The first episode will take place on December 2dn, 2020 and will focus on “Protest in post-Soviet states”. Rashid Gabdulhakov will introduce the current situation in Kyrgyzstan – a lesser known former-Soviet state, its search for identity and the role and influence of social media. Adrian Plesca will address recent power transition in Moldova and Mariëlle Wijermars will speak about the events in Belarus and the role digital technologies have played in the protests.
The speakers:
Rashid Gabdulhakov is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Media and Communication of Erasmus School of History Culture and Communication. Gabdulhakov is investigating online vigilante practices in Russia and beyond. He is a member of the international team of scholars working within the ‘Digital vigilantism: Mapping the terrain and assessing societal impact’ project funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.
Adrian Plesca is an EUR student from Moldova, known for his political activism & social entrepreneurship. Founder of #orasulmeu NGO (Chisinau). During his high school years, he developed several local initiatives in Moldova such as: the successful campaign for night public transport in the capital city of Chisinau; campaign for architectural preservation of old Chisinau’s heritage; campaign for youths’ participation in the local budget formation. During the 2014-2017 protests in Moldova served as Honorary Member of the Council of the National Assembly that resisted against the kleptocratic regime of Vlad Plahotniuc.
Dr. Mariëlle Wijermars is an Assistant Professor in Cyber-Security and Politics at Maastricht University and a Visiting Researcher at the University of Helsinki. She conducts research on Russian Internet governance and its human rights implications and on technological innovation in Russian news media. Mariëlle is co-editor of The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies (Palgrave Macmillan, in press) and Freedom of Expression in Russia's New Mediasphere (Routledge, 2020).
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