?)Why install Resilience Councils (RCs)?
Resilience Councils are essential to democratise dealing with Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) since RCs:
- Promote transparency: they involve citizens and stakeholders in decision-making.
- Encourage inclusivity: they ensure that diverse societal perspectives are represented, thereby reducing marginalisation.
- Mitigate distrust: they address perceptions of human rights violations and prioritise citizen well-being.
- Reduce polarisation: they foster a dialogue to counter divisive narratives.
- Enhance societal resilience: they empower citizens to feel seen, heard, and valued.
- Improve adaptability: they leverage diverse insights for evolving FIMI threats.
- Strengthen accountability: they distribute responsibilities to minimise bias.
- Foster legitimacy: they reinforce the European Democracy Shield initiative as well as the DSA.
What do Resilience Councils do?
RCs focus on four primary tasks:
Task 1: Identify FIMI campaigns
- Identify: detect ongoing or emerging campaigns.
- Classify: categorise campaigns by type and scope.
- Grade: assess their impact and urgency.
- Report: share structured findings to all stakeholders.
Task 2: Develop responses to FIMI campaigns
- Decide: determine the most appropriate actions.
- Recommend: propose actionable strategies.
- Coordinate: oversee implementation with stakeholders.
- Evaluate: assess intervention effectiveness.
- Redress: mitigate unintended consequences.
Task 3: Formulate advice on FIMI strategy, StratCom, InfoOps
Task 4: Coordinate initiatives to enlarge citizen resilience
Preconditions for effective execution
To ensure RC success, the following must be in place:
Legal framework
- Legislation and statutes supporting RC operations.
Defined responsibilities
- Clear task descriptions for RCs.
Decision-making mechanisms
- Harvest the insights of both fact-speaking perspectives and belief-speaking perspectives by means of initiatives like Interdemocracy.
- Proceed from ‘is’ to ‘ought’.
Quality control measures
Task 1:
- Standardised identification processes.
- Adherence to established standards.
Task 2 and 3:
- Expertise requirements for members.
- Integrity requirements for members.
- Competence and integrity testing mechanisms.
- Training modules by initiatives like the European Master of countering Disinformation (EMoD).
- Practical accountability processes for RCs and members.
Task 4:
- Clear concept definitions.
- Measurable goals.
- Standardised measurement mechanisms.