Poland and PD cont.

Continuing the topic of public diplomacy in Poland, I recently got very disappointed. Together with my group I was working on the case of Czech Republic and how its public diplomacy looks like today. Czech Republic and Poland had very similar historical experience. They were both struggling during the World War I and World War II. After the Second World War both of the countries were under the influence of the Soviet Union and the Stalin’s Regime. During that time public diplomacy was based only on the promotion of communism among the communistic and socialistic countries or the countries that are most likely to become one. Poland as well as Czech Republic did not have their own say and needed to obey the higher power. Nevertheless, the end of the 80’s was fortunate for those Eastern European countries because the communism got abolished. Now Poland and Czech Republic had to create its independent state and prepare plan for the future which would include public diplomacy. However, it was very hard at that time to include public diplomacy because their politics and government was focused on rebuilding the internal matters of the country and public diplomacy was not very crucial for them. Not until entering the European Union countries started to consider the importance of public diplomacy. European Union presented to those countries requirement which they need to achieve in order to be a member. Public diplomacy was a part of those requirements. However, the level of the diplomacy was not as engaging as it should be. After joining the European Union, Czech started to keep up with the western European countries and their nation branding using tools as: tourism, trade, education, and economy became better and is still evolving. Bringing up the case of Poland it looks like the importance of public diplomacy was not noticed even after the EU membership. Although Poland has the same past as Czech Republic it seems like it ignored the case of public diplomacy and focused on different aspects of the nation building. But what other aspects…??? What about promoting the country abroad, creating its positive image and showing to people that Poland is a valuable country? Maybe that is why, as I mentioned in my prior blog post, Poland is unnoticeable by other countries or societies. In my personal opinion, Polish government should finally realize how public diplomacy can be influential and consequently help in polish politics, economy, tourism, etc. Polish embassies all over the world should set up some goals in nation branding and start doing some progress because even though Poland is seen as a country with high possibilities it will never achieve them without promoting the country abroad.

Food Diplomacy: The Way to the Public's Heart is through their Stomach

The expression goes, "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach," this also holds true with the general public. Malaysia has recently caught on to this great idea of food diplomacy. What better way to promote your country than via food?? I found this article by Paul Rockower while searching for something interesting to put in this week's blog entry. Rockower outlines the gastrodiplomacy strategy of Malaysia, which is quite ingenious and successful. Malaysia was not the first country to do this, Thailand was, but they have experiences much success. This is an incredibly strategy to engage foreign publics in a non-controversial way and to foster a real affinity for your nation via your delicacies. Malaysia has been quite innovative and has set up a food truck in New York City because that seems to be the latest obsession in the U.S. This is a fantastic PD tactic that appeals to a broad audience and will undoubtedly have a positive influence on whoever decides to nosh on some Malaysian treats.

This concept coincides with the Anholt reading we had for this week about nation branding and what makes a successful nation branding is a good reputation and credibility. In fact, according to the article, Malaysia launched a branding campaign in 2006 to be known as the center for halal food in the Muslim world. According to Anholt, the reputation of a nation comes from the products and images that people associate with it, thus Malaysia’s gastrodiplomacy is a great tactic to bolster their image and reach out to a larger group of people. This is also a great way for Malaysia to promote their nation in a unique way that is more accessible to the general public than via art, literature or music.

Food diplomacy is a great tool and should be utilized more by nations in their PD campaigns because I think it is one of the most successful forms of PD.

Article Link:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-03-29/malaysia-jumps-on-gastrodiplomacy-bandwagon/#

Hey Ya'll, is that there London Bridge?

While perusing John Brown's blog a few days ago, I found a link he had posted to a traveling blog. Lindsey Douthit wrote on "How to beat the 'ugly American stereotype' overseas. In August of this past year I returned from a year and a half of living in Europe...and yes, the 'ugly American' is real and very much out there. In France I lived in a small city on the Mediterranean and had a lovely summer of language school and baguettes with cheese. On a few trips to bigger cities I would sometimes bump into some (ugly, is too harsh a word--maybe ignorant?) American tourists. Lovely as they were, it is no wonder the French do not always extend a baguette loaf to Americans...I would hear things like "What is on that?!" or "That cheese smells!" Yes, presumably very tasty cheese smells. However, that is no reason to announce to the world that you would never touch it because you would smell like the inside of a cow shed.

These tourists were few and far between and for the most part I met many lovely Americans abroad. I was a bit discouraged to see so many young Americans overseas and enjoying Europe like it was 1999 and they were reliving Eurotrip. Fellow students, you may drink anywhere, perhaps try not to look like intoxicated American fools stumbling around the Pantheon and instead have one glass of wine and think of the magnificent architectural and historical wonder you are next to!!! Exchange diplomacy is something near and dear to my heart. I believe it is an intrinsic part of PD efforts and that everyone should make at least one exchange and experience something new and life changing. Exchange diplomacy means that you bring some of your culture with you to your new culture, but also embrace the culture you are in...eat the food! speak the language! interact with the natives!!! Be the best American you can be--be patriotic if you are, but not be the loud, obnoxious American every foreign movie makes Americans out to be.

I digress... In conclusion, as Mark Twain wrote, "In twenty years you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Dream. Explore. Discover."

Explore. Dream. Discover, but be the best diplomat you can be...and leave the fanny pack at home.

PD in the New Egypt

I found this article on The Huffington Post quite interesting. It outlines what needs to be done in order for the U.S. to rebuild its relationship with Egypt. This is intriguing because still in recent memory is the June 4, 2009 Cairo speech that Obama gave which promised a “new beginning” and there was much hope brought by his inspiring words not only to Egypt but to the Muslim world. Mutual respect and understanding were major points and there was promise that we were on the brink of a major breakthrough. However, this was not entirely case. Some strides have been made in improving the relationship but one sore spot was never addressed until the revolution, the fact that we had continued to support Mubarak in spite of his actions of oppressing his fellow Egyptians. This was a major contradiction between our words and our actions; the U.S. did not live up to their promises, which has put us in a harsh light.

U.S. PD in Egypt is having a credibility crisis because we have not followed through on our words, which makes our PD efforts ineffective, as the article states, “But it cannot do so as long as much of U.S. public diplomacy is seen by the rest of the world as self-serving propaganda”. This is a huge problem and it invalidates our PD efforts, we must be sincere and credible because without those aspects our PD will accomplish nothing. The article states that, “the philosophy of U.S. public diplomacy should be altered to put greater emphasis on service to the individuals around the world”. The U.S. must realign their PD efforts to match our promises because credibility makes all the difference.

Article Links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-seib/us-public-diplomacy-and-t_b_823002.html

Public diplomacy in Poland and nation branding.

Public diplomacy is a pretty new term for Poland. First steps towards nation branding were made during polish engagement with democracy. Since then Poland was slowly entering the world of diplomacy. However, it was not always with very successful results.

Nevertheless, first impression about Poland and its Solidarity movement sent a positive message about Poles as fighters and democrats. Next step, unfortunately not fully planed was made in Germany. As, one of the Polish news papers describes, Poland embassy had its building on one of the main streets in Berlin. The building was not very ecstatically appalling, next to beautiful buildings of Western European countries. Berlin’s government was not happy about this look. Therefore, some amount of money was given for polish government to cover the building. Polish government agreed on the idea. However, they did not know what to put on the 60 meter sheet that covered the fence. Finally, as it was close to the New Years Eve, they decided to put some balloons and write “Happy New Year – wishes from the close neighbors.” The idea ended up to be a phenomenon. Mass media was delighted, while people surprised of the kindness and unpretentiousness of the message. At that point Polish government understood the importance of nation branding and how little things could totally change the image of “poor, communistic Poland.”

Third, very meaningful step in nation branding was Polish membership in the European Union. Moreover, Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk was called by German press, “one of the most powerful prime ministers in Europe.” It set up many images of Poland among the European Union countries. Poland started o be perceived as meaningful players in the EU politics. However, those positive thoughts did not last long. When the conservative party took over the government, Polish image fall apart once again.

As of today, Poland is seen as nice country with potential but anybody can say anything specific about it. After twenty years of changes Poland ended up as a blank page in the book of worlds. According to Nation Branding Index from two years ago, Poland is on 29^th place just after China. Representative of Polish Nation Branding states that Poland is sending a lot of messages to the outside world. However, the context of those messages is mixed, which makes it hard for other countries to make a consequent opinion. Nonetheless, there is still a chance for Polish image. The main goal for its success is conscious nation brand mainly focusing on promotion of culture and tourism that would be appealing for the rest of the world.

…and something about Poland… let me know what you think…

FROM POLAND WITH LOVE: http://www.vbs.tv/watch/from-poland-with-love-on-vbs--2/from-poland-with-love-full-length--2

Bibliography:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_branding#Nation_Brands_Index

http://www.polityka.pl/kraj/analizy/295379,1,nasz-wizerunek-za-granica.read#ixzz1GrkVm7BD

@america in Indonesia: Changing Perceptions?

I came across this article this week when looking for an interesting topic to blog about. This article from the New York Times discusses the new American cultural center that just opened in Jakarta, Indonesia. The center called, @america, is in a mall and has many interactive and high-tech displays about American culture and history. In my opinion this is a great way to educate people about the U.S. and show them a positive representation of who we are as a nation. The number of cultural centers has been on the decline since the 1970s, as guest speaker John Brown mentioned. This is a step in the right direction and to show the people of Indonesia what America is.

Alternatively, the article presents some criticism of the center. One complaint about the center is that there is heavy security that one must go through to gain access to the center, which sends out a strange image to Indonesians and makes it seem like the U.S. does not trust them. This is always the fine line that U.S. PD has to walk between safety and a positive message with no contradicting actions, “The tension in American public diplomacy — the desire to reach out versus the fear of becoming a target — was evident in @america’s entrance: located in a discreet corner of the third floor, it offered no spot to peek into what lies inside.” As the quote from the article states, the U.S. really does want to reach out to the public but the sad reality of the world we live in makes it necessary to pass through body scans and metal detectors, which is something that PD has been struggling with. Safety cannot be forfeited completely, but this has not sat well with some Indonesians who have gone to the center. Despite the positive message within the center, it has not made them change their opinion nor has it made them less skeptical of the U.S. The center has sparked to urge to travel to the U.S., which is one of the center’s goals.

I think the center will have a positive impact on U.S. opinion in Indonesia, but that reaction will not be instant. As the article said, “…Mr. Marciel said, adding: “I think it can help, but the fact is, a lot of Indonesians are still a little bit skeptical of the United States, and that’s built up over many years. And our challenge is to steadily chip away at that.” That is exactly what the U.S. needs to do, slowly chip away at the skepticism to make way for a new positive opinion. Overall, I think this is a step in the right direction for our PD.

Article Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/world/asia/06indonesia.html

Mark Rothko: Savior of American Cultural Diplomacy?

"We see this as a way of combining our passion for art with our new diplomatic role.” --Marjorie Susman, wife of current U.S. Ambassador to Britain, Louis B. Susman.

Art + PD!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/arts/design/02susman.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=arts

Interesting article on the installation of American art into the U.S. residence in London. Proof that artists can be the best kind of diplomats.