Shusha Global Media Forum returns this time in its most consequential form yet

Between July 13 and 14, Shusha will welcome its fourth annual gathering, which has evolved into one of the most significant international media forums of the South Caucasus region. Nearly 160 media representatives, experts, and authorities from 54 different countries will participate in the conference, including about 30 international press agencies, over 60 top media organizations, and some 10 international institutions and corporations. Though fewer participants are expected than in the previous three forums, where 600 delegates from 81 countries participated, the calibre of the delegates and the nature of the agenda indicate that the forum is heading towards depth rather than breadth.

The theme – "The Mission of Media in Promoting Peace: Truth Restoration & Trust Re-establishment"- is more specific than the previous themes and follows the general direction of where the conference has been headed since 2022. The first one was about the trends in global media, the second one – about disinformation, the third one – about the impact of AI on information resiliency. The current theme is very much connected with the geopolitical situation in which the conference takes place – namely, a region coming out of a conflict situation, a highly weaponized global information environment in different theaters at once, and media influenced by AI to make disinformation and its detection more complex than ever before.

These sessions are divided into five groups that are interesting enough to watch to see what comes out of them. The first of these is the role of the media in building peace; this is the headline topic of the seminar, and the one that is of most immediate relevance to Shusha itself. A city that has been occupied for almost 30 years and which is now being rebuilt as the cultural capital of Azerbaijan is already going to be a provocative setting for discussions on how journalism either aids or hinders reconciliation. The second group is the question of cross-border media dialogue in a region where the two media systems have not interacted professionally for generations. Given the surrounding context, a peace process advancing through direct bilateral diplomacy, the first Azerbaijani fuel shipments reaching Armenian consumers, and a growing network of economic and transport ties being quietly rebuilt across what was recently a conflict frontier, and as much as the mention of recent developments in the region - the question is no longer whether cross-border media dialogue is desirable in principle, but whether the journalistic infrastructure and professional trust exist to make it something more than symbolic.

Third, the restoration of public trust, an issue which is worldwide in scope but even more relevant for societies which have undergone information wars during periods of conflict and are seeking to establish common ground regarding contested pasts.

Fourth, international collaboration to fight disinformation, a theme which has been featured in each of the forums’ past editions and assumes particular relevance given the well-documented extent of Russian and Iranian information campaigns during the period of normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Fifth, AI and media ethics – the link from this forum to future editions in 2024 and 2025.

The significance of this year's forum timing lies in the surrounding context. This includes all the major events that have occurred in the region. The global information landscape related to these events is complex, contested, and rapidly changing. A forum gathering 160 media professionals from 54 countries in Shusha this week will address real and current issues regarding the region's future and peace.

This format, comprising panel discussions, individual interviews, and interactivity, demonstrates the transition of the initiative from a conference format to something more like a working platform. The difference will depend on whether it results in any practical output (editorial norms for joint work, cooperative fact-checking systems, bilateral communication channels in the media) or remains at the level of high-level discussion. This is the key question to follow during the two days of the forum.