text of speech presented by Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on 14th November 2011 to the General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association in Tirana, Albania.

57^th ATA

General Assembly

Tirana, 14-16 November 2011

Amb. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic

ASG PDD, NATO

Your Excellencies,

Dear President,

Dear ATA members

Introduction

I am pleased and honoured to address ATA’s General Assembly in my capacity as NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy. On this occasion, I would like to convey a very strong message of support on behalf of the Secretary General. He very much regrets that his schedule did not allow him to spend some time with you to discuss ATA’s contribution to NATO’s communication efforts.

I would also like to commend both Albania’s and ATA’s leadership for holding the General Assembly in the capital of a relatively new NATO member state. Albania’s membership is a successs story and tangible proof of the Alliance’s wise decision to establish the open doors policy in the ‘90s. I have been honoured in my career to lead the integration process of my country to NATO. It was a challenging endeavour, including on the information front.

Since its creation in 1954, the ATA has served as the leading non-governmental organisation linked to NATO. We have worked side-by-side to promote the euro-atlantic values both for our member and partner states and to consolidate democracy and reforms. The Atlantic Treaty Association, by forging ties with civil society, has tremendously contributed to NATO’s successes in the post cold-war era.

NATO’s Current Agenda

The Alliance has undergone radical transformation following the end of the Cold War. Both the main aspects of transformation and the challenges ahead have been enshrined in the New Strategic Concept and the decisions taken by our Allies at the Lisbon Summit in 2010. NATO’s New Strategic Concept describes how hard and soft power complement each other, how both are necessary and how they involve working with other international organizations to help build good governance, effective institutions, and stable societies.

We are proud of our achievements during this journey. Let us take our operation in Kosovo. Twelve years ago, a coalition of countries intervened there on the basis of a clear moral principle. We refused to tolerate genocide and war crimes. We had the responsibility to act, and we did.

Libya is another example of our principles backed by power. Last March, the United Nations Security Council adopted an unprecedented resolution. It was based on a key principle: the responsibility to protect, by all necessary means, civilians who were brutally and systematically targeted by the Gadhafi regime for demanding their legitimate rights. It was NATO who answered that historic call. We had the responsibility to act, and we did.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), in Afghanistan, is another NATO-led operation where we support our principles with power.  ISAF remains NATO’s number one operational priority. The present coalition of involving 49 nations is the largest coalition in history. A coalition which operates under a firm United Nations mandate. A coalition which has the responsibility to act, and is doing just that.

Communication Challenges

The NATO Summit in Chicago will be a key opportunity to portray the Alliance as a forward-looking, cohesive and dynamic security organisation that is fully prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century’s global security environment. A number of important topics such as Afghanistan, Smart Defence, Missile Defence, Partnerships in particular with the Middle East  will be on the agenda.

These issues present unique communications’ opportunities to show that the Euro-Atlantic community is ready to meet the challenges of the 21^st century.  Concrete results of these endeavours will be decisive for NATO’s public image and credibility .

In the run-up to the Summit, NATO’s public diplomacy should emphasize the enduring relevance of the transatlantic link and illustrate that Europe and America are effective and steadfast partners in global security. It should demonstrate the value of Europe as a partner to the US and it should stress European commitment to fair burden-sharing.

The overall aim of our effort in support of the Summit will focus on disseminating among key target audiences the image of a cohesive and committed transatlantic Alliance; an Alliance that, since its last Summit, has successfully implemented the Lisbon agenda, while playing a key role through its operations (notably Afghanistan and the successful completion of the Libya operation); and that is now ready and able to meet the challenges of the future. Altogether, these messages should raise public awareness, build understanding and shape public opinion in support of NATO.

This is, without a doubt, a two-way process. We cannot reach our goals without the support of our publics. ATA is a very important link between NATO and the public opinion in both member and partner countries, especially when growing public concerns in Europe and the US about the impact of national austerity policies on employment and social security affect the Allies' discussions about defence spending.

Public opinion perceptions are based on cultural, historical and civilisational backgrounds. To shape them requires constant effort, commitment and a continuous, direct and frank dialogue with our publics. Not only do we need to be active speakers, but we  also need to be active listeners. 

In PDD, we ensure the execution of three central functions in order to allow NATO to communicate successfully with diverse audiences in a responsive, interactive and convincing way:

1.       It must offer diverse forms of direct engagement with the Alliance in both NATO and Partner countries;

2.       It must execute innovative branding and mass communications’ activities; and

3.       It must feed the 24/7h news cycle.

New Generation/social media

Enhancing NATO’s ability to make effective use of new media, in particular social media, is another element of PDD’s daily work.

As you all know, NATO is not a stranger to digital media and has, in recent years, adapted its communication strategy in alignment with a changing external environment in order to reach maximum effectiveness.

We have transformed the NATO website from a static website to a content management system and we adapted the look, feel and functionality to make the website more appealing to the general public. The website receives more than 700,000 visitors per month.

NATO’s TV Channel (NITV) can now rightly be called a prime tool to provide appropriate, timely, accurate and responsive stories to local and international audiences. We are releasing B-Roll material from our journalists in Afghanistan, Iraq and many other places to broadcast to media outlets across the globe. NITV alone gathers some 40,000 visits per month and content is systematically shared with numerous video marketing channels and through social media.

ATA

As we move ahead in implementing our agenda and starting to prepare the next NATO Summit in spring 2012, it is even more critical that we can build our outreach activities on a modern and effective public diplomacy posture. I am convinced we are on the right track.

It is important to me that the ATA is not only fully aware of our strategic communication’s priorities and new approaches, but also fully on board.

As in past years, PDD is looking forward to working with you, to discussing your ideas, providing professional advice and supporting your own endeavours in carrying a compelling narrative of the transatlantic security partnership to our publics at home and partners abroad.