30th January 2014 Budapest, Hungary
Top 10 Public Diplomacy Achievements in 2013 at the British Embassy in Budapest
1. GREAT Campaign: Innovation is GREAT, Formula 1 Grand Prix campaign
As part of the Central Europe Network’s GREAT campaign, we organised a high profile programme for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The campaign comprised of bringing a vintage London double decker bus to the race circuit to serve as a special venue for business meetings. Ambassador Knott, together with British Ambassador to Warsaw Robin Barnett, Deputy Head of Mission Theresa Bubbear and Embassy staff spent three days at Hungaroring, identifying business partners, encouraging them to visit the bus and gather information regarding business opportunities in the region.
UK Formula1 celebrities also visited the bus, raising the profile of the campaign, which was further elevated by a VIP party, attended by some 400 high profile guests (among them CEOs of major companies and the Hungarian Minister for Economy). The party was addressed by the Ambassador as well as a representative of the Marussia Team, focused on the importance of British innovation. As the highlight of the party, Britain’s Got Talent winner Attraction performed a Formula1 themed shadow dance show.
2. GREAT Campaign: The GREAT Business Flagship
Our second big set piece GREAT event was a campaign promoting business opportunities in Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. The Embassy organised two business events and two webinars on board the regional GREAT Flagship, which sailed down the Danube from Vienna to Budapest. The first event in Hungary took place in Esztergom focusing on regional business opportunities in the automotive sector. The second event took place in Budapest, focusing on British-Hungarian business collaboration, particularly in the financial services sector.
3. Policy Issues: UK foreign affairs and Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) priorities promoted in Hungary
The Embassy used its media network to promote UK foreign policy and JHA priorities. We published relevant opinion pieces, e.g. on the Falkland-islands vote, the Balance of Competencies Review, on the UK efforts to stop violence in conflict, and on green growth. The Embassy issued press releases on Hungary’s accession to the Open Government Partnership, on the importance of protecting LGBTI rights, on supporting accessibility and equal rights for the physically impaired, Ambassador Knott gave numerous interviews on European migration, transparency and on Roma human rights issues.
4. Energy and Climate Change: Edward Davey, Professor McKay and Professor Williams Visiting Budapest
The Embassy facilitated the visit of Mr Edward Davey, UK Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change to Hungary. After meeting with local ministry counterparts, Mr Davey was interviewed by the Hungarian state television, as well as HVG, Hungary’s leading economic and political weekly magazine.
In line with our aim to progress international action on energy policies and climate change, we invited two leading British scientists to Budapest to deliver lectures on the latest UK achievements, as well as elaborate on the UK position on energy.
Professor Richard Williams, head of the research team on storing energy in liquefied air, delivered a lecture at the Budapest Technical University on 23rd September on liquid air technology and was extensively interviewed by the media.
Professor David MacKay, the UK government’s Chief Scientific Advisor on Energy and Climate Change delivered a lecture entitled “Sustainable energy without the hot air” and was extensively interviewed by print and online media as well as television channels.
Energy and Climate Change
5. Business and UKTI: Business is GREAT – Regional visits
Promoting British – Hungarian bilateral trade and business relations was a key priority for the Embassy in 2013. Ambassador Knott gave numerous interviews to high-profile economic and business magazines, such as HVG Business Extra, Diplomacy & Trade, Budapest Times on British-Hungarian business relations. The establishment of the Budapest based British Business Centre was also announced via extensive media coverage.
Ambassador Knott visited various Hungarian cities, delivering lectures around the theme ‘Business is GREAT’. He met with local chambers of commerce and town leadership, discussing potential British involvement and encouraging bilateral business opportunities. Some examples of these visits were Szeged, Orosháza, Miskolc and Kecskemét.
6. GREAT Campaign: ‘British Month’ on Story TV
Story4 TV, one of Hungary’s leading entertainment channels, ran a ‘British Month’ in May 2013, broadcasting British films, TV series, documentaries and concerts. Promoting ‘British Month’, Story4 TV prepared three video films based on GREAT promotional material and interviews with Ambassador Knott. The videos focused on the themes of innovation, heritage and culture.
7. Sziget Festival
Sziget Festival is one of Europe’s largest youth music festival attracting 300,000 visitors annually, so we made sure to take the opportunity and support some of the causes we are keen on championing.
We have teamed up with the Hungarian Ministry of Interior and other diplomatic missions to set up an Anti-Trafficking awareness raising tent to help visitors understand the dangers of this widespread phenomenon.
In order to promote transparency in Hungary, we collaborated with Transparency International by issuing joint press releases, and a team from the Embassy participated in their event called “Dance against corruption” at the Sziget Festival.
The Embassy sponsored the presence of British Bobbies at Sziget Festival, who helped look after people’s safety, including those visiting from the UK. Their direct work with members of Budapest Police helped strengthen the co-operation between the two countries’ police forces.
8. Human Rights and Accessibility: Visiting Roma Communities
This year, the Embassy hosted an international press conference introducing FAERLEO’s new community programmes. As a follow-up, FAERLEO invited Ambassador Knott to visit Szendrőlád, a small village in Northern Hungary mainly inhabited by Roma people. The Ambassador visited a successful community project, a mushroom farm that gives jobs and a steady income to previously unemployed Roma people.
Organising the 3rd Human Rights Movie Day
Besides being an active supporter of minority communities in Hungary, the Embassy regularly takes part in initiatives in order to promote human rights. In line with this belief, we organised the 3rd Human Rights Movie Day in Budapest, with films focusing on Roma, LGBTI and Jewish minorities.
Human Rights: 90 Decibel Project
Deputy Head of Mission Theresa Bubbear continued to support 90 decibel Project, a Hungarian NGO lobbying for the rights of deaf and blind people. As part of its bilateral programme, the Embassy sponsored a trip to London for 90 decibel film crew to make sign language interviews with UK employers and employees, focusing on their experiences and UK best practices in accessibility. In October 2013, His Royal Highness, the Duke of Kent met with Ervin Bonecz, President of 90 Decibel during his visit to Budapest and had a bilateral discussion on the importance of providing equal access to people with disabilities.
9. GREAT Campaign: The Queen’s Birthday Party 2013
This year, we organised the Queen’s Birthday Party around the theme of innovation by producing a cutting edge light-show projected onto the ceiling of the British Residence’s salon. The light projection introduced major British inventions from the steam engine through the light bulb to modern space technology in an entertaining two-minute video.
Another creative idea helped Ambassador Knott spend more quality time with his guests at the Party. Instead of spending several hours at the gate receiving guests and shaking hands, a virtual ambassador video message was shot in advance and shown at the entrance in a continuous loop to all arriving guests. View Ambassador Knott’s speech at the Party.
10. Charity: Ambassador Knott swam across Lake Balaton
The Ambassador initiated a fundraising campaign to support British and Hungarian Lifesavers. As part of the campaign, he swam across Lake Balaton (5km) and participated in the Swimming Festival organised at Balatonfüred, swimming 2 kilometres. The campaign resulted in some HUF 2 million raised (£5,4K), which was shared equally between the UK Lifeboat Association and the Hungarian lifesaver association called Vízimentők.
