SURE Press Release
American Councils and EdVenture Partners Launch SURE Program to Counter Disinformation and Promote Social Cohesion in communities where refugees from Ukraine reside
American Councils for International Education, a leading organization in international academic and cultural exchange, is partnering with EdVenture Partners (EVP) a renowned US-based experiential agency known for creating many of the world’s most important social impact programs for youth on universities, to launch the Students for a United and Resilient Europe (SURE) program. SURE encourages university students to promote social cohesion and counter false narratives in Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the project seeks to increase public awareness about harmful disinformation and ensure peaceful coexistence for Ukrainian refugees in host communities.
American Councils and EVP will implement a competition across 16 universities in 4 different countries. Teams participating in SURE will conduct the primary and secondary research necessary to develop, apply, and measure the success of an online and offline campaign focused on countering propaganda designed to sow tensions between Ukraine, refugees from Ukraine, and refugee hosting communities.
In the first semester of the competition, teams from Moldova, Romania and Poland will compete for the chance to be one of five teams selected to present their project in the SURE Final Presentation and Competition event in Bucharest, Romania on July 30, 2024. The event audience will include senior leaders, subject matter experts, and invited guests. The second semester of the competition will include universities from Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
Direct beneficiaries include university students from the four countries, while indirect beneficiaries extend to the general public, NGOs, local business communities, and the media.
The SURE program addresses the threat of disinformation campaigns that aim to create distrust and fear between refugees from Ukraine and their host communities.
With nearly 50 years of international academic and cultural exchange expertise, American Councils leads U.S. government-sponsored programs and student-centered education initiatives in over 115 countries. Collaborating with the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassy Public Diplomacy Sections, American Councils enhances students' critical thinking and media literacy. EdVenture Partners (EVP), a technical partner in the SURE program, specializes in designing experiential academic programs, empowering students to develop creative solutions to real-world challenges on over 900 universities in 76 countries.
Contact information:
Iuniana Mîndru
SURE Program Coordinator
sure.ro@americancouncils.org
+40 741 740 301
