Author: Zorica Trajkova Strezovska

On 26th and 27th January 2023, ENAM’s General Assembly and conference titled ‘Our Energy Future in a World of Disinformation’ were held in Dublin, Ireland. The events were co-organised by the European Network of Alumni Associations (ENAM) and the Irish U.S. Alumni Association (IUSA).  The president of MAAA, Ms. Verica Jordanova and the vice president, Ms. Zorica Trajkova Strezovska attended the Dublin Assembly, along with about 40 other alumni from over 11 different European countries.

The first day, the participants were welcomed by IUSA's president Mr. Chris MM Gordon and the ENAM's Secretary General Ms. Tonia Arahova. The conference was officially opened by the State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary Ms. Nikole Elkon, who started her speech by emphasizing the long standing connection and collaboration between the Irish and American people, as well as the strategic partnership and close cooperation between the US and EU on a broad range of global challenges. She pointed out that the State Department takes great pride in the alumni network, which involves about 1.7 million people at the moment, hundreds of which used to hold or are currently holding important positions in their countries and governments. She quoted president Biden, who in his national security strategy stated: “Our nations are linked by deeply rooted shared values that unlock incredible opportunities. But the principal driver of our relationship is the connection between our people. To solve the toughest problems our world faces, we need to produce dramatically greater levels of cooperation”. International exchange alumni, in her opinion, are leading the way on that front taking important action and using their exchange experience and knowledge to make a change in the world.

The conference proceeded with a panel discussion led by the journalist Ms. Shona Murray on which three speakers spoke about the energy security in the world of disinformation: Mr. Don Moore (Chair of the Energy and Climate Action Committee of the Irish Academy of Engineering), Ms. Tonia Arahova (ENAM’s Secretary General) and Mr. Rory Harte (Head of Strategy for European Movement Ireland). They all agreed that energy security plays an important role in common security and that the energy sector has become especially important because of the war in Ukraine. The war caused an economic decline, but led to increased importance of accurate information. The speakers stated that the world should counter disinformation against the criminal tactics of certain countries or governments in spreading fake news. They emphasized the need for the governments to put global and European above their countries’ problems, and to better interconnect with other European countries and fight the problems with united forces. The alumni shared their opinions regarding the war in Russia, which according to them, caused polarity in populations especially in countries like Lithuania, Slovakia, Georgia and others, regarding who is to blame for the war. They mentioned that Russia uses social networking sites to spread information about the war – about 20 times more tweets are written daily compared to all EU countries. Finally both the speakers and guests agreed that diplomacy should be taken to action by uniting the forces of all European countries to counter disinformation, especially during times of crisis.

After the panel discussion, the new Board of directors of ENAM was elected. It includes 10 members among whom the president of MAAA, Ms. Verica Jordanova, then Massimo Cugusi (Italy), György Kovács (Hungary), Lothar Hofmann (Austria), Vincent Mc Carthy (Ireland), Jörg Hafer (Germany), Gunel Yusiflihasanova (Azerbaijan), Vicente López-Ibor Mayor (Spain), Ivana Bilic (Croatia) and Tereza Engelova (Czech Republic).

Later that evening the participants had the opportunity to attend the IUSA’s conference followed by the annual gala dinner and alumni awards which included networking and discussion on the overall theme for the conference with the special guest, the US Ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Claire Cronin.

The second day the alumni met at Trinity College in Dublin, where they discussed the organization's future plans and activities and confirmed the need for a more consistent structure and joint activities which will ensure the growth and engagement of the alumni across Europe. In addition, the next ENAM’s conference was announced for the second part of the year in Georgia.

The meeting concluded with a tour to Trinity College’s Long Room and Library led by the IUSA’s president Mr. Chris MM Gordon and the vice president Ms. Julia Carmichael. ENAM’s General Assembly and conference was a great opportunity for the representatives of the European alumni associations to get to know each other better, share their work and projects and strengthen their cooperation in joint initiatives.