State Secretary Thorhil Widvey

Public Diplomacy

Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce, Ottawa 7 Nov 2003

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me start by expressing my pleasure at being here in Ottawa and having the opportunity to meet so many people who are crucial partners in the development of trade relations between Norway and North America.

My topic today is Norway’s image abroad and how it can be enhanced. You are important for us in our trade promotion work. Therefore your reflections on this topic are extremely valuable and I would very much appreciate your comments on what I have to say.

Why is a National Image Important?

What do people know about Norway? Is it really important to us what kind of image Norway enjoys internationally? If it is important, what kind of image – or rather, images – do we want to project? Is it possible to ’brand’ a nation the same way you brand a type of soft drink? If not, which elements are specific to a national image?

These kinds of questions are becoming more and more important in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And not only in Norway: As a result of globalisation there are ever more actors in the global market place battling for attention. Consequently, the efforts needed to make one’s own voice heard must be enforced. If we don’t get our message through, we will be unable to create understanding for our views and positions. And this is not only a question about national visibility. We all have to realise the importance of dialogue and communication with a wider public in order to increase intercultural understanding and reduce the potential for conflicts and misunderstandings.

I would like to add that an attractive national image is not just important for instrumental reasons. It is also vital because it says something about the values we care about, our own self-perception and how we want to be perceived by others. This, I believe, is a crucial difference between the promotion of a national image and the marketing of consumer goods. In order to create an image of a genuine and trustworthy nation we have to practise what we preach. Moreover, the messages we project to the world must reflect the way our citizens view themselves , and, not least, they must be understood by the target publics.

Hence, visibility and image building through dialogue is important to a nation, for political and ethical as well as economic reasons. The question is not whether we should strengthen the image of Norway abroad, but how we should do it, and which elements should be included. To answer this question in a satisfying manner, it is essential with input from external partners and targeted audiences. Again, I would appreciate your points of view.

Norway’s image: Challenges and Possible Solutions

Let me start by pointing out the two main challenges for Norway as regards our international image: Firstly, a number of surveys have shown that Norway is not very well known internationally. Secondly, despite the fact that Norway went through major economic and social transformations at the end of the 20 ^th> century, the image of the country that does exist has not changed significantly. To the extent that foreign publics are aware of Norway at all, it is a tradition-bound country of snowy mountains, fjords, Vikings and smoked salmon they tend to think of.

Nothing wrong with snow and fjords! On the contrary, our nature is one of our best cards in for instance the tourist market. But is this all Norway has to offer? All of us in this room know that there is more. But we obviously face a challenge in communicating modern Norway to a wider public.

So, how should this be done? I believe that in order to become more visible we need to co-ordinate both institutions and messages. At the moment there are very many different organisations and associations whose work in some way or other impacts on Norway’s image abroad. I am thinking about the different ministries, but also about the Norwegian Trade Council, the Norwegian Tourist Board and different cultural institutions. This diversity is good in the sense that it stimulates creativity, but it is a problem in the sense that different messages sometimes conflict. Reducing this fragmentation would help co-ordinate the messages and avoid overlapping and thereby improve their effectiveness. The Norwegian Government has already taken steps in that regard by deciding to create a new body that will include the Trade Council, the Tourist Board, the State Fund for Regional Development and the office in charge of state guidance to inventors. The idea is that this will create synergies and make a clearer link between innovation and internationalisation.

The Foreign Ministry will be closely associated with the foreign activities of the new body. It’s representatives abroad will be integrated in our foreign missions as special envoys. This, I think, is an advantage for both parties. For the representatives of trade, industry and tourism it means that they can more readily capitalise on the embassies’ networks, and it will probably increase their geographical coverage. And for the Foreign Service it will mean an increase in knowledge about how to advance Norwegian economic interests abroad. This has always been one of the main tasks of diplomats. The novelty is that we now get experts on these issues integrated in the day-to-day work of the missions. At the same time, we will also give higher priorities to the development of competence in export promotion at home in the foreign ministry.

Allow me then to turn to the second challenge: the co-ordination of messages. We can probably all agree on the fact that focusing on few, clearly targeted messages works better than many different, and sometimes conflicting, stories. The KISS principle – Keep It Simple, Stupid! – works in this field too. I would like to draw attention to the Norwegian Tourist Board in this regard. Their marketing campaign over the last couple of years has really been exemplary. The challenge is to create a strategy of the same kind at a national level. This does not mean that we should hide our difference. Diversity is a necessary element of a democratic society. But I believe that it should be possible to create a national umbrella, under which many different stories, adapted to local circumstances, can be told. That would reduce the risk of ambiguous communication. And it would contribute to an image of Norway that is representative and clear enough to make a mark internationally.

In order to formulate the specifically ’Norwegian stories’ the foreign ministry has entered into co-operation with the British research body The Foreign Policy Centre. Their report, Norwegian Public Diplomacy, was issued in June this year and formed the basis for a closed workshop with representatives from politics, cultural organisations, research, NGOs and trade and industry. This was an engaging exercise in which we discussed the proposals for four stories about Norway, which were based on extensive surveys of Norwegian opinion formers.

In short, the four stories proposed were:

• Living with nature - Norwegians' unique relationship with nature, sustainable resource exploitation etc.
• Equality - the focus on equality in Norwegian society, between social classes, men and women etc.
• Humanitarian superpower – Norway’s role as a partner in peace and development
• Internationalist/Spirit of adventure – from the Vikings through icons such as Nansen and Thor Heyerdahl to modern adventurers.

I would like to underline that these stories are in no way politically agreed upon as the stories to tell the world. For instance, the term "humanitarian superpower" has met some well-founded opposition on the basis that it expresses a superiority with which we do not wish to be associated. Personally, I also think that trade and industry disappear somewhat in these formulations. However, they constitute a point of departure from which to continue working.

As I mentioned initially, a national image must satisfy three requirements. It must be genuine and trustworthy, it must be internally anchored, and it must be perceived as attractive in those markets we wish to target. In order to find out more about the latter point the foreign ministry has decided to continue our co-operation with the Foreign Policy Centre. The Centre is currently investigating how the proposed stories are perceived in five selected countries (the US, Germany, Poland, China and Japan).

Here, response from local business, research institutions, cultural organisations and other local partners is an essential element. The report is due at the end of December. It will be an important input into a major conference that the foreign ministry is planning in January next year, in co-operation with the Norwegian Federation of Trade and Industry. The process of defining the stories that will constitute our national image is therefore not concluded. But I hope that the work initiated will take us one step further towards a national strategy.

Public Diplomacy as a Tool in Enhancing a Country’s Image

Finally, I would like to mention the most important tool we have for creating a positive national image, once a strategy has been agreed upon. As I pointed out initially, in a globalised world the challenges in making one’s voice heard increase. It also means that foreign ministries must aim at a wider audience than before. The media, international organisations, and non-governmental organisations as well as business interests have become much more active in defining public opinion. For foreign ministries this requires more attention be given to what has become known as public diplomacy. In short, public diplomacy means engaging in dialogue with wider audiences on a wider range of issues than those of day-to-day politics. This mode of working requires building lasting networks and having the staying power to see projects through even though the long-term effects may not be seen for years to come.

In order for such work to be successful it needs to be partner-oriented. In order to be an attractive partner, whether it is in politics, business or in the cultural field, we need to understand the needs of others. This focus on dialogue and respect for local values and traditions is something which is strongly emphasised in the public diplomacy strategy which is in the process of being drawn up for the foreign missions. Consequently, I am very much looking forward to hearing your opinions and sharing views with you.

Thank you for your attention.