Montenegro to host first government communication conference in South Eastern Europe (SEECOM)

Government communication officials of South Eastern Europe and some of the leading communication experts from Europe and the United States will come together for the first time in Budva, Montenegro, from 14-16 September to set up an international government communication forum.

Participants in the 1st South Eastern European Government Communication Conference (SEECOM) will adopt a joint Declaration to establish the region’s forum for government communicators, laying the groundwork for long-term exchange of best practices and development of professional standards.

The SEECOM is organized by the Government of Montenegro, UNDP Montenegro and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, with the support of the US Embassy in Podgorica. Prime Minister of Montenegro Igor Luksic, US Ambassador Sue K. Brown, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Montenegro Rastislav Vrbensky and Head of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Office for Serbia and Montenegro Henri-Giscard Bohnet are scheduled to address the opening session of the conference at the Maestral Hotel in Budva on Friday, September 14th at 5pm.

The goal of the conference and the future forum is to strengthen the role of government communicators in promoting government transparency and openness, free and easy access to information and greater public participation in policy making, with a view to advancing participatory democracy in the region.

The SEECOM is part of Montenegro’s Action Plan for Open Government Partnership, a new multilateral initiative that seeks to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.

The working language of the conference is English.

To find out more about the conference, please visit http://www.gov.me/en/seecom/.