The NATO-wide Strategic Communications (StratCom) Conference 2011 will be held 20-22 June 2011 at the NATO Defence College in Rome, Italy. This year's conference will build on previous conferences and focus on identifying those aspects of current practice which should be taken forward in the further evolution of NATO StratCom to support NATO's operations, missions and associated activities. The
agenda is attached for your information. Registration is now closed.
Dear Colleagues
A Stratcom Conference update from Mark Laity:
No-one will be surprised that apart from our enduring work supporting NATO in Afghanistan, the Balkans, and off the Horn of Africa, the SHAPE team has been heavily engaged in the StratCom aspects of the Libya operation – but this has not stopped work on our annual StratCom Conference, which is looking good. You will find attached a more developed agenda, which is nearing completion, and I think it offers a timely and very relevant opportunity to see where StratCom currently is, and where it should be heading.
We've sought to respond to the feedback on what's wanted, covering topics such as bridging cultural divides, influencing not just measuring behaviours, using social media, and the next steps on doctrine development. I'm really pleased with the line-up as well. It ranges from key leaders like Lt Gen Marcus Bentler, who used StratCom to great effect in Kosovo, through noted StratCom thinkers like Matt ‘Mountain Runner' Armstrong, to Jamie Shea, the Alliance's most famous spokesman who knows NATO better than anyone and is now looking at the Alliance's future challenges, and will assess StratCom's role. Along with people like these we have an array of experts, operators and practitioners, which should together make a lively mix in both the main sessions and the breakouts. All this and Rome too!
I'm also delighted to report that despite the spending constraints we already have over 50 confirmed attendees. This tracks well with the figures we had for the same time over the last couple of years, so we're looking set fair for a successful conference, and with the more detailed agenda we're looking forward to more of you joining us. As we look at Libya, where the value of StratCom is increasingly evident, what are we getting right and what do we need to do better? We have a lot to talk about.
Mark