South-Eastern European Government Communication Forum (SEECOM) presented in Washington

Washington, DC, USA (20 March 2013) – The South-Eastern European Government Communication Forum (the SEECOM Forum) was presented yesterday, 19 April, at the annual Communications School of the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) in Washington, DC.

The SEECOM Forum was established last September in Budva, Montenegro, at the First South-Eastern European Government Communication Conference, where government communicators from nine countries of the region adopted the Budva Declaration, Europe’s first declaration on the highest ethical and professional principles of public sector communication.

By adopting the Budva Declaration, the SEECOM Forum founders voiced their personal and professional commitment to the public interest, enhancing openness and transparency of the administration, strengthening direct communication between governments and citizens, and including the public in the policy-making process.

SEECOM’s goals and mission were presented by Vuk Vujnović, Head of Government of Montenegro’s PR Bureau a.i., one of the founders of SEECOM, who became the first member of the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) outside the US.

The annual NAGC Communication School is a central event in the US, which gathers government communicators from all government levels and provides a unique opportunity for exchanging opinions and for professional development. This year’s topic was Government Communicators: Engaging Citizens in Democracy.

The South-Eastern Europe’s first regional conference on government communication, which established SEECOM, was hosted last September in Budva by the Government of Montenegro, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Montenegro, and German political foundation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, with the support of the US Embassy in Montenegro.

Honorary members of the SEECOM Forum are world’s leading public communication experts: Mike Granatt, coordinator of the Club of Venice and former director of the UK Government’s Information and Communication Service, John Verrico, NAGC President, and Anna Maria Darmanin, Vice President of the European Economic and Social Committee.