Reporting wars: youth against disinformation
Understanding and communicating current conflicts in the middle east and Africa from a human rights perspective.
Description
Young people are constantly exposed to information about conflicts such as Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Iran, yet they rarely receive the tools needed to understand them critically or to communicate them responsibly. This course offers clear and accessible guidance for students of communication, aspiring journalists, international relations students, young teachers and activists who wish to narrate armed conflicts from a human rights perspective, avoiding disinformation, hate speech and media simplification.
The morning sessions will provide essential context on violations of international humanitarian law and on the dynamics that sustain these conflicts. In the afternoon, participants will take part in practical workshops where they will create their own narratives—threads, short videos, micro-reports—and engage in dialogue with international guests who will connect local realities with a global understanding. The goal is to prepare a new generation capable of ethically and accurately explaining the negative impacts and human suffering caused by these conflicts, fostering greater social awareness and a commitment to preventing armed violence.
Objectives
To equip young people with the knowledge and skills needed to understand and communicate contemporary armed conflicts in a rigorous, ethical and responsible manner, integrating human rights and international humanitarian law as essential frameworks for reporting and discussing war across social media, journalism and educational contexts.
To develop a critical understanding of the dynamics, key actors and human rights violations shaping conflicts such as Gaza, Sudan and Iran.
To identify and critically assess mechanisms of disinformation, propaganda, hate speech and media bias surrounding wars and humanitarian crises.
To develop practical skills to communicate conflicts from an ethical and human-centred perspective, using appropriate narratives and formats for social media, journalism and classroom settings.
To design educational and communication materials that bring these conflicts into secondary school and university classrooms, promoting critical thinking and empathy.
Activity directed to
- All public
- University student
- Students not from university
- Teachers
Methodology
The course combines lecture-based sessions with audiovisual materials and interactive discussion. In the afternoon, invited speakers will join online to share testimonies and perspectives related to current conflicts, encouraging dialogue between academic analysis and real-world experiences.
Program
07-09-2026
Presentation by the Director of the activity
- Susana Mangana Porteiro | Universidad de Deusto - ProfesoraLanguage: Español
“Sesión 1: Cómo entender un conflicto armado sin perderse: claves para jóvenes – Conceptos esenciales (crimen de guerra, limpieza étnica, DIH) – Cómo se violan los DD.HH. en conflictos actuales“
- Susana Mangana Porteiro | Universidad de Deusto - ProfesoraLanguage: Español
“Sesión 2: Gaza, Sudán y el Congo hoy: qué ocurre realmente y por qué importa – Dinámicas, actores, población civil – Violencias invisibles: mujeres, desplazamientos, extractivismo“
- Susana Mangana Porteiro | Universidad de Deusto - ProfesoraLanguage: Español
Break
“Sesión 3: Cómo se cuentan (mal) conflictos y guerras: sesgos mediáticos y desinformación – el caso de la guerra con Irán y otros ejemplos – Cómo evitar narrativas simplificadoras en medios y redes“
- Susana Mangana Porteiro | Universidad de Deusto - ProfesoraLanguage: Español
“Sesión 4: Llevar los conflictos al aula: herramientas para jóvenes docentes – Actividades didácticas – Cómo trabajar emociones, empatía y pensamiento crítico“
- Susana Mangana Porteiro | Universidad de Deusto - ProfesoraLanguage: Español
Synthesis
Break
Online Guest 1 (Zoom): Reporting from the Ground. Perspectiva sobre yihadismo en el Sahel. Sr. Oumarou Diallo, Secretario Permanente de Política Nacional y Prevención de Mali
Online Guest 2 (Zoom): War Narratives and Human Rights in the Digital Age. Representante (sudanés) de ICESCO/Rabat Embajador Fatahalrahman, Dtor. Centro Diálogo Civilizacional and Online guest 3: Franca Levin, joven docente uruguaya en viaje por África, creadora de contenidos digitales.
“Taller práctico: Crear una narrativa responsable Los jóvenes trabajan en grupos para producir un micro-contenido: – hilo informativo – microvídeo – breve podcast – infografía crítica“
- Susana Mangana Porteiro | Universidad de Deusto - ProfesoraLanguage: Español
Synthesis
Directors
Susana Mangana Porteiro
Universidad de Deusto
Susana Mangana Porteiro is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Deusto, specializing in Middle East geopolitics and the Arab and Muslim world. From 2006 to 2023 she directed the Chair of Islam and the Arab World at the Catholic University of Uruguay, where she also served as Director of the Department of International Business and Integration. She has been a visiting professor at several universities in Europe and Latin America and taught geopolitics of the Islamic world at the University of the Republic (Uruguay) and at senior military education institutions in that country. She is a member of the Uruguayan Council for International Relations (CURI) and collaborates with the Galician Institute for Analysis and International Documentation (IGADI). Her professional experience includes international missions and work in conflict areas, including participation in the United Nations peace mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She regularly provides analysis on international affairs for media outlets such as Radio Euskadi, EITB, France 24 (Spanish), and several Latin American television and radio networks.
Speakers
Susana Mangana Porteiro
Universidad de Deusto
Susana Mangana Porteiro is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Deusto, specializing in Middle East geopolitics and the Arab and Muslim world. From 2006 to 2023 she directed the Chair of Islam and the Arab World at the Catholic University of Uruguay, where she also served as Director of the Department of International Business and Integration. She has been a visiting professor at several universities in Europe and Latin America and taught geopolitics of the Islamic world at the University of the Republic (Uruguay) and at senior military education institutions in that country. She is a member of the Uruguayan Council for International Relations (CURI) and collaborates with the Galician Institute for Analysis and International Documentation (IGADI). Her professional experience includes international missions and work in conflict areas, including participation in the United Nations peace mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She regularly provides analysis on international affairs for media outlets such as Radio Euskadi, EITB, France 24 (Spanish), and several Latin American television and radio networks.
Registration fees
| Face-to-face | Until 07-09-2026 |
|---|---|
| 48,00 EUR | |
| 41,00 EUR | |
| 34,00 EUR | |
| 25,00 EUR | |
| 41,00 EUR |
| Live online | Until 07-09-2026 |
|---|---|
| 48,00 EUR | |
| 41,00 EUR | |
| 34,00 EUR | |
| 25,00 EUR | |
| 41,00 EUR |
Venue
Bizkaia Aretoa-EHU
Avenida Abandoibarra, 3. 48009 Bilbao
Bizkaia
Bizkaia Aretoa-EHU
Avenida Abandoibarra, 3. 48009 Bilbao
Bizkaia
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