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 29th 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
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