Draft Programme 

📅 30 November – 1 December 2026
📍 Science and Technology Park, Podgorica, Montenegro
🏛️ Conference Hall Unicorn, 2nd floor
 

Context: Building on WB3C’s May 2026 regional conference, these workshops examine how governments, media and other stakeholders can anticipate, prevent and respond to malign information operations. Sessions combine strategic perspectives with practical approaches to threat detection, crisis coordination, reporting and AI-enabled information manipulation. The programme is provisional and still subject to change. 
Audience: Government strategic communications officials, cybersecurity leadership, journalists, media regulators, fact-checkers and civil society organisations.
Working language: English (no simultaneous interpretation).
Chatham House Rule: The workshops will be held under the Chatham House Rule, providing a safe space for an open dialogue.                                               

Funding: The event is organised under the EU-funded project “Improving the resilience of critical entities and the protection of public spaces and cyberspace against security threats in the Western Balkans” (2026–2028). This event is also supported by Poland, Norway, United Kingdom and France, through their diplomatic missions in Podgorica and Belgrade.

DAY 1 – Monday, 30 November 2026

☕ 08:30–09:00  |  ARRIVAL
Registration and welcome coffee

🕘 09:00–09:30  |  OPENING REMARKS
• WB3C
• Ministry for European Affairs of Montenegro
• EU 

🎙️ 09:30–10:00  |  MODERATED POLICY DIALOGUE
Montenegro at the Crossroads: Safeguarding Its Democracy and European Future in an Era of Hybrid Threats
• Biljana Papović — State Secretary, Ministry of European Affairs of Montenegro
• Todor Goranović — Defence and Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Montenegro
 

🕘 10:00–10:45  |  EXPERT SESSION
The Agents of Chaos: The Shadow Campaign Against the West
• Maciej Bukowski — Casimir Pulaski Foundation, Poland

☕ 10:45–11:15  |  COFFEE BREAK

🕚 11:15–12:00  |  EXPERT SESSION
From Detection to Decision: How VIGINUM Feeds Government Crisis Management During Hybrid Campaigns
•VIGINUM — France’s service for vigilance and protection against foreign digital interference

🕐 12:00–13:00  |  MODERATED DISCUSSION
The AI Disinformation Battlefield: New Weapons, New Threats, New Defences – and the Fight for Public Trust
• Dr. Raphaël-David Lasseri — Magic LEMP, France
• Henrik Vold — Norwegian Institute of Journalism, Norway
• Eirik Veum — Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), Norway 
• Dr. Daniel Schroeder — SINTEF Digital, Norway   
Moderator: Dr. Ingrid Vik, Director UTSYN, Centre for Security and Resilience, Norway                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

🍽️ 13:00–14:00  |  LUNCH

🕑 14:00–14:30  |  EXPERT SESSION
Geopolitical shifts and impact on the Western Balkans 
• Jamie Tarabay — Crumpton Global, USA  

🕑 14:30–15:15  |  EXPERT SESSION
Coordination and decision making during an ongoing hybrid assault
• Matthew Booth — FCDO, United Kingdom

🕒 15:15–16:30 |  EXPERT SESSION
Modern Information Warfare: The Global Strategy to Destabilise the Western Balkans
• David Colon — Sciences Po, France

🎤 16:30–17:00  |  QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE 

DAY 2 – Tuesday, 1 December 2026

🛠️ 08:00–09:30  |  CLOSED WORKSHOP

• David Colon — France
• Matthew Booth — United Kingdom
 

🕙 10:00–12:00  |  ROOM 1: WORKSHOP FOR GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS 
From Detection to Institutional Response

• David Colon — Sciences Po, France
• VIGINUM — France  
• Dr. Raphaël-David Lasseri — Magic LEMP, France   

Context: Government institutions may detect suspicious activity without a clear process for assessing significance and mobilising a response.

Objective: Practise moving from initial indicators and analytical findings to an institutional assessment, escalation decision and coordinated response.

🕚 10:00–12:00  |  ROOM 2: WORKSHOP FOR MEDIA AND CIVIL SOCIETY 
Verification of an AI-Amplified Information Operations

• Henrik Vold — Norwegian Institute of Journalism, Norway
• Eirik Veum — Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), Norway 
• Dr. Daniel Schroeder — SINTEF Digital, Norway

Context: Synthetic content, coordinated amplification and misleading claims complicate verification under time pressure.

Objective: Apply verification and source-assessment methods to a simulated information operation, distinguishing evidence, uncertainty and responsible reporting.

☕ 12:00–13:00  |  LUNCH 
 

🧩 13:00–14:30  |  WORKSHOP FOR GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS 
Crisis decisions under pressure
• Maciej Bukowski — Casimir Pulaski Foundation, Poland
Practical tabletop exercise.

🧩 13:00–14:30  |  WORKSHOP FOR MEDIA AND CIVIL SOCIETY 
Editorial judgement during a hybrid crises (TBC)
• Jamie Tarabay  — Crumptom Global, USA
Practical tabletop exercise.

🍽️ 14:30–15:00  |  COFFEE BREAK 
 

🛠️ 15:00–16:30  |  PLENARY WORKSHOP 
Government-Media Crisis Coordination Simulation 

• Matthew Booth — FCDO, UK 

DAY 3 – Wednesday, 2 December 2026 

🛠️ Time TBC  |  UNIVERSITY GUEST LECTURES 

• Maciej Bukowski — Casimir Pulaski Foundation, Poland
• Jamie Tarabay — Crumpton Global LLC
University of Donja Gorica, Faculty of Humanities 

NB. To register for the conference please use this LINK or contact vanja.madzgalj@wb3c.org. The number of seats is limited. 

This event will be photographed. Please read our Privacy Policy on the Registration Form. 

To download the programme and the speakers bios, go to the top of the page.

The Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C), in partnership with the Université de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), France, is preparing to welcome the next generation of participants to its one-year Cybersecurity Diploma Programme, starting in February 2027.
The selection process is already underway, reflecting strong regional interest in advanced cybersecurity education:
🧑‍🎓 23 candidates from across the Western Balkans applied.
🧑‍🎓 17 candidates successfully passed the first pre-selection examination.
🧑‍🎓 13 November marks the next stage, with candidates taking a second entrance examination.

The programme places hands-on training and practical experience at the heart of its curriculum with a view of equipping participants with the technical skills and operational competencies needed to address real-world cyber threats, making them job-ready for the most in-demand entry level jobs.

Through its partnership with UTT, WB3C is helping bridge the gap between academic knowledge and operational readiness, developing a new generation of skilled cybersecurity professionals capable of strengthening cyber resilience across the Western Balkans.

This week, WB3C delivered a hands-on training programme on the fundamentals of cybercrime investigations under the Home Affrairs Programme of European Union In Kosovo (HAPE-Kosovo) initiative, led by our experts Philippe Marie and Cyril Corrias.
The training covered key areas of modern cybercrime investigations, including:
✅ Internet and darknet operations, network fundamentals and operational security
✅ Open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques
✅ Investigation of cyber-enabled crime
✅ Practical approaches to cybercrime investigations, from field operations to digital evidence collection
✅ Cryptocurrency-related investigations and European and international frameworks for cross-border cooperation.

Through progressively challenging practical exercises, participants strengthened their investigative skills, applied established methodologies and developed a more consistent approach to tackling cybercrime.
The week was marked by strong engagement, active participation and valuable exchanges of professional experience.
Building investigative capabilities and strengthening cross-border cooperation remain central to WB3C's mission to combat cybercrime across the Western Balkans.