“WeAreNATO” campaign was introduced in an event organized in Izmir under the coordination of the Directorate of Communications. The campaign launch carried out on the 68th anniversary of Turkey’s accession to NATO was held in Izmir Regional Directorate of Communications.
Deputy Director of Communications Çağatay Özdemir (PhD) noted in his speech at the event that Turkey has contributed significantly to NATO.
Stating that the international system has been recently going through a significant period of change and transition and that substantial global fractures have been occurring in many regions, Özdemir said that the power balances also rapidly changed.
Çağatay Özdemir noted that the global peace and stability were threatened by crises emerging in different parts of the world and that the international security environment was further complicated by various challenges such as international terrorism, refugee crisis, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, poverty and climate change.
Özdemir reiterated that Turkey was among the top five countries that contribute to NATO’s missions and operations the most and stated the following:
“NATO has played a significant role in terms of ensuring the security of our country since Turkey joined the alliance in 1952 and also made noteworthy contributions to our goal of cooperation with European-Atlantic structures from various aspects. Over the course of these 68 years, our country has successfully protected NATO’s borders and embraced the alliance's values and principles. Our NATO membership has made substantial contributions to the security of our country. Today, terrorism has brought out regional instability, extremism, mass migration, asymmetric security risks and threats faced by the international community. The alliance solidarity and political unity are now needed more than ever.”
Özdemir reiterated that Turkey has been directly affected by events in the region due to its geopolitical location.
Stating that Turkey plays a critical role in terms of maintaining safety in its region by taking responsibility, even if it faces challenges in such a critical region that witnesses conflicts and various instabilities, Özdemir said, “Turkey carries out its fight against terrorism based on NATO’s principles of ‘democracy, individual freedom and the rule of law’ and within the scope of “promoting stability and welfare in its region.’ Turkey, which is open to cooperation with allies in the fight against terrorism, is the only country that carries out hand-to-hand fighting against multiple terrorist organizations, mostly the PKK/YPG, FETO and DAESH.”
Stating that they expect their allies to make more meaningful and tangible contributions to their efforts in the fight against terrorism, Özdemir said that they talked about that in every occasion on the NATO platform.
Özdemir noted the following:
“Turkey provides significant added value for the security of the European-Atlantic region, and thus its allies, with its direct contributions to NATO and its comprehensive and determined fight against current security challenges, mostly terrorism. Turkey is determined to contribute to NATO as a reliable ally also from now on just like it has been doing over the last 68 years, and it will remain fully committed to its obligations deriving from NATO.”
“Turkey has suffered the most from terrorism among allies”
Ambassador Tacan Ildem, NATO Assistant Secretary General, expressed his gladness to attend such a meaningful event.
Underlining that Turkey has been affected the most by the problems deriving from neighbouring countries, Ildem noted the following:
“Today, we see that the hybrid tactics are frequently used in a complex security environment. We now see that the line between peace and crisis is gradually getting blurred rather than sharp. It has also prompted these allied nations to make efforts aimed at improving their skills in both cyber attacks and hybrid tactics. Terrorism is an issue to which Turkey attaches great importance, but it is also a test for which a fight should be put up in the same manner in terms of this alliance, because Turkey has suffered the most from terrorism among other allies. Turkey has suffered substantial losses due to terrorism. In fact, Turkey is the allied country, which has felt the tests stemming from the turmoil in regions to which Turkey is a neighbour to the greatest extent.”
Reiterating that Turkey has been hosting 4 million displaced people through its own means, Ildem noted that it had also used all means available to enable them to maintain their daily lives in a humanitarian manner.
Stating that the work carried out by Turkey for asylum seekers is appreciated, Ildem said, “Likewise, Turkey's legitimate security concerns about terrorism are also well understood by NATO and it is also revealed that Turkey stands in solidarity in the face of its losses in the fight against terrorism.”
The meeting was attended by Major General Metin Tokel, Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) Chief of Staff, and NATO officers.
Afterwards, the video prepared specially for the launching event was screened during the panel “68th Anniversary of Turkey’s Membership to NATO: Powerful Member of Strategic Alliance-Turkey,” where Turkey’s contributions to NATO and NATO’s contributions to Turkey are depicted.
“WeAreNATO” campaign
“WeAreNATO” campaign, initiated as part of NATO’s Communication Strategy for 2016-2017, aims at raising awareness in member states and especially informing young people about NATO and NATO’s role and activities in global security.
Turkey is among the top five contributors to NATO missions and operations and top eight financial contributors to the global budget. It is aimed to increase awareness about Turkey’s efforts in this respect as well as NATO’s contributions to Turkey.
The campaign aims at underlining the contribution made by the spirit of unity and solidarity between allied countries to the peace and security of the citizens of allies, expressing the central and important role played by NATO in the European-Atlantic security and promoting the mechanisms used by the alliance in the fields of diplomacy, military power and technology so as to secure peace.
Being implemented by NATO allies and supported with the technical assistance of NATO, “WeAreNATO” encourages participant countries to take a proactive role in telling about NATO’s advantages to their own public.
In its first year, the campaign was implemented in countries chosen as pilot (United Kingdom, Canada, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia) in order to express the missions and importance of NATO to people who have little or no knowledge about NATO. Later, some member countries such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Montenegro were also involved in the campaign. Turkey was involved in the campaign in September 2019.
The process is planned based on the OASIS model, which enables strategy development and assessment, in the campaign countries. Country-specific campaign messages vary by the needs of the audience, perspective and context.