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EUBAM PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
EUBAM public relations in 2008
In 2008 EUBAM continued proactive communication with its main contacts: citizens of Moldova and Ukraine, partner services, EU institutions and citizens of the EU Member States. In doing so the Mission focused on media relations both local and international as well as on community relations. In the framework of the media communication, EUBAM conducted 10 press conferences and facilitated 20 media visits to the EUBAM HQ in Odesa and Field Offices. As a result, the work of the Mission was reported in more than 150 articles. Throughout the year EUBAM continued to enjoy great media interest in Moldova and Ukraine. Internationally, several media outlets such as BBC World (UK), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany), Austria Presse Agentur, France 24, Visão Portuguese, Mega TV (Greece), MTV (Hungary), and the Economist (UK) reported on the work of the partner services and EUBAM.
EUBAM community relations focused on building trusting relations with the local population in the Mission’s area of responsibility. EUBAM experts from Field Offices conducted more than 25 school presentations jointly with border guards and customs officers of Moldova and Ukraine. In addition, EUBAM hosted three visits of students from Ukraine and Moldova and organised briefings for the Association of Political Science of the University of Leiden, young diplomats from the Foreign Ministry of the Netherlands, and a group of foreign policy professionals from the Körber Foundation (Germany). Further, the EUBAM management and experts attended universities in Moldova and Ukraine to give presentations about EUBAM’s work and border management issues.
Public relations capabilities of partner services
Effective border management depends on many factors, including public communication, which ensures that passengers and businesses receive sufficient and understandable information about border crossing rules. In order to increase the effectiveness of the partners in public communication, EUBAM worked in two directions. Firstly, EUBAM offered a training programme to public information professionals consisting of three seminars and a study visit to Finland. Secondly, EUBAM was an initiator and facilitator of several joint public information activities. For example, every month the partner services and EUBAM produced a joint information newsletter in Russian and English to inform travellers of the latest news from the border. Further, border agencies produced leaflets for travellers in the state language of Moldova, Russian, and Ukrainian. Finally, the partner services organised information stands during Europe Day reaching directly up to 2500 people in Ukraine and Moldova.
On 12 December in Odesa the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, with the assistance of EUBAM, launched an information campaign for families planning to travel abroad with children. The information campaign included booklets, posters, a hot-line, and Internet posting of information materials aiming to inform travellers about rules of crossing the border with children.
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