MERCOSUR Communication and Information Unit

GMC Resolution No. 16/17 created the MERCOSUR Communication and Information Unit (UCIM) within the Secretariat of MERCOSUR (SM). Its duties are overseen by the Commission of Permanent Representatives of MERCOSUR (CRPM).

• Manage, within the scope of its specific competencies, MERCOSUR’s communication channels and tools, and produce content for the MERCOSUR website, social media, print, audiovisual, audio, or other resources;
• Propose annual and biennial communication plans to the Specialized Meeting on Social Communication (RECS) and implement them once approved by the GMC;
• Develop, in conjunction with the RECS, communication protocols, including crisis communication and, once approved by the GMC, comply with and implement them;
• Organize, together with RECS, a news distribution system on MERCOSUR for media outlets within the bloc, with the participation of news agencies and public broadcasters from the MERCOSUR Member States;
• Maintain a news registry on MERCOSUR and prepare a weekly electronic news summary, which must be available on the MERCOSUR website (www.mercosur.int);
• Create and maintain a MERCOSUR database containing media and communication tools;
• Identify opportunities to disseminate agreements reached within MERCOSUR that represent progress and deepening of integration;
• Provide communication support to the Pro Tempore Presidency (PPT) when requested.
• Manage, at the request of the PPT, relations with the media (agencies, print, audiovisual, and digital) through, among other means, interviews, press conferences, information services for media professionals, press summaries, specific meetings, and public relations;
• Coordinate with the bodies and forums of MERCOSUR’s institutional structure to disseminate its main activities; Ensure the preservation of MERCOSUR’s visual identity;
• Submit to the CRPM an annual report on UCIM’s management, including the status of communication in MERCOSUR, its results, and impacts.