HQ NRDC-ESP

HQ NRDC ESP

HQ NRDC ESP

Organized by the Allied Command Transformation (ACT, Norfolk) and with the support of the Spanish NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Headquarters (Bétera), the fourth round of the annual NATO Bi-SC Information & Communicators Conference has taken place in the city of Valencia from 18^th until 22^nd of September.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Competing in the Information Environment” and approximately three hundred and fifty experts on communication from the NATO community as well as from several countries from the PfP (Partnership for Peace) program debated the different functions such as strategic communications, public affairs, information operations and psychological operations.

During the second day, part of the audience moved to the Bétera Military Base, site of the HQ NRDC-ESP, in order to participate in a working group where different aspects of the information operations and psychological operations were analyzed.

Some of the topics being presented at the conference were focused on maintaining credibility, countering misinformation and reassessing the information environment. The primary concern was defining the factors that have a clear impact on the evolving world of communications in order to identify strategies that will help NATO succeed in the information environment.

The document “NATO Brand Guide” was also presented during the conference. This guide book is meant to help all of us communicate the NATO message more effectively and consistently. It is an important tool to help us build a stronger NATO together.

The conference was attended by Ambassador Tacan Ildem, Assitant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy NATO Headquarters, as well as by his deputy, Carmen Romero. Recorded messages from General Denis Mercier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, and General Curtis Scaparroti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, were shown to the attendees. Both emphasized the crucial importance of the information environment of which NATO cannot remain on the sidelines.

Deputy Allied Commander Transformation, Admiral Manfred Nielson, addressed the attendees on the last day of the conference. Presentation of the different conclusions put an end to the five days conference. The importance of communications in the current security and defense environment is increasing, especially, in the so called hybrid threat, where the information domain becomes paramount to achieve the mission of preserving the freedom and the lives of our citizens.