OSCE Office holds training for Armenian Defence Ministry public information officers

YEREVAN, 26 April 2011 –– A two-day training course on public relations and freedom of information for Armenian Defence Ministry information service officers started in Yerevan today.

The training programme includes interactive and practical exercises on interacting successfully with the media and the public. Local experts and international instructors from Lithuania and Canada will guide the participants through national and international legislation on free access to information, and discuss legitimate limitations to these rights.

“Transparency and accountability of the armed forces is a core OSCE principle,” said Carel Hofstra, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. “I trust this training course will provide an opportunity for information service officers to exchange experiences and learn to serve the public’s information needs as well and as responsibly as possible.”

“This training organized with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan can be very useful to our staff in implementing our information and public relations strategy, as it provides an opportunity to get acquainted with international experience in this field,” added David Karapetyan, the Press Secretary of the Armenian Defence Minister.

“Understanding and working with the media and society is an important issue for all governmental institutions. In a democratic society, everyone needs information about important issues like how the government uses your money, how they protect your values, and so on. Access to information helps people to feel they are part of the process,” said Dainius Radzevicius, the Chairman of the Lithuanian Journalists Union, who was invited by the OSCE to help lead the training course.

The participants will learn about Armenian freedom of information legislation and its implementation, dealing effectively with media requests, developing and using communication messages, conducting news conferences and different types of interviews, and other aspects of public relations work.