On Thursday 13th December, the annual Workshop for Public Information Officers serving in EMAS (Italian Air Force) Bodies and Departments was held in Rome.
Around 70 officers from the Armed Forces present throughout the country attended the meeting.
The proceedings opened with a welcome address by the Head of the General Office of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Office, Air Brigadier General Roberto Comelli, who introduced the Head of Strategic Communication at NATO, Mr. Mark Laity.
In his speech, Mr. Laity highlighted the importance of Strategic Communication in the management of international crises and armed conflicts. In particular, the head of strategic communication for NATO emphasised that the importance of information for the success of a mission is such that, at times, policies and actions must be adapted to meet the needs of strategic communication.
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Giuseppe Bernardis, addressed the workshop, stating:“It is a pleasure to greet you [...] because I believe it is important that I too highlight what you do and the significant relationship that exists, especially during this period, between the activities of the PI and the results of the Air Force's activities.“The Chief of Staff of the Air Force then emphasised how in difficult times like these, “The activity of Public Information […] has a much more significant meaning than it once had. In the past, everything was simpler, and we could even avoid interacting with the outside world […] now we have a critical situation and […] when you are going through a difficult time, the interrelationships between various categories, between various activities, between various aspects of society need to be much more explicit, much more known, known in the genuine way. This holds even more true for us; at the current critical moment, from a resources and financial perspective, we are often perceived as resource subtractors. You are indispensable tools for making it understood that this is not the case. You must succeed in making it understood that we are not resource subtractors but resource multipliers because we work for the community. Working for the community means improving the community's activities, means bringing benefits, means also initiating activities in various sectors that are preparatory to having a more efficient system, a system that grows […] that is not static, introverted. General Bernardis finally recalled the importance of “to constantly adapt to the times”in order to establish“a cohesive entity that is constantly ready to react to requests, impressions, opinions […] “.
Subsequently, the Chief of Staff awarded the “Communicator of the Year 2012” prize to Lieutenant Ivano Car, press officer of the Elmas Aerodrome Detachment (CA), for his valuable contribution to managing relations with local media.
During the event, Colonel Giovanni Bocci, President of the COCER, also spoke to provide an update on the recent initiatives of the Military Representation, Air Brigadier General Claudio Salerno, Head of the V Department of SMA, who illustrated the role of Internal and External Communication of the Armed Force, and Air Brigadier General Nicola Lanza De Cristoforis, Head of the I Department of SMA, who provided an overview of recent legislative measures regarding organisation and personnel.
