This report contains information on the recent activities the Information and Documentation Centre on NATO has conducted so far in 2014, the recently implemented projects, as well as information regarding the currently ongoing projects. We will also list our public diplomacy events such as public lectures, photo exhibitions, as well as the IDC on NATO team’s participation in radio and TV shows.
Public Diplomacy activities of the IDC on NATO in 2014
1) Public lecture for the MSU students on February 13th: NATO’s global role and IDC’s on NATO Centre in Moldova.
2) Between the 18th and 20th of February 2014, the IDC on NATO has organized a number of public lectures for students from the State University of Moldova and the Institute of International Relations of the Republic of Moldova. The organized events aimed to familiarize young people with the North Atlantic Alliance mechanisms, structures and with NATO’s role around the world.
3) Public lesson for the MSU students on the 14th of March organized by the IDC, held by dr. Iulian Chifu. Topic: Security perspectives 10 years after biggest NATO enlargement.
4) The online contest Expert for one day (20-27 March) launched by the IDC on NATO with the aim of popularizing the main achievement of the R.M.-NATO 20 years cooperation
5) Public lecture on the 25th of March attended by the IRIM, MSU, and ULIM student on the topic Moldova’s Relations w/ NATO 20 years after the signing of the PfP Programme.
6) Security perspectives 10 years after biggest NATO enlargement. Public lecture organized by the IDC, held by H.E. Violeta Motulaite (ambassador of Lithuania) and Georgi Stefanov (embassy of Bulgaria).
7) 20 years of Moldova-NATO Partnership, public lecture held by the IDC . The event brought together public officials and post-graduate researchers in the national security field.
8) The IDC participated at the NATO Partnerships. Meeting New Challenges Together. Eastern Europe and Caucasian-Caspian Dimension conference in Invano-Frankivs, Ukraine, 3-5 April.
9) Public Lecture held by Ivan Ene (representative of MOD at NATO) at the IDC on NATO.
10) Participation in two TV show and twelve radio shows during this period.
NATO Summit in Wales, 4th – 5th of September, 2014
The IDC on NATO has been constantly providing information regarding the NATO Wales Summit. The development of events before, during, and after the summit has been reflected on the page of our website dedicated to monitoring the NATO Wales Summit:
IDC on NATO Academic Journal, nr.18
This volume is the eighteenth edition of the “Academic Journal” published by the Information and Documentation Centre on NATO. The materials collected in this edition refer to Moldova’s security options in the context of the renewed security challenges in the region.
The published texts can be classified into two distinct categories. The first one is concerning the materials were presented during the “NATO’s partnerships. Achievements and Perspectives” Conference organized during the NATO week in Moldova. During that event, the participants discussed the issue of NATO’s partnerships relevance when in the context of the new security challenges in Europe, focusing mainly on the issue of Moldova’s relations with NATO and on the need to deepen the cooperation between the two partners under the Partnership for Peace Programme. On this occasion multiple speeches have been given, including that of Alexander Vershbow – Deputy Secretary General of NATO, H.E. Mr Petar Valov – Ambassador of Bulgaria, H. E. Ms Ingrid Tersman – Ambassador of Sweden, H. E. Mr Mihai Gribincea – Ambassador to Belgium and Head of Mission of the Republic of Moldova to NATO, Mr Alexander Cimbriciuc – Chairman of the Moldovan Parliamentary Delegation to the NATO PA, etc. Their speeches have been published in the first part of the edition.
The volume can be at the IDC on NATO office, or online using the following link: http://infocenter.md/cgblog/687/Editia-nr-18-a-Jurnalului-Academic-editat-de-CID-NATO
The second part of the journal comprises a number of relevant articles that deal with some of the current issues affecting the security in Europe, or related to threats and vulnerabilities faced by Moldova in the light of the new challenges to regional security. The Ukrainian Crisis, Moldova’s neutrality, the energy and the cyber security are just a few topics tackled by the local and foreign experts. This edition comprises texts both in Romanian and English.
Projects implemented by the IDC on NATO
NATO Week in Moldova
May-July 2014
The NATO Week comprised a series of events aimed to broaden and deepen the understanding of the Moldovan population with regards to NATO’s activities and values, as well as NATO-Moldova relations in particular.
The 2014 edition is the third one and also a milestone in the entire activity of the IDC on NATO, as it dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the PfP Programme in Moldova.
This year’s edition will focus on reaching more than 400 direct stakeholder sand more than 1000 stakeholders via new media tools, TV and radio broadcasts, both in cities and rural areas, as well as on publishing and distributing more than 600 informational booklets, notebooks and journals.
May 13th Public lecture at the State University of Moldova on the topic “20 years of Partnership for Peace: achievements and perspectives” held by H.E., Mr. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary General of NATO.
May 13th Round table on the topic “The crisis in Ukraine and its impact on NATO Partnerships” with the participation of local and foreign experts, civil society and academia representatives.
May 16th The release of a book published by the Ministry of Defense on the topic of Moldova-NATO relations within the context of the Partnership for Peace programme. On the same day the photo exhibition “20 Years of NATO PfP Programme” took place in partnership with the MoD and NATO Contact Point Embassy in Moldova; the exhibition depicted the achievements Moldova has reached due to its collaboration with NATO.
May 16th The public Debate on the topic “Moldova and NATO: a win-win relation.” was an event which aimed to generate discussions, inform the population about the NATO-Moldova relations and develop the critical analysis among citizens with regards to Moldova`s input in its partnership with NATO. The public debate was organized in mixed teams of experts and professional debaters and will used a mix of BP debate format and Chatham House rules.
Workshop: Integrity in personnel management (22nd of may)
The event brought together representatives of state institutions, ambassadors accredited in Chisinau , servicemen, as well as Moldovan and foreign experts . Among them were present Philipp Flury – DCAF Director, and the Director of the Division for Political Affairs and Security Policy – Alberto Bin, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.
The workshop discussed the problems and modern challenges to the management of the defense sphere, the phenomenon of corruption in the armed forces, strengthening integrity through education.
The Perception on NATO in the Republic of Moldova. Between myth and reality – booklet issued by the IDC on NATO
Understanding NATO: Media Campaign
“Understanding NATO: Media Campaign” project comprised a series of public events focusing on a strong media outreach, as well as on setting up a number of radio broadcasts and TV shows as well as distribution of publications in urban and rural areas. Our main objectives were to provide first-hand information about NATO and Moldova-NATO relations to national and local journalists, as well as to revive the already established IDC on NATO information points in the cities of Cahul and Balti. In order to achieve the above mentioned goals we organized a series of events, and published a number of information materials that were distributed in regions throughout the project implementation period.
Activities:
- On the 15th of May the IDC on NATO organized the first radio talk show planned within the project. The broadcast was hosted by Radio “Vocea Basarabiei”. The main topic of conversation between Vasile Croitoru, a local expert, and Liliana Barabarosie – the radio host, were the relations between the Republic of Moldova and NATO in the context of the Ukrainian crisis.
- On May 25th, the executive director of the IDC on NATO, Elena Mârzac participated at the TV-show “Euro-Dictionary”.
- On the 25th of June the Programme Director of the IDC on NATO, Patricia Zghibarta took part in the Radio Show “Room for dialogue” together with Alexandru Cimbriciuc – the president of the Parliamentary Delegation of the Republic of Moldova at NATO, as well as Vice-president of the Committee for national security, defense and public order.
- On 18th of July, Elena Marzac and Patricia Zghibarta, together with Sanda Sandu a volunteer at the IDC, took part at 7 PM o’clock edition of the “Room for dialogue” radio talk show of the National Tele-Radio Company of Moldova.
- On the 15th of August Patricia Zghibarta, program manager at
IDC on NATO, and Alla Rosca, a local security expert took part in the radio talk show “What is NATO? The relations between the Republic of Moldova and NATO during the last 20 years”. The talk show was hosted by Radio “Plai”..
On the 18th of August, two members of the IDC on NATO team – Elena Marzac and Patricia Zghibarta, together with Viorel Cibotaru – the Director of the European Institute for Public Polices, took part in the radio talk show “What is NATO: The relations between NATO and the Republic of Moldova” at Radio Orhei.
On the 27 of August Mihai Turcanu, Programme Coordinator of the IDC on NATOat anotheredition of the radio broadcast “Room for dialogue” of the National “Tele-Radio Moldova” Company. He was joined by a local expert – Vasile Croitoru as well as by the radio host – Anatol Caciuc.
Security for You(th) Project
September – November 2014
During the months of September-November, the IDC on NATO has implemented the “Security for Yo(th)” project. Under this project a number of activities were designed and executed:
- We held a number of 20 lessons at lyceums and universities in Moldova. These lectures were held by the IDC on NATO team, local experts, academics from Moldova, Ukraine and Romania. Thre presentation took place in various educational istitutions from Chisinau, Balti, Cahul, Orhei, Ialoveni, etc.
- We have organized two film projections on security, and NATO-related topics. The events were designed for our local students and were attended by media representatives, local experts and ambassadors from Allied countries.
The National Inter-Universitary Conference “Moldova’s National Security in the wake of recent regional challenges ”.
- The IDC on NATO team has organized a number of four photo ehibitions on the topic “The perception of NATO in the Republic of Moldova: between myth and reality” . The exhibitions were held in the center of the capital city of Chisinau.
- The culmination of this project was the National Inter-Universitary Conference “Moldova’s National Security in the wake of recent regional challenges ”. We have invited two professors from Ukraine – Yuri Temirov of National University of Donetk, and Radu Sebastian Ungureanu – of SNSPA, Bucharest as speakers for this conference. The materials of this conference will be published in a special compendium.
Through this project we have reached a wide visibility and a significant impact by encouraging media reports as well as advertising through social media websites. The project’s activities ensured a better understanding regarding the current security issues among young Moldovans, while also acting as a tool in order to enhance the dialogue and constructive debate between young people on the necessity of cooperation between Moldova and NATO. Most important, we delivered a clear and easy to understand message to the new generation of Moldovans about the need of dialogue and cooperation in a fast-changing world marked by vulnerabilities, growing risks and challenges to the international security; we sought to bring to the attention of our society the fact that security matters and that the young people have to play a vital role in the future of our country’s security.
Moldovan opinion formers visit at the NATO HQ in Brussels
On November 20th, the team of the Information and Documentation Center on NATO made a working visit at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. On this occasion, CID NATO team was accompanied by several representatives of civil society, teachers, journalists and government officials. Among the latter were Sergei Tulus – professor at the University of Taraclia, Mihai Muntean – professor at the University of Comrat, Natalia Albu – professor at the “Alexandru cel Bun” Military Academy, Sanda Sandu – Secretary General of ELSA, Tatiana Castrasan – editor and author of “Boluguvern”, Aliona Caprovscaia – journalist from Taraclia, Rita Croitoru – Publika TV journalist, Oleg Cristal – Publika TV editor, Anatol Caciuc – “Teleradio Moldova” journalist, and Mr Vitali Rusu and Vitali Stoian – representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defence.
IDC’s on NATO team, media representatives, students and academics at the NATO HQ in Brussels
During this one-day visit, CID NATO team, civil society representatives and government officials took part in several discussions in an informal environment where they have discussed issues such as cooperation between Moldova and NATO and new aspects of this collaboration, the new policy of the alliance after the Wales Summit, situation in Ukraine, etc. The discussion was attended by several NATO officers including Despina AFENTOULI – Officer of programs for Moldova, Public Diplomacy Division, Krisztian MESZAROS – Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, Simone de Manso – Press Officer, Public Diplomacy Division, James Mackey – Head of Euro-Atlantic Integration and Partnerships Department, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, Radoslava Stefanova – Head Department of Russia and Ukraine Relations, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, Mihai Carp – Operations Division and E. S. Michael Gribincea – Moldovan Ambassador to NATO. The working visit to NATO Headquarters was conducted during a three days visit by CID NATO team and representatives of civil society and media in Brussels.
