On October 31, 2016, the Levan Mikeladze Foundation held the third meeting of Strategic Communication working group on the topic “NATO Communication Strategy”. The meeting was organized in the framework of the project - “National Convention on the EU in Georgia”. The project is carried out in partnership with the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA) and with the financial support of the Slovak Aid and Europe Foundation.

The meeting took place in the State Chancellery. It was chaired by Ms. Mariam Rakviashvili, the Deputy State Minister on European and Euro Atlantic Integration and by Mr. David Sikharulidze, Chairman of the Atlantic Council of Georgia.

The working group was composed with representatives of those government institutions and organization, which work directly on NATO related issues. In total, there were 17 organizations represented in the session. These organizations were:

1. Atlantic Council of Georgia
2. East-West Management Institute ACCESS program
3. Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies
4. Information Centre on NATO and EU
5. Media Development Fund (MDF)
6. National Security Council of Georgia
7. Open Society Georgia Foundation
8. The Levan Mikeladze Foundation (LMF)
9. The Ministry of Defence
10. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
11. The Ministry of Internal Affairs
12. The Ministry of Justice
13. The Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Diaspora Issues
14. The Office of State Minister of Georgia on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration
15. Office of State Minister of Georgia for Reintegration
16. The Office of State Security and Crisis Management Council
17. USAID/GGI

Early in September, it was proposed by the Office of State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, with the assistance of the LMF staff, to draft NATO Communication Strategy document, which should serve as a strategy paper setting country priorities, main actors, the course of actions and so on. Due to the fact that the document required considerably more time and effort, it was agreed that the last two WG Strategic communication meetings as well as one additional meeting to be devoted to the preparation of this document. The first meeting was held on October 31, 2016. The aim of the meeting was to draft and present an outline paper. The LMF expert, Mr. Giorgi Muchaidze, presented the possible structure of the NATO Communication Strategy Document and proposed justifications for each section. During the meeting, the participants engaged in active discussion, suggesting changes and comments to the proposed outline. Some members emphasized on the importance of including an extensive background analysis of the existing situation, also covering the pre-history, as it should prove the continuity of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration process. It was stated that the strategy document needed an additional Action Plan, which should include more specific actions, actors and deadlines. The audience was divided on the issue of whether there should be one common document for both NATO and EU strategic communication or they should be separated due to indifferent goals and actors. The participants also discussed who should be the implementers – what should be the role of parliament and local municipalities. What was agreed was the necessity of all stakeholders, including the central and local government, legislative body, and the civil society sector to coordinate their work. 

The main sections of document outline:

• Introduction
• The description of strategic environment in which Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic Integration takes place
• The main goal of country’s strategy and the objectives, which are planned to be fulfilled in the period covered by the document
• Target audience and possible supporters of strategy
• Communication channels and forms
• Funding of communication strategy
• Conclusion