ASSECOM: Social Communication in Rio Grande do Norte
Edilson Braga, State Secretary of Social Communication (ASSECOM)
Edilson Braga talks about the role of ASSECOM and discusses the national and international image of Rio Grande do Norte. He also shares his vision for the future of the state in the coming years and in the long run.
Interview with Edilson Braga, State Secretary of Social Communication (ASSECOM)
I would like to begin this interview with an introduction to ASSECOM, Rio Grande do Norte’s department for social communication. Can you tell us a bit about this department’s role?
This department is working on creating more agile public relations with the press. So our role is to ensure that when journalists are looking for information, they can have an answer immediately.
ASSECOM’s fundamental role is to be somewhat of a support for the Governor. I believe that the main role that the department plays in this respect is to always offer the truth, to really tell the people what they want to know. I believe that the moment you try to hide information, the more people want to find out this information, because journalists are always going to want to know exactly what is being hidden. Therefore we advise the Governor not to hide anything since the government has nothing to hide. The Governor has always said and will continue to say that the government ‘won’t put up with dishonesty’. Thus the government has no reason to hide information from journalists. The role that we play here is to calm down the press and to tell them exactly what they want to hear.
What are the main areas in which the department is working at the moment?
This department is working on creating more agile public relations with the press. We want to avoid the press spending hours or days hunting for information because whatever governmental department was not agile enough in offering the information. So our role is to ensure that when journalists are looking for information, they can have an answer immediately. Just now a journalist called asking for information concerning the government and in half a second I was giving them the information they wanted. So this is the role that we at ASSECOM carry out.
How do you consider the state to be perceived by the rest of Brazil, and furthermore how would you like Rio Grande do Norte to be perceived abroad?
The capital of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, is well known because it is very touristic and offers many attractions. However the rest of the state of Rio Grande do Norte is not well known at all. There is a big difference in this sense, between the perception of Natal and of Rio Grande do Norte as a whole. This could be for many reasons, perhaps because there is not enough publicity for the state of Rio Grande do Norte apart from for the city of Natal or perhaps because here in Brazil we don’t have that much geographic knowledge of the whole country, for example to be able to say that Rio Grande do Norte is located here, and São Paulo here, etc. So I would say there are various reasons why there is not a great awareness of our state in this country. However I would say that there is a lot of publicity for Natal. Even though the state of Rio Grande do Norte is economically very rich as a producer of minerals, petrol and many other things, the state is not well known in Brazil. Outside of Brazil I would say that the state is barely known at all.
The state is facing many challenges at the moment, for example insecurity, drugs, overcrowded prisons, etc. What is ASSECOM doing to improve the image of the state?
Well it is up to the government to take action on these issues, we at ASSECOM cannot do anything to solve these issues. The government has taken certain measures to improve public safety. However this is a problem of national order that is affecting the whole country. The main cause of insecurity is the issue of drugs, which are present in all levels of the society from the upper classes to the lowest classes. The state government is trying to combat this issue. In the next 2 weeks we should see the government program ‘Brazil Mais Seguro’ being implemented here in Rio Grande do Norte. This is a federal government program that is already in place in the states of Alagoas and Paraíba. Rio Grande do Norte will be the third state in the country where this program is going to be put into action. It is a program that is going to allow for the construction of 5 more prisons, it will provide cutting edge equipment for the civil and military police and will also provide new laboratories that will ensure fast investigations. These are the actions that the government is taking to reduce the levels of insecurity as much as possible.
In 2 or 3 years’ time, what kind of results would you like to see here in Rio Grande do Norte and what is your dream for the next 10 years?
In 2 or 3 years’ time I would like to be able to say to you in another interview that Rio Grande do Norte is a very safe state, with very low levels of violence. I would like us to be able to walk down the street with no fear of being robbed or attacked. This is my dream and I think that all of Brazil shares this dream. And in 10 years’ time I would like to see that Rio Grande do Norte not only is a very safe state but that it has a thriving economy, that the people here can live better off, with more jobs, more industry and better income. My dream is to see this happen here in Rio Grande do Norte.