First NALAS IT and PR Meeting in Ohrid, 6-8 July 2008
In an effort to network its member associations on multiple levels, NALAS gathered Information Technology (IT) and Public Relations (PR) experts from the member associations in Ohrid, between 6 and 8 July 2008. The meeting was part of the activities of the NALAS Task Force on Association Development. In addition, the meeting was an effort to establish new communication channels for exchange of information between NALAS Knowledge Centre and the member associations.
Both the IT and PR staff enjoyed very interesting presentations on current practices and strategies, one such delivered by Mr Patrizio Fiorilli, Head of press and communication at CEMR. NALAS presented its current and fore coming activities, as well as its NALAS Knowledge Centre. The participants presented the current status and recent developments at the member associations.
More information about the meeting can be found in the report below.
Proposals for NALAS actions in PR field
The PR group discussed possible further joint actions and identified common priority areas. It was agreed that NALAS should:
- Organise workshops for LGAs’ PRs, with lecturers from EU LGAs, EU Committee of the Regions and similar institutions, PRs from EU and regional towns and municipalities, and journalists (1 guests, or at some occasions, 1 journalist from each NALAS member country) - on the topic of:
a. LGA identity and Advanced PR Tools and Tips (top priority)
b. Impact assessment (top priority)
c. Crisis management
d. Municipal PR networking at National Level
e. Media appearance for Executive Officials (of LGAs)
f. Contact with journalists - Collect PR literature:
g. LGA publications on PR and examples of PR tools
h. PR literature produced by relevant international and national organisations - Explore possibilities for using radio for LGA promotion (in the framework of NALAS Communication Strategy)
- Organise cultural events on SEE, including multimedia events at the website (in the framework of NALAS Communication Strategy)
• Organise distribution of awards for:
o Best municipal PR in SEE
o Best LG journalist in SEE
The NALAS PR Team that will work on development of NALAS Communication Strategy was formed, and it constitutes of ZELS representative (Vesna Arsova), SCTM representative (Vladimir Jovanovic), NAMRB representative (Maria Kumanova) and NALAS representative (Marija Sosic). Both PR and IT network will be consulted during preparation of the Strategy.
Proposals for NALAS actions in IT fields
The IT experts discussed the information technology needs at the associations. The discussion resulted with ideas for potential joint activities for addressing some of the most pressing IT issues. These activities may include:
Standardization and certification: Develop a toolkit with recommendations for better development, usage and maintenance of IT at the local authorities. Propose security standards, including physical security. Provide certification of the LG infrastructure and methodology.
Education: Provide trainings for member LGAs, provide training on proper transfer of information, spread knowledge on open source software.
News and information: Provide current IT news, discuss new changes in the IT field.
Technical activities: Develop open source platform for all municipalities, establish FTP servers for exchange of documents, provide help on building better websites and develop IT infrastructure, both hardware and software, for the LGAs and their members.
