Media Training at the Baltic Defence College
Tartu (Estonia), 06. Dezember 2001 - A four-day Media Training course for Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian armed forces officers responsible for relations with mass media ended today. The course was offered by the Swiss Armed Forces with the support of the Baltic Defence College to 35 civilian and military officers of the armed forces of the three Baltic States, that are developing democratic and open society traditions.
Six experienced communication specialists taught the course. Among them was also a representative of the Ministry of Defence / Directorate for Press and Public Information of Austria. The Swiss Armed Forces' high standards and experience in relations with media and in training in this area impressed the students. Coaches offered to the participants an intensive course, which included training on handling communication, interpersonal communication, radio- and TV- interviews which were mostly based on practical exercises.
Most of the work was done in five small groups which was very useful in developing the professional skills of the students and for open communication between trainers and students. After the media training course the participants from the Baltic States saw how important it was to improve professional standards that are common in this field in West Europe and other countries.