The event was organized by the Public Relations Bureau of the Government of Montenegro, in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Montenegro, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat, and the US Embassy in Podgorica, from 27 to 29 September 2013.

According to the statute, the Association will work to advance professional development and networking; stimulate partnerships with non-governmental actors, first and foremost media and civil society organizations; promote citizen engagement and good governance through transparency, accountability and free and easy access to information in public sector; advocate for higher professional standards, values and ethics of public sector communication, as well as use of innovation and new technologies.

Krunoslav Vidic from Croatia was elected the Chairman and Vuk Vujnovic from Montenegro the Secretary General of the Association. Members of the Steering Board are Christian Spahr (KAS Media Program South East Europe), Dinka Zivalj (RCC) and Nadica Dujovic (UNDP).

In his speech at the conference, Dusko Markovic, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, stressed that the most important role of communication professionals is to be the voice of citizens within institutions, and the voice of institutions in the public, helping ensure the policies they make and implement fully reflect the needs and interests of the citizens.

“This way of thinking and of governance is also in line with the best European standards, with the EU strongly promoting participative democracy in the Lisbon Treaty as one of the three principles of democratic governance (with democratic equality and representative democracy).”

The conference focused on government communication in citizens’ service, optimisation of resources in public communication, usage of modern technology for improvement of two-way communication, social media, communicating EU integration, and regional cooperation.

Jovan Tegovski, Chief of Staff at the RCC Secretariat, recalled that the economic crisis that hit South East Europe had made communication ever more important, making it imperative for governments to be in constant communication with their citizens to explain what is it that they are doing to help them overcome the present difficulties.

“A deepening of the dialogue between state actors and media and non-governmental community is the niche the RCC considers of a paramount importance for securing the well-being of a society, its economic prosperity and development, in line with goals of the SEE 2020 strategy the countries of the region are currently preparing under RCC coordination.”

The event gathered 80 top government communicators from all over South East Europe, communication experts from Europe and the US, as well as PR managers and heads of communication from the region.

To learn more about the event, please visit:

www.gov.me/seecom2013

www.gov.me/en/seecom2013

www.rcc.int 

Welcome notes by Jovan Tegovski, RCC Secretariat’s Chief of Staff

Original Source: RCC