The Public Awareness Campaign on Inclusion in NATO
In 2001 the Government Public Relations and Media Office launched
the public awareness programme in order to raise public awareness in
Slovenia and abroad about Slovenia's accession in NATO. The public
awareness campaign is a cooperative project, led by a group composed
of representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry
of Defence, the Slovenian Armed Forces, the Mission of the Republic of
Slovenia to NATO and the Government Public Relations and Media Office.
Other bodies and institutions also participate in some information
activities, and we harmonize our activities with them (the Office of
the Prime Minister, the Office of the President, the National Assembly
and ministries).
The purpose of the public awareness campaign is to ensure clear,
comprehensible and reliable information and facts about the NATO
Alliance and the process of Slovenian accession process in the
Alliance. Its main aim is to contribute to greater awareness,
understanding and public discussion of the process of integration with
the NATO and on the consequences that membership will have for Slovene
citizens.
The campaign includes:
- Regular cooperation with the media: (regularly providing
information and other materials, opportunities to meet with senior
NATO representatives, study visits to NATO and SHAPE, and cooperation
for major events, visits by foreign statesmen or senior NATO
representatives);
- Informative publications: To date, the following
publications have been issued: Natopis (2002), an informative
newsletter, a handbook of frequently asked questions and answers
(2002), a special supplement in the journal NATO's Nations (2002),
leaflets NATO after
Prague [Acrobat pdf, 1233 Kb] (2003), and What is NATO [Acrobat pdf, 809 Kb] (2003). For
raising public awareness, the Office also uses materials from other
publishers. Available are also the NATO publications NATO Handbook (in
Slovenian) and Understanding the New NATO (in Slovenian), as well as
the publication "What is NATO", published by the Atlantic
Council of Slovenia. All publications can be found in .pdf format at
the web site (see section publications),
and they can be ordered on the "Natofon" hotline or through
our web site. The publications are available free of charge.
- The Natofon, a toll-free hotline (080 2122) provided for
citizen that can pose questions on different aspects of accession
process. The "Natofon" adds to the possibility of the direct
communication with citizens, who can also ask questions also through
the web site, http://nato.gov.si/. The answers to
their questions are archived under a special heading: Frequently Asked
Questions and Answers, which is accessible to all interested persons
(in Slovenian only).
- A web page dedicated to inclusion in NATO: The web page
http://nato.gov.si provides
information and is the largest Slovenian-language combined data base
on NATO and Slovenian activities towards accession in one place. The
most often visited headings are the Theme of the Month, the Media
Centre, Frequently Asked Questions and the Calendar of Events.
- Public discussions, roundtables and lectures: As part of
the programme, several opportunities for lectures, discussions and
roundtables with guests from Slovenia and abroad are prepared. The
events are prepared independently or in cooperation with the
ministries, the Atlantic Council of Slovenia, the Slovenian Committee
for NATO, faculties and the NATO Alliance.
The public awareness campaign has its own visual corporate
identity, which contributes to the recognition of and draws attention
to the topic of Slovenian integration into NATO.
The Office's NATO Department oversees the carrying out of the
public awareness campaign for inclusion in NATO.
|
