NATO HQ 3 Mar. 2005

Video interview with Michel Duray, Director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Kyiv, Ukraine Multimedia Audio file .MP3/2299Kb Video interview Q: Michel Duray, you are the Director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Kyiv, Ukraine. Thank you for joining us. MICHEL DURAY (Director of NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine): Thank you for the invitation. Q: Ukraine and NATO has become the topic à la mode during the last months. How did it influence the NIDC information work in Ukraine? MICHEL DURAY: There is obviously a higher interest now on NATO-Ukraine-related issues in Ukraine amongst the population. And we've seen in the NATO Information Center much more requests of information than in the past, and we've seen, as well, more activities in the media. You know, that after the Orange Revolution in Ukraine the freedom of press has really evolved, and the new media landscape has been modified. Therefore, there is huge interest within the media--press, television, TV channels--in Ukraine, and so they are requesting us a lot of information. So this is influencing definitely our day-to-day life. In the regions, in particular, the regional media, who have been thirsty for information during the last years, are now contacting us to get more materials. With the materials they are asking us interviews, they're asking us materials in Russian, as well, which is important for the eastern and the southern regions. So there is a higher interest. In the universities as well, the universities are calling us to have lectures, to be able to develop courses from NATO and NATO-Euro-Atlantic integration, so definitely there is an impact on our day-to-day life, which we are trying to meet the demand. But of course, we cannot meet all the demand, and we are working with our partners in Ukraine, Ukrainian government, and the non-governmental organizations in that direction. Q: Could you elaborate a bit on the status of the stereotypes regarding NATO in Ukraine now? How were they influenced by the elections? And what are the regional perceptions regarding NATO in Ukraine? MICHEL DURAY: Obviously the electoral campaign in Ukraine has played somewhat a role in the sense that we've seen the reanimation of old Soviet-like stereotypes on NATO. NATO being, according to these stereotypes, an aggressive military bloc, and some regional TV channels showing bombers launching bombs when talking about the NATO summit, which happened recently in Brussels. However, I'm sure that this attempt to antagonize East and West can be undermined(?) by good arguments, by better information and by trying to develop the culture of debate. So usually we prefer to speak with people who exactly know why they're against the Alliance with good arguments, that with people who don't know why they are for. So this is the philosophy of what we are trying to do. Not to convince, but to develop the debate, to develop the interest, the intellectual interest, and to attract attention. Q: What and where are the main information sources in Ukraine on NATO and NATO integration at the moment? What are the new elements, such as the information points, in the regions? MICHEL DURAY: Actually, there are a lot of sources on NATO today in Ukraine, apart from, of course, the NATO Information and Documentation Center, and its website in English and in Ukrainian. The over-ministries dealing with the Euro-Atlantic integration process have their own websites at the ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of defence, the Euro-Atlantic Integration Center, and also regional universities are trying to develop information programs for their students. We have a network now, together with a non-governmental organization, of 27 information points in regional libraries, which is up and running, and people have access to these books and CDs, and to NATO publications, and also to Ukrainian publications dealing with Euro-Atlantic integration issues. I recently visited the Sevastopol information point, and it was up and running and there were people there reading some NATO material. So it means that the recent interest, and there are possibility to get information. But of course, we can always try to improve this, especially by working with the regional televisions, for example, supporting them with information. They want to develop TV debates and NATO integration at the regional level and this could be also a good tool to develop in the future. Q: Informing the people in uniform and the security sector at large has been a challenge during the last years. What is the situation now and are there any projects in the works? MICHEL DURAY: Yes, we see some very important aspect of cooperation since, of course, the defence and security-related cooperation between the Alliance and Ukraine is one of the major pillars of the cooperation. And to inform the people in uniform is one of the, I would say, most challenging, or has been one of the most challenging operations for us during the last two years. We have tried with some NGOs to develop seminars and training courses for regional military institutions and security sector-related institutions like the ministry of internal affairs, but still I do believe that we could improve this information flow. I do believe that the support for military media and military education and institutions can be improved. And we have sources at the disposal of the relevant ministry to do so. Q: What are the flagship events that the NIDC is supporting in the coming months? And what are the major NATO-Ukraine events in the making? MICHEL DURAY: There are a lot of events in the making. I would say that as far as the NATO Information and Documentation Center is concerned we'll have a NATO academy in Lviv, on the Lviv, in April. We'll have another spring academy in Donetsk in May. We'll have a summer academy in Simferopol in the capital of Crimean Republic in end of June, and we'll have also a scientific seminar organized by our colleagues in the science department in NATO, which is called "From Science to Business", and which will attract a lot of former military scientists of Ukraine into a civilian business. Q: Thank you very much.