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ASEF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY HANDBOOK HOW TO WIN HEARTS AND MINDS Published by: Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) 31 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Singapore 119595 Editors: Ms Rebecca STETTER Ms Sunkyoung LEE Contributing Editor: Mr Richard WERLY © Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) 2016 The electronic version of the ASEF Public Diplomacy Handbook, “How to Win Hearts and Minds” shall be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDeriviatives 4.0 International License. This means that non-commercial use of text or parts of texts for educational purposes is allowed; however, one must attribute the work both to the individual authors and to the publisher, including ASEF’s URL (www. asef.org). More information about this license can be found at http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. The views expressed in this volume are the sole responsibility of the authors and can under no circumstances be attributed as the views of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), ASEF, or the editors of this handbook. This publication has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the speakers and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. This project is co-funded by the European Union. ASEF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY HANDBOOK HOW TO win hearts and minds ASEF Public Diplomacy Handbook Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) ASEF promotes understanding, strengthens relationships and facilitates cooperation among the people, institutions and organisations of Asia and Europe. ASEF enhances dialogue, enables exchanges and encourages collaboration across the thematic areas of culture, economy, education, governance, public health and sustainable development. ASEF is an intergovernmental not-for-profit organisation located in Singapore. Founded in 1997, it is the only institution of the Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM). Together with about 750 partner organisations ASEF has run more than 700 projects, mainly conferences, seminars and workshops. Over 20,000 Asians and Europeans have actively participated in its activities and it has reached much wider audiences through its networks, web-portals, publications, exhibitions and lectures. For more information, please visit www.asef.org 4 How to Win Hearts and Minds Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ASEM is an intergovernmental forum for dialogue and cooperation established in 1996 to deepen relations between Asia and Europe, which addresses political, economic and socio-cultural issues of common concern. ASEM brings 53 partners (21 Asian and 30 European countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the European Union). For more information, please visit www.aseminfoboard.org 5 ASEF Public Diplomacy Handbook TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD 6 Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) 6 DiploFoundation (DIPLO) 7 National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE) 8 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 10 INTRODUCTION 12 CHAPTER 1 14 Public Diplomacy, Concepts and Methods Kishan S. RANA 14 5-point Summary 33 Interview: PUREVSUREN Lundeg, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mongolia 34 CHAPTER 2 36 The Changing Face of Asia-Europe Relations Ronan LENIHAN 36 5-point Summary 59 Thinking Different: Main Challenges of Public Diplomacy 60 CHAPTER 3 62 Images and Perceptions in Public Diplomacy Natalia CHABAN 62 5-point Summary 83 Interview: Tommy KOH, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign 84 Affairs, Singapore CHAPTER 4 86 How to Work with Media Content Natalia CHABAN 86 5-point Summary 109 Handling Public Diplomacy: How to Engage Media and 110 Communication Professionals 6 How to Win Hearts and Minds CHAPTER 5 112 How to Work with Public Opinion Ronan LENIHAN 112 5-point Summary 131 Interview: Michael MANN, Head of Strategic Communications, 132 European External Action Service CHAPTER 6 134 How to Use Digital Tools and Social Media DiploFoundation 134 5-point Summary 157 Interview: Afsané BASSIR-POUR, Director of the United Nations 158 Regional, Information Centre for Western Europe CHAPTER 7 160 How to Interact with Stakeholders (Advocacy) 160 Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) 5-point Summary 185 Creativity at the Core of Successful Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy 186 CHAPTER 8 188 How to Manage a Public Diplomacy Campaign and Public Affairs 188 Richard WERLY 5-point Summary 203 Interview: Johannes MATYASSY, Head of the Asia and Pacific 204 Division, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 207 Acknowledgements 207 ABOUT THE ASIA-EUROPE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY TRAINING INITIATIVE 208 7 ASEF Public Diplomacy Handbook FOREWORD Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) ublic diplomacy involves strategies and activities aimed at influencing both the foreign and domestic public, understanding their attitudes towards foreign policy and shaping their views on related issues. These efforts help establish a dialogue across borders that improves understanding of each other, and shapes more Ppositive perceptions of a country’s foreign policy priorities or an organisation’s international relations. For this reason, it is important that those actors responsible for improving the image of their country or organisation have a well-informed understanding of how they are currently perceived. This ensures that new initiatives can be implemented to build on strengths, address any perceived misunderstanding and improve the overall relationship. As a contribution to public diplomacy efforts of the 53 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Partners, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) established the Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy Training Initiative in 2013, in partnership with the DiploFoundation (Diplo) and the National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE). Partners have since conducted 4 tutored online courses and 3 face-to-face workshops; nearly 200 participants have benefitted from the training. The training materials of the initiative utilise the findings of the ASEF dual perceptions studies, “The EU through the Eyes of Asia” and “Asia in the Eyes of Europe”. The findings are drawn from the results of public opinion surveys, the analysis of news items in major media outlets, as well as insights from face-to-face interviews with influential people from 21 different countries across Asia and Europe. The ASEF Public Diplomacy Handbook presents this scientifically verifiable data and feedback tailored to a practical training tool. Each chapter combines theories on a relevant topic with useful information obtained from an author’s hands-on experience. The accompanying interviews with high-profile professionals provide insightful knowledge on the role of public diplomacy in enhancing Asia-Europe cooperation. It is hoped that this handbook provides unique insights for diplomats and civil society actors to develop a deeper understanding of public diplomacy and to help them inform their work in promoting Asia-Europe relations. www.asef.org 8 How to Win Hearts and Minds FOREWORD DiploFoundation (DIPLO) n today’s global environment, characterised by a large degree of interdependence and interconnectivity, perceptions of, and from, different countries and their populations have become an important resource. Perceptions can crystallise into concrete attitudes and actions, and they can result in tangible gains and losses. Positive Imutual perceptions can bring nations and regions closer together and can be important ingredients for fruitful and peaceful cooperation. In the current digital era, there is great potential to know more about each other and to interact more intensively with people from different areas around the world. Yet, digital media also has the potential to polarise, endorse stereotypes and misinform. How can Asian and European diplomats best operate public diplomacy campaigns in today’s context, building optimal, yet realistic country brands, engaging in fruitful partnerships and ultimately enhancing perceptions and connectivity within and between Asia and Europe? With this question in mind, the Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy Training Initiative was set up in 2013. DiploFoundation, as an experienced provider of diplomacy-related capacity building programmes, has been the core facilitator of the courses and workshops that are part of this initiative. In cooperation with ASEF, we organised four online courses and three face-to-face trainings, bringing together more than 200 Asian and European participants. Furthermore, we have used our expertise in the digital elements of diplomacy to strengthen the course curriculum by offering information about the optimal use of social media in public diplomacy campaigns. This handbook compiles the theoretical background and practical tools to construct a successful public diplomacy campaign and embeds it into the context of Asia-Europe relations. DiploFoundation edited and updated the texts, transforming the online course modules into usable handbook chapters. The harmonisation of offline and online elements of the training initiative broadens the potential for capacity development and aims to optimally prepare practitioners for their public diplomacy activities. www.diplomacy.edu 9 ASEF Public Diplomacy Handbook FOREWORD National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE) CRE is New Zealand’s leading academic think tank devoted to the examination of the European Union’s impact within the Asia-Pacific region. Its expertise has been widely acknowledged, and in 2015 the NCRE was engaged by the European External Action Service to help to inform the European Union (EU)’s new 2016 NGlobal Strategy. It is this link between academic research