Friday, November 13, 2015

The preliminary findings of a study on the online strategy of public relations of ISIS in Albania were presented today in a roundtable with policy makers, experts and representatives of civil society. This study, the first in terms of propaganda that uses the terrorist structure to recruit followers and fighters in the territories inhabited by Albanians, was prepared in the framework of the public initiatives of the participants of the "Albanian School of Political Studies".

The speakers as Mr. Skender Bruçaj, chairman of the Albanian Muslim Community; Mr. Visho Ajazi Lika, head of Albanian Informative Service; Mr. Sander Leshi, adviser to Prime Minister for National Security; highly evaluated the initiative of the participants of the School. Other prominent discussants as representatives of parliament, law enforcement institutions and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions, stressed that the radicalization threat can be met only with a wide inter-institutional cooperation and with the involvement of civil society actors and academics.

The primary goal of this event was to bring together policy makers, experts and representatives of civil society, with the aim to generate new ideas for fighting the strategies of ISIS in regards of public relations in Albania, oriented on the findings and recommendations of a white paper prepared by the organising group. The expertise and propositions collected from this round table will serve as an additional support for the finalization of the study conducted by Mr. Fabian Zhilla and his staff.

Thanks to these activities and through the wide network of its alumni, the Academy of Political Studies aims to create sustainable connections between Research and Policy making.

The working paper can be downloaded here