Ambassadors are split over value of blogging directly to public.
As the world moves online, blogging is becoming an increasingly important tool in the diplomatic arsenal.
After the British Embassy refused visas to Ukrainian folk dancers who wanted to participate in a festival in 2009, they staged a protest performance outside the embassy. The artists did not get visas to the United Kingdom even after meeting with British Ambassador Leigh Turner, leaving them with a sense of injustice.
So Turner blogged about it.
“Afterwards, one of [the protesting dancers] comments to the media that ‘it seems that some junior officials [i.e., those who decide visas] are more important than the ambassador.’ Well, it’s certainly true that the decisions made by entry clearance officers, day in, day out, are at least as difficult as anything I or anyone else in the embassy has to decide.”
Turner was one of the pioneers among Kyiv-based diplomats in starting to post online in April 2009. His blog about the protesting dancers was one of his first and most-discussed entries.
Now, four years into his service in Kyiv, Turner has a prolific body of blogs, after posting every few days on topics ranging from hot political issues to his impressions from traveling around Ukraine.
One of his recent blogs was about the presence of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers during the upcoming Oct. 28 parliamentary elections. It was preceded by a lighter theme about the upcoming Olympic Games in London. Turner also breaks down complicated political moves, such as the difference between signing and initialing an association and free-trade deal between the European Union and Ukraine.
Turner said the blog has made a difference in solving some of the issues he has raised. “On a number of occasions I have blogged about something and shortly afterwards something has happened including some quite major developments,” he said, without elaborating on which issues.
Blogging is a way to reach a wider audience, away from quiet meetings with political and business leaders. While high-level governmental meetings, interviews and speeches have limited audiences and purposes, blogging offers access to millions of Ukrainian Internet users.
Turner’s blog, which can be found at http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/leighturner/, is not only reprinted on the Kyiv Post website, but also in Ukrainian on Ukrainska Pravda and in Russian on korrespondent.net. Altogether his blog has reached about 25,000 readers across all the websites.
Yet Turner is one of the few British ambassadors around the world who blog, since it is not obligatory within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and has to be initiated by the diplomat. But “in the case of an ambassador writing here in Ukraine, clearly we have an important communications job to do,” explains Turner.
The American and German ambassadors have followed in the footsteps of their British colleague by introducing their own blogs.
German Ambassador Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth in his latest blog posted in April on the Ukrainska Pravda website wrote about the connection between a country observing human rights and gaining membership at the European Union.
Other U.S. Embassy employees besides Ambassador John Tefft post blogs on their website. Their blogs tend to be longer and often are seasoned with historical allusions. The topics also range widely from beautiful winters in Ukraine for snow-hungry Americans to serious issues, such as implementation of laws.
Swiss Ambassador Christian Schoenenberger
Some diplomats, however, still prefer traditional ways of communication. Among them is Swiss ambassador Christian Schoenenberger, who does not have a blog. The ambassador, who was posted to Ukraine late last year, said this type of communication is still under consideration by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
One of the reasons for hesitancy is the risk of stirring up public controversy and the need for diplomatic discretion. “A blog is a very public thing and diplomacy still at least partially is not public, and probably should not be totally public. Because some channels are more productive if they are out of the public eye,” Schoenenberger said.
Turner found his own way of navigating with these sticky issues. “Occasionally, if I’m writing a blog which I think might be a bit controversial, I will show it to the Foreign Office first just to get a second pair of eyes.” He has written blogs on such hot issues as the jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, freedom of speech and corruption at high levels of the government.
Writing a blog is not so easy – on that the non-blogging Swiss and blogging British ambassador agree.
“I’m not yet totally sure if I could feed a blog regularly, because there is not much new to say each and every week or day,” Schoenenberger said.
“It requires a lot of thought and preparation,” Turner said. “In my opinion, it’s time well-invested.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Maryna Irkliyenko can be reached at [email protected].
