Summary
The Center for Civic Participation and Democracy (CPD) will play a leading role at the 2025 Bucharest Security Conference (BSC), coordinating two high-level sessions focused on artificial intelligence, democracy and the growing challenges of disinformation and hybrid threats.
The Bucharest Security Conference, organized annually by SNSPA, serves as a regional and global platform for dialogue on defence and security, bringing together policymakers, academics, and practitioners from across the Euro-Atlantic area. The 9th edition will focus on the strategic shifts reshaping the global order — from renewed great-power competition to hybrid and informational threats.
Workshop: AI and Democracy after the Super Electoral Year
The first CPD session, AI and Democracy after the Super Electoral Year. Insights from the UNESCO World Trends Report 2025, will offer an early preview of key findings from UNESCO’s World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development report, scheduled for official release in December 2025.
A highlight of the event will be the presentation of a cross-national study coordinated by Dan Sultănescu, Research Director at CPD SNSPA, conducted in partnership with the University of South Carolina and supported by UNESCO. The study surveyed public perceptions of Artificial Intelligence across the United States, Romania, Mexico and South Africa, examining how citizens use and trust AI, and how they view its impact on journalism, freedom of expression and democracy. Its findings are featured as a dedicated chapter authored by Dan Sultănescu within the forthcoming UNESCO report.
Randy Covington, UNESCO Chair at the University of South Carolina and coordinator of the World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development 2025 report, will present the main conclusions of the forthcoming edition. The perspective of UNESCO will be further highlighted by Ana Cristina Ruelas (Senior Programme Specialist).
The session will feature a special video address by H.E. Amb. Simona-Mirela Miculescu, President of the 42nd Session of the UNESCO General Conference, underscoring UNESCO’s leadership in advancing global dialogue on AI ethics and regulation, as well as academic cooperation through the UNESCO Chairs network.
The discussion will be moderated by Tom Reichert, Dean of the College of Information and Communications at the University of South Carolina.
Panel: Hybrid Threats and the Resilience of the Liberal Order
The second CPD-led panel, Hybrid Threats and the Resilience of the Liberal Order — Lessons from Disinformation and Polarization in 2024 & 2025, will explore how recent electoral cycles and information crises are testing democratic resilience and institutional trust.
Moderated by Dan Sultănescu, the panel will feature a diverse group of experts in public opinion research, governance, civic activism, and communication strategy, including Remus Ștefureac, (Director, INSCOP Research), Clara Volintiru, (Fellow, German Marshall Fund), Iulia Huiu,(CPD SNSPA researcher and CEO, Great Empowerment Consulting), Mădălina Boțan (coordinator, EDMO Task-force for the Code of Conduct on Disinformation) and Adi Constantin (CPD SNSPA researcher and CEO, Studio Twelve).
Discussions will focus on the intersection of hybrid threats, disinformation dynamics, and societal polarization, highlighting their cumulative impact on the resilience of the liberal international order.