THE SECRETARY GENERAL,
In exercise of the authority conferred upon him
under Articles 109 and 113 of the Charter of the Organization of American States
("OAS") and Articles 4, 8, and 12 of the General Standards to Govern
the Operation of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States,
and
CONSIDERING:
The need to reorganize the Department of Public
Information ("the Department") so that it may carry out its functions
and responsibilities more effectively and efficiently.
RESOLVES:
I. BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE
DEPARTMENT
A. The Department is a dependency of the Office
of the Secretary General. The Director of the Department is directly responsible
to the Chief of Staff. The Director, administers, coordinates, and has technical
responsibility for the work product and personnel of the Department, as well as
for the Department's fulfillment of its responsibilities and its performance of
its functions under this Executive Order.
B. The Department includes the following
service areas: (1) Press/Media Relations; (2) Publications/Editorial Support;
(3) Special Projects; (4) Radio and Television; and (5) Americas Magazine
II. FUNCTIONS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT
A. The general functions and responsibilities
of the Department are:
1. To promote a greater international
awareness and understanding of the OAS and the OAS General Secretariat
("GS/OAS") by developing and implementing a broad and multifaceted
program for the publication and distribution of information on OAS and GS/OAS
objectives and activities;
2. To provide advisory services on public
information and media usage to the other dependencies of the General
Secretariat.
B. The specific functions and responsibilities
of the service areas of the Department are as follows:
1. Press/Media Relations
a. To promote OAS and GS/OAS activities by
developing, producing and distributing pertinent press releases, special
news articles, and other materials to international news agencies,
newspapers and magazines;
b. To develop and sustain pro-actively
relations with the media to facilitate and promote the publication of news
articles about OAS and GS/OAS activities;
c. To maintain a photographic service which
responds to GS/OAS needs; and
d. To produce regularly and transmit both
by electronic means and in hard copy periodic news publications, including
OAS Weekly Report, Bole tin de Noticias, Caribbean News, and News Clips.
2. Publications/Editorial Assistance
a. To produce and distribute the OAS
Newsletter, six issues per year, in English, French, Portuguese, and
Spanish;
b. To produce and distribute the basic OAS
brochure and other publications for the general public in the English,
French, Portuguese, and Spanish; and
c. To produce and place for publication in
the Media, in collaboration with the Press/Media Relations Service Area, op-ed pieces and other specialized articles promoting the OAS and GS/OAS and
their activities.
3. Special Projects
a. To take responsibility for the design,
maintenance, quality and editorial consistency of the OAS "Home
Page" on the Internet, to arrange for the Internet transmission of live
and video events, and to cooperate with the Radio and Television Service
Area in the production of Internet teleconferencing;
b. To facilitate and assist the integration
of the diverse products and services of the Department within electronic
media;
c. To produce, in coordination with the
other Service Areas of the Department and as instructed by the Director,
special projects, including film, video series, seminars, festivals, and
other media events, especially those that involve the Internet.
4. Radio and Television
a. To produce programs for radio and
television that include reports, news, commentaries interviews, roundtable
discussions, and that will promote the activities of the GAS and amply
disseminate information about them;
b. To produce videos about events at GS/OAS
headquarters for archival purposes and for transmission to television
stations in the member states;
c. To produce live transmissions as well as
edited material for and about the activities and objectives of GS/OAS' units
and other dependencies with programs of interest to the public; and
d. To arrange, through cooperative
agreements, the structure of regular GS/OAS-produced radio programming over
the networks and local radio stations in all the member states.
5. Am�ricas Magazine
a. To publish 6 issues of Am�ricas
Magazine per year, with separate but identical language editions (English
and Spanish), following the guidelines established by the Permanent
Council's Editorial Board and in accordance with its sales revenues and
other resources provided under the Program-Budget;
b. To report periodically and as otherwise
requested to the Permanent Council's Editorial Board for Am�ricas Magazine;
c. To produce premiums and other materials
utilized in the sale and promotion of the magazine; and
d. To promote the widest sale and promotion
of the magazine as possible in the member states.
AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS
This Executive Order specifically replaces
Executive Orders Nos.97-5 and 98-2, and it supersedes any and all prior and
present norms, regulations, and practices of the General Secretariat to the
contrary.
ENTRY INTO FORCE
This Executive Order shall enter
into force on the date it is signed.
Date: September 30, 1999
Original: English
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