2007 (PDF, 2.81 MB) - Belgium

Why? What’s the point?
To invest in peacebuilding:
■■ to end the suffering of people in war zones;
■■ to make the lives of Belgians safer in countries
far away from home;
■■ to facilitate travel worldwide;
■■ to create a climate conducive to economic
growth and so attract potential customers
and suppliers for Belgian companies.
Public Diplomacy Unit safeguarding
Belgium’s reputation
Our relations with other countries are by no means
limited to contact with foreign governments. ‘Public
diplomacy’ is a diplomatic tool that we use to promote
support and understanding for our policy ideas
and values amongst ‘non-traditional dialogue partners’
abroad (the media, think tanks, academics,
NGOs and civil society in general).
On the site interested parties will find for example
topic-based working papers of general interest.
They are regularly updated and new ones are added
when appropriate. As the missions are best placed to
judge those topics they want to be able to quickly
obtain information about, suggestions from them
are always welcome, not to say vital. The site also
features a section with news about Belgium in the
local press that has been found by our missions. A
section entitled “Good news from Belgium” contains
information that shows off Belgium to its best advantage,
such as positive statistics, prizes won by
Belgians, success stories and world firsts in medicine
or science. The site also reproduces interesting
press articles about Belgium as well as documents
that may act as a source of inspiration for mission
personnel. The photos section is also worth a look.
2008 will see the Public Diplomacy intranet site being
elaborated further and the section with working
papers expanded. In addition, we will organise actions
to proactively focus the attention of other countries
on Belgium’s assets.
The Public Diplomacy Unit was set up within Press
and Communication (P&C) in early 2007. It acts as a
point of contact for the missions if they encounter
specific image problems related to the local situation.
Special intranet site
The Public Diplomacy Unit administers and provides
material for a site on Diplonet, the FPS’s intranet.
The intranet site aims to supply information to the
missions about a wide range of topics. The documents
and data are not intended to be sent on to
third parties in the form in which they appear on
the intranet but to serve as reference documents
or sources of inspiration for heads of missions and
their personnel. They can refer to them if they
have to answer questions in their official capacities,
react to negative, incorrect or over-simplified
reporting about Belgium, give interviews or make
speeches – and, needless to say, the information
can also be used in their more informal contacts.
A good reputation is important
‘Public diplomacy’ is a diplomatic tool that concentrates
mainly on enhancing Belgium’s image and
reputation in public opinion abroad, as the perception
of Belgium amongst the ‘non-traditional dialogue
partners’ who are our target audience affects
the picture that foreign decision-makers, businesspeople
and potential investors have of Belgium. In
part, ‘public diplomacy’ can’t help but be defensive.
However, in view of the definition of the concept
of ‘soft power’ of Harvard professor Joseph S. Nye
– “the ability to get what you want by attracting
and persuading others to adopt your goals” – it is
essential that public diplomacy is mainly proactive.
In our specific situation that means that we can
achieve results on the international stage if we actively
communicate our values, norms and strengths,
so that other countries feel like following us, copying
our example and joining us in striving for greater
hope, openness and progress.
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