moderated by Marie Lamensch, MIGS’ Coordinator of Program and Outreach
35 min
May 11, 2023 A discussion with Ambassador Bob Rae about Russia’s disinformation at the UN Security Council
On April 1st, the Russian Federation assumed the rotating presidency the United Nations Security Council. This came on the heels of the International Criminal Courts’ decision to issue an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine. Described as “an April Fool’s joke” by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the situation was condemned by a large number of diplomats, including by Canada’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Bob Rae.

MIGS hosted a Twitter Spaces discussion on Moscow’s use of the presidency to spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine.

Speaker:
- Honourable Bob Rae, Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations.
28 min
May 08, 2023 The Power of Propaganda: A Family Torn Apart by Russian Disinformation
In this episode, a Russian Montrealer explains why he decided to help Ukrainians in the war against his home country. In the meantime, his family in Moscow thinks he is brainwashed by Western media and refuses to believe that they may have been duped by Russia’s disinformation campaign.

Episode 3 of a 3-part series produced in collaboration with Concordia’s Department of Journalism.
Speaker:
Dmitri Tcherkasski, a pro-Ukrainian supporter in Montreal originally from Moscow, Russia
Sources: Aeon, Eurasianet, PublicO (MediaScope), Russian Field, Statista (Levada Center),StopFake.org, The New Yorker.
Reporter: Bogdan Lytvynenko, Department of Journalism
Producer: Aphrodite Salas, MIGS John Lemieux Faculty Fellow
13 min
May 02, 2023 Escaping Mariupol
In this episode, a Ukrainian college student shares her story of fleeing the city of Mariupol as Russian forces closed in.
We reflect on the destruction of Mariupol and examine how disinformation has warped reality in the ensuing information war being waged by Russia.
Episode 2 of a 3-part series produced in collaboration with Concordia’s Department of Journalism.

Speakers:
Alexandra Postoieva, journalism student at Mariupol State University
Craig Silverman, disinformation expert and national reporter for ProPublica
Sources: AP, BBC, Debunk.org, News of Donbas, ProPublica, Reuters, Statista (Levada Center), The Moscow Times

Reporter: Bogdan Lytvynenko, Department of Journalism
Producer: Aphrodite Salas, MIGS John Lemieux Faculty Fellow
17 min
April 25, 2023 From Kharkiv to Montreal: Escaping War and Finding a New Home
In this episode, we follow the tumultuous journey of a Ukrainian family who fled from the frontline city of Kharkiv to start a new life in Canada.
After enduring bombings and terror amid the Russian invasion, we hear how one family was greeted with overwhelming support in Canada that made their 7,500-kilometre journey worthwhile.
Episode 1 of a 3-part series produced in collaboration with Concordia’s Department of Journalism.
Speaker:
Olena Martynova, Ukrainian newcomer under the CUAET program

To find out more about the help provided to Ukrainians in Montreal, visit Concordia’s online magazine The City: http://thecitymag.concordia.ca/home-away-from-home-ukrainian-refugees-montreal/
Reporter: Bogdan Lytvynenko, Department of Journalism
Producer: Aphrodite Salas, MIGS John Lemieux Faculty Fellow

14 min
April 05, 2023 Cyberviolences basées sur le genre et magnosphère: discussion avec Marianne Couture-Cossette
Dans cette discussion, Marianne Couture-Cossette et Marie Lamensch parlons de cyberviolences à caractère sexuel et basées sur le genre et de la manosphère, ainsi que de la mission de Les 3 Sex*. Marianne est vice-présidence et direction du volet sensibilisation chez Les 3 Sex*.

Cet épisode fait partie de notre projet sur la Paix Numérique soutenu par Patrimoin Canada. L'initiative a pour but de contribuer aux efforts nationaux visant à comprendre et à contrer la haine en ligne.
35 min
March 31, 2023 Humanitarian Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh
The Lachin corridor, the lifeline road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, has been blocked by Azerbaijiani protesters since December 12. With supplies of food and medicine in the blockaded region running low, 120,000 Armenian residents find themselves in a precarious situation, leading UNICEF to issue a statement warning about the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

The blockade also risks scuppering the fragile peace process between the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have fought two wars in the past three decades.

Speakers:
- Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Endowed Chair, Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Keene State College, and Co-founder of the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention.
- Robert Avetissian, Representative of the Republic of Artsakh in the United States.
- Gregory Stanton, Founding president and chairman of Genocide Watch.

This live discussion took place on Twitter Space and was moderated by Marie Lamensch, MIGS’s Project Coordinator

31 min
March 21, 2023 ”Queering the Web”: a conversion with Dr. Stefanie Duguay
"Queering the Web": Examining Online Harms and Hate Speech Directed at 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities with Dr. Stefanie Duguay
This episode features a conversation with Dr. Stefanie Duguay, assistant professor in Communication Studies and the Concordia University Research Chair in Digital intimacy, gender, andsexuality. How do queer people express identity in digital spaces? What are the challenges that they face when navigating online harms? Explore how queer people are navigating digital spaces, and learn more about Stefanie's research (https://digslab.net).

This podcast is part of the Digital Peace Project, an initiative supported by Heritage Canada that aims to analyze different forms of online hate.

24 min
March 02, 2023 One year on: How Ukrainian civil society continues to resist
On the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, join the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University for a Twitter Spaces conversation on the resilience of Ukraine's civil society.

Speakers:
- Oleksandra Povoroznyk, Kyiv-based translator and journalist
- Alina Bondarenko, communications professional in Washington DC and arising expert in Ukrainian cultural diplomacy
- Anton Liagusha, dean of the Faculty of Social sciences and Humanities, Kyev School of Economics. Now Associate Professor, George Mason University. Specialist in Public History, media analysis, propaganda expert
- Katerina Sviderska, MA student at the Université de Montréal
- Moderator: Marie Lamensch, Project coordinator, MIGS

56 min