Social Media: Empowering Partners
The world is facing a paradigm shift in the context of digital outreach for public diplomacy, public affairs, and audience impact. NATO has played a leading role in supporting members and partners in developing their capabilities in these areas. A primary focus is supporting Ministries dealing with digital outreach and public diplomacy related to political-military issues. NATO's expertise in technology development, social media engagement and multimedia content has shown that these are increasingly critical methods for effectively reaching audiences. These evolving communication technologies bring with them transformational qualifies that empower individuals as much as they empower organizations.
This fundamental shift requires adequate exchange of best practices among the relevant operational policy levels.
Building on this spirit, the NATO Public Diplomacy Division and the Montenegro Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European integration announce the co-sponsorship of the forthcoming event: "Social Media: Empowering Partners" in Podgorica on June 8, 2015.
- 08:30
Coffee & Registration
- 09:00
Opening Remarks
- Steven Mehringer (NATO)
- 09:05
Welcome Address
- Ted Whiteside (NATO)
- 09:15
VIP Montenegro Opening Address
- 09:30
The Social Media Landscape
- Zoe Cairns (ZC Social Media)
- A recognized social media specialist puts forward a higher-level overview on social media. Where is it now, what are the trends, what to watch.
- 10:00
The political leaders and government officials using social media
- Ted Whiteside (NATO), Vesko Garcevic (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Montenegro), Srdjan Kusovac (Office of the PM, Montenegro), Dritan Abazovic (Member of Parliament, Montenegro), Mirela Rebronja (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Montenegro)
- Panel discussion between politicians active on social media. What are their goals, what is their experience on social media, what are the challenges?
- 10:45
Coffee Break
- 11:15
NATO's Social Media
- Steven Mehringer, Franky Saegerman (NATO)
- NATO as a role model for international organizations on social media. How is NATO using social media: what is the potential, what is the reach, how did NATO catch up with other international organizations?
- 12:00
Innovating communication in a crisis
- Melissa Agnes (Agnes + Day), Yarina Klyuchkovska (Grou group), Claudia Liute (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Romania), Darko Brkan (Zasto ne)
- Using social media in times of natural disasters, national crises, and in emergence communications.
- 12:45
Lunch & Learn
- Elizabeth Oren (NATO School)
- 14:00
Social Media in the Balkans
- Steven Mehringer (NATO), Matt Lambert (Paradigma), Theo Lomas (Facebook), Dan Spicer (Hootsuite), Nikola Vulic (Digitalizuj.me)
- What is the social media landscape in the Balkans? How is it used by local social media experts?
- 14:45
Using social media for government
- Franky Saegerman (NATO), Rana Walker (GR&AT Management Consultant), Milica Kovacevic (Center for Democratic Transition), Helen Reynolds (Social for the People).
- Users from local offices in Partner Countries provide an insight into the challenges for their account, from setting up the accounts to content creation to user engagement
- 15:30
Social Media and the NextGEN
- Karli Johnston (NATO), Marija Martinovic (a Montenegro political party), Olena Kuzan (Stockholm School of Economics, Latvia), Slaven Zivkovic (DeFacto Consultancy), Robert Ivitsa Shushich (YATA)
- How should traditional government agencies and international organizations connect with and speak to younger audiences? How do younger people use social media in their daily life?
- 16:15
Closing Remarks
- Steven Mehringer (NATO)
