„Wahrheit, Fiktion und Lüge – Medienkompetenz und Critical Thinking als gesamtgesellschaftliche Herausforderung“
Helmut-Schmidt-Universität/Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg
Organization: Helmut-Schmidt-Universität/Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg
“Truth, fiction and lies - media literacy and critical thinking as societal and governmental challenge”
“Learning to engage with media also means learning to engage with democracy. ?…?And we must hone our judgement, must give people the skills to critically examine sources on the basis of verifiable facts in order to avoid drawing false conclusions. We need both greater media literacy and better protection against abuse.” - Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier, 2024 (Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius cf., https://www.bmvg.de/de/aktuelles/pistorius-parlament-litauen-deutschland-steht-an-ihrer-seite-5842676) accessed on 24 October 2024)
There is war in Europe and the Middle East. “Ukraine has been a wake-up call, maybe the last one we will get,” said Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius in a speech before the Lithuanian parliament in September 2024.[1] China's rise challenges the status quo of the current international order. The impact of all of these struggles and conflicts can also be felt in the Federal Republic of Germany. The 2023 Annual Report of the Military Counter-Intelligence Service remarked on an increased Russian intelligence interest. Russia’s constant attacks are directed not only at military objectives but at our free society and Western values. The Global Risks Report 2023 described how climate change impacts put increasing pressure on local, national and international actors and accelerate global migration movements. This is even reinforced by “global digitalization”, which continues to permeate all aspects of life.
As a result, the armed forces’ defense capabilities and cross-departmental cooperation to ensure national and social resilience have inevitably become a point of focus because the interdependencies are not trivial and, more than ever before, must be seen in a broader context. This requires the continuous development of basic, advanced and follow-on education and training, also for operational forces. “Defense capabilities” include not only well-trained and well-equipped armed forces but also other operational forces and, of course, a resilient civilian population.
It is also important to establish and strengthen the resilience and “AI defense” of all members and institutions of our society against unwanted external influence and hybrid attacks also with regard to “digital sovereignty” and individual “digital literacy”.
Media skills and critical thinking (Working definition: “Critical Thinking essentially means the ability to engage independently, reflexively and sceptically with processes of thinking and argumentation and thus enables "assuming responsibility for the quality of one's own thinking" (Kruse 2017, 11).”, see: https://www.uni-konstanz.de/asd/infopool/toolbox-lehre/critical-thinking/ - accessed on 13 December 2024) are becoming increasingly important because hybrid threats are not only lurking in the daily routine of operational forces. These challenges affect all citizens of our democracy as the boundaries between truth, fiction and lies are becoming increasingly blurred.
In view of the current situation, a dialogue between operational forces within the Bundeswehr as well as with academia, industry, government administration and the public about effective cooperation projects could make a significant contribution to improving cooperation. This is a societal and governmental task and therefore requires participation of everybody. The Bundeswehr Education and Training Convention 2025 will focus on three key issues:
1. “Global digitalization” and “AI defense”
“Flood the zone with shit” refers to a new type of media campaign characterized by noisy information environments. The zone-flooding strategy is not about convincing but rather about confusing people. It is a new approach in the context of continuing digitalization using social media and AI-based procedures to erode people’s ability to distinguish truth from lies and the understanding that this distinction is necessary.
The following questions need to be addressed: how can skills acquired in organized education and training scenarios help counter (AI-based) manipulation and disinformation? What should and what should not be part of education and training to achieve this purpose? How can education and training contents be made available in a hybrid and yet secure, didactically and technically reliable manner in order to enable citizens, and especially soldiers, to inform themselves quickly and responsibly?
2. Societal and governmental defense
What would education and training in the fields of operational forces (Examples: blue-light organizations, Federal Agency for Technical Relief, rescue forces or armed forces), science, industry and public administration look like to enhance media literacy and critical thinking and ensure smooth cooperation in an emergency? How can training be conducted rapidly and appropriately in a state of tension or defense, also at a cross-departmental level? What can or must be included in education and training plans and concepts in order to meet highly increased personnel and qualification requirements in a state of tension or defense? How can interaction between military and non-military activities of operational forces, authorities, industry and the public be harmonized and how can the potential of digitalization be used effectively?
3. Theory, methodology and design
How can the findings from various academic disciplines, including educational sciences, social sciences and engineering, be combined and networked in such a manner as to deal with manipulation attempts, hybrid attacks and influence activities on the internet, especially social media, or on training and learning platforms? In view of the digital and technological progress and the need to increase resilience, what methods used to investigate, implement and further develop education and training are - also from the student and teacher perspective - of particular relevance?
Our target group includes researchers, leaders, learning professionals and instructors and teachers who provide basic, advanced and follow-on training especially to operational forces and beyond.
In 2025, we plan to conduct the Bundeswehr Education and Training Convention again in a hybrid format, i.e. mainly presence on site. It is organized as part of a Bundeswehr-wide process with the Armed Forces Training Division of the Armed Forces Office, the Federal Academy of Education and Training in the Bundeswehr and the Helmut Schmidt University/Bundeswehr University Hamburg, which hosts the event and is responsible for its academic content.
For participants, we address the decision-making, planning and implementation level of education and training within and outside the Bundeswehr. Personnel currently in training, including students and trainees, are of course also welcome. Representatives from various operational areas, in particular authorities and organizations entrusted with security tasks / blue-light and rescue organizations, as well as planning and teaching personnel from general education and vocational schools with several years of relevant practical experience are also invited to submit a paper or to attend our event.
The submitted papers will be assessed and selected by the “Program Committee of the Bundeswehr Education and Training Convention”, a panel consisting of experts from science, educational practice and the armed forces. All selected contributors to the conference program of the Bundeswehr Education and Training Convention 2025 are generally entitled to have a short article published in our convention catalog and an expert contribution (incl. Double-Blind review procedure) in our convention volume 2025.
Along with the Bundeswehr Education and Training Convention, there will be an exhibition at which the Bundeswehr, other international armed forces and operational organizations as well as renowned enterprises will present current developments and provide opportunities “to touch and try out”.
We look forward toward your contribution.
You will find further information, especially on the tripartite working group, the program committee and the formal submission criteria for your expression of interest on our website (www.ausbildungskongress.org). Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
https://www.hsu-hh.de/ztb/ausbildungskongress2025
ZTB-Ausbildungskongress@bundeswehr.or
Matthias Armster
