Sunday, September 19, 2010

Public Diplomacy 2.0: Israel's website for diaspora and supporters abroad

In some earlier posts I wrote about newer concepts such as engagement of diaspora using social media, global citizen diplomacy, creating platforms for networked communications etc. Israel recently started a website that will help Israeli diaspora and also supporters of Israel in countries abroad to shape perceptions about the country. It was conceived after a poll conducted by Israel's Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora affairs found that around 91 percent of Jewish Israelis believed  Israel had a very bad image abroad. Following is the link for the website: http://masbirim.gov.il/eng/

With both Hebrew and English versions, the website provides information on current events, tips for “novice ambassadors” - diaspora and Israelis traveling abroad, Israel's spectacular achievements in sciences, myths and facts about Israel and Arab nations etc. What is interesting is that the website also has training courses in defending Israel. The site is intended for the diaspora and the English speaking supporters of Israel in countries abroad.  It is intended as a tool provided by the state to involve citizens in managing Israel's perception. Interesting!

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur
Posted by Madhurjya Kotoky 0 comments

Friday, September 10, 2010

Corruption: India's perception management challenge

Transparency International has ranked India 84th in its Corruption Perception Index (CPI). Corruption in India was back in news last week with the outgoing Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), Mr Pratyush Sinha stating in an interview that,
"One third of Indians are utterly corrupt"
This was 'laundered' in news media all over the world, definitely not helping India's reputation and its image as a place to do business with. In fact, some of the biggest news stories in/on India this year, nationally as well as internationally, were all corruption related, be it the IPL or Commonwealth Games 2010. Consider some recent news reports below :


There have been many more stories across countries. The conversations in social media are also too many. In a survey conducted by  AZ Research, a Bangalore based research company, 53% Indians said that corruption has done serious damage to India's image. From a perception management POV how can such a situation be countered when the rot is actually within? How do you communicate when there may be a disconnect between action and words? Its very important to have a strong assessment mechanism in place to assess and measure the damage caused by such news. Hope Kalmadi & Co. is listening!

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

Best regards,

Madhur

Posted by Madhurjya Kotoky 0 comments
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