Assistant Secretary General Kolinda Grabar: Remarks to the NPA

Getting the Message Across: NATO’s Narrative Challenge

February 16, 2014 � BrusselsGood afternoon, President Bayley, distinguished members of Delegations, Parliamentaryguests, colleagues and friends,

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly plays an essential role as the link between theAlliance and our parliaments, and – through them – our publics. As Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Public Diplomacy, I am grateful for your essential work in engaging withyour constituents and your peers on the importance of NATO. The Alliance has acompelling story to tell during this Summit year, and your work has been indispensablein ensuring that our publics hear it loud and clear.

For all of these contributions to this work, I am here to say thank you. But I should addthat I also am here today to push a bit of an agenda. (I hope you will indulge me!) Andthat agenda is simple: NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division and the NATO ParliamentaryAssembly can and should do more together. With your help, we want to hear more fromconstituents about where they believe the Alliance is headed. I am here to seek yourfeedback on how we can improve our ties and work together during this pivotal year forthe Alliance.

With that not-so-hidden agenda in mind, I would like to begin with a few commentsabout the year ahead for NATO, as well as a brief summary of the Alliance’s publicnarrative as we approach the NATO Summit in September. I will outline some of the key

Instead, as the subject of our panel suggests, I’d like to focus our talk on how the NPAand NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division can coordinate more effectively and supporteach other’s efforts

to get the message across.

It is essential that we hear your views aswe begin our Summit planning. And I assure you, we are listening to your views whichare very important to us: Many of you may recall that we commissioned PriceWaterhouse Cooper to conduct a survey during the NATO Parliamentary Assemblysession in Dubrovnik last October and at the NATO PA Transatlantic Forum inWashington in December. I will cite a few of the surveys’ key findings a bit later, and Ilook forward to hearing your feedback. Thank you again for your help in working withPWC on your views.

Throughout the year, we mark significant anniversaries of the great conflicts whichshaped our world; the enlargements which have helped heal the divisions in Europe; andour ever-widening network of partners as we tackle global security challenges. We willalso mark the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Washington Treaty, NATO’sfounding document.

And we have a strong case to make. We live in a security environment that is complex –and is only growing more complex. Threats are multiplying and instability is growing.But NATO has demonstrated it is strong, adaptable, and ready to provide security todayand tomorrow.

The Alliance has taken on new missions, developed new capabilities, welcomed newmembers and engaged with new partners. Each time we faced new threats, we have risento the challenge, learned from the experience, and moved forward.

So the stakes are high, and the media environment is daunting: We live at a time inwhich events unfold in real time. We are operating amid the competitive din of socialmedia. Official voices are sometimes not the most exciting -- and not always perceivedas the most credible. But despite these challenges, we have to be a part of thatconversation.

The first core theme you will be hearing quite a lot about as we approach the Summitboils down to a simple phrase:

“Future NATO”

– a term that captures the idea of anAlliance that is rebalancing and adapting to lessons learned over the past 20 years ofNATO operations. These lessons break down into three broad categories:

First, Partnerships:

We will point to NATO’s experience in Afghanistan as avivid illustration of how partnerships make the Alliance more capable, flexible,and better-connected.

Second, Connectivity:

As our largest combat operation winds down in 2014, itwill be essential to remain connected as Allies and with partners so we retain theedge and experience acquired through over 20 years of operations.And finally,

capabilities:

We need to persuade our publics of the importance ofinvesting in the capabilities we need to ensure that the Alliance has the right toolsto confront tomorrow’s challenges.

Speaking more broadly, the Summit is an opportunity to communicate persuasively withcitizens who are questioning NATO’s relevance -- particularly with the end of the ISAFmission. Many people question why we need defence at all. We need to make the casethat the preservation of our security and values is not given.

Much has already been achieved. Our staffs are in close contact here in Brussels. Wework together on briefings – sometimes we bring groups to you and sometimes you bringgroups to us. This is incredibly valuable – last May the NPA organized a visit for a groupof Russian parliamentarians – something that would not have been possible if we wereworking alone. We also worked very closely together during the recent NPA visit toKyiv. At the same time, I believe that we can do even more in our joint efforts to reachout to national legislative bodies.

It is no secret that involving members of national legislative bodies in both Allied andpartner countries is one of our most critical priorities. The role of the NATOParliamentary assembly in this respect is absolutely crucial. We rely on you and yourcolleagues to help us reach out to parliamentarians who are not necessarily as engaged insecurity and defence issues as you are.

I’ve mentioned the challenging media environment in which we operate. Right now, welive in a world where facts and opinions are exchanged and disseminated with the click ofa button. In this environment, the ability of elected officials, governments, andmultilateral organizations to engage and facilitate dialogue has never been greater – but atthe same time, we have never faced more competition. We can have more of an impact ifwe are working together.

And as I mentioned, we are listening to your feedback. We commissioned the PWCsurveys last year to take a close look at how we can communicate with you moreeffectively. We worked in close cooperation with the NATO PA Secretariat on thesurveys, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the NPA staff for its superbwork and excellent support.5

The surveys sought your views on the way in which NATO communicates with you andon your perceptions of NATO more broadly. Let me share with you some of theconclusions of the survey, which is based on the views of 97 parliamentarians, from bothmember and non-member countries:NATO PA Delegates have a very favourable perception of NATO, with 51% ofrespondents saying that the Alliance totally fulfils its goals and 40% that itsomewhat fulfils them.Delegates believe that more than half of their parties have similarly positive viewsof NATO, but only 25% of their constituencies share these views.Respondents recommended that outreach towards constituents, especially youth,should be improved to convince them of NATO’s value and relevance. Someexpressed the view that citizens have moved beyond the idea of NATO as anecessary entity.92% of respondents reported that they integrate their NATO PA activities intotheir national work either sometimes or always.Delegates indicated that they are satisfied with the frequency and quality of NATOoutreach and that more person-to-person contact would be useful.

These findings point to a positive picture of how we are communicating with each other.However, I believe they also point to areas in which we can do more – and move forwardtogether. I will mention three areas in particular, but this is just a beginning -- I welcomeyour ideas on how to build on this list:

1. First, I believe there is more we can do to compare notes on target audiences. Youknow your constituents – you know the issues they follow and those they don’t.You know what will appeal to them and what won’t. And you may be the primaryconduit through which they gather information to form their opinions about arange of subjects, NATO included. So you are well-placed to carry the message ofNATO’s relevance. To the extent possible, we’d like to build on that goodfoundation. We can do this only with your feedback.

2. Secondly, the PWC survey emphasized one of those audiences in particular: theyounger generation. We should do more to combine our efforts in engagingyounger audiences, ideally through increased cooperation with universities andschools. We need to explore ways in which NATO can contribute – in terms ofsubstance, contacts, and technology – to your own youth outreach.

3. Thirdly, NATO should increasingly look to the NPA to help amplify our outreachtowards next-generation policymakers. We would be grateful for your advice andexpertise on how best to build on your existing partnerships with local politicalgroups and policy organizations.4. Fourth, we should collaborate with you more closely on increasing our regularcontacts with parliamentarians – beyond existing mechanisms. Your suggestionsin this respect would be more than welcome.5. Finally, and more broadly, we should improve our channels of communication andcoordinate our efforts in systematic, concrete ways – perhaps through targeteddistribution lists and working groups.These ideas are, of course, simply proposals, but I believe they represent a practical wayforward. And I hope they will help steer our discussion today. We hope that this is just

As you can see, NATO has its work cut out for all of us this year. The road ahead to theSummit will be challenging. It will require unity of purpose among our Allies. It willrequire political resolve in NATO capitals to help our publics understand why defencematters, and why NATO matters.