FORMAT
offline, Kyiv
10 Dobrovolchykh Batalioniv St.
Training
When the Narrative Attacks: Hidden Meanings and Counteraction
The wars of the 21st century are not only fought on the battlefield – they are fought in people’s minds. Words, images, symbols and narratives become weapons that can either undermine trust in society or unite it and ensure its stability and security.
The aim of the training is to acquire practical skills in deciphering public messages, ‘reading’ enemy hidden narratives, and adapting teams to crisis, hybrid and conflict contexts (war, information attacks, propaganda, collective trauma, etc.). This training is for those who want to learn to ‘read’ hidden meanings, understand how semantic interventions work in times of crisis and war, understand what lies behind the words and symbols that influence our consciousness every day and, as a result, change our behaviour. You will receive tools for recognising toxic meanings, neutralising their influence, and building your own cognitive defences and life-affirming narratives.
This is not just about information security; it is about the ability to survive and win in the war of words.
The uniqueness of the course lies in the following
- Combination of science and practice. You will receive interdisciplinary tools for understanding external messages from semiotics, psychology, and psycholinguistics in an adapted form.
- Analysis of real cases. We examine specific cases with an analysis of symbols and narratives and show how they work on a cognitive level, learning to create, deconstruct and redefine symbols.
- Focus on ‘saving senses’. Most information security courses teach how to defend yourself. Our course goes further and shows how to create narratives that strengthen resilience and give a psychological advantage.
- The practice of ‘seeing the invisible.’ We train the skills of reading hidden codes in words, symbols, colours, media images — things that often go unnoticed but shape collective consciousness.
THIS COURSE IS FOR
- Civil servants and local government officials
- Business owners and managers
- Public sector leaders
- Volunteers
- Media representatives
- Veterans, security sector professionals (police, State Emergency Service)
- Active military personnel
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
- Understanding how the semiotics of war differ from its semantics
- Identifying how space ‘speaks’ during war
- The meaning of a symbol that transforms or modernises depending on time, event, context
- Structuring meanings, distinguishing between opposites, alternatives, and double codes Training the ability to see not only the meaning but also the function of a sign in action (what a sign does, not what it means)
- Creating, deconstructing, and redefining symbols
- ‘Reading’ messages at different levels
- Listening, rethinking, synthesising different fragments of meaning
Speakers
Andriy Zahorodskyi
Andriy Zahorodskyi
Over 15 years of experience in the PR industry, focusing on communicating complex changes and transformations in organisations, personal communication for leaders, top management and politicians, managing comprehensive crisis or reputation conflict resolution, consulting on sustainability programmes, managing organisational narratives and stories, and building relationships with community networks. Prior to this, he worked as a television journalist at ICTV for four years. Combining his experience in media and international communication projects, he has organised over 70 media training sessions and corporate training courses. Chartered Institute of Public Relations Diploma (London, 2016), LIA certificate in training for public relations (London, 2016) One of the co-founders of the scientific initiative CrisisSemioticStudios–Ukraine (2017), lecturer at Resilience League (Estonia), co-founder and programme director of the NGO Resilient Ukraine. Author of articles on resilience, media and countering disinformation.
Rena Marutyan
Rena Marutyan
Doctor of Science in Public Administration, Professor of the Department of Global and National Security at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, member of advisory and consultative working groups at the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
Natalia Kryvda
Natalia Kryvda
Doctor of Philosophy, professor at the Department of Ukrainian Philosophy and Culture at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, contemporary Ukrainian philosopher and public intellectual. Academic director of MBA programmes at Edinburgh Business School at House of Knowledge. Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation
We recommend this course if you want to:
Learn to see the invisible, recognise destructive meanings, and create those that save and lead to victory.
THE COST OF TRAINING
10, Dobrovolchykh batalyoniv Str., Kyiv