Andy Pryce

A feeling of resolve and optimism

And so they came. From farms, villages, towns and cities across the United States to their capital.  I met pilgrims from the coast of California, the plains of the mid-west and the shores of New England.  They came to Washington to say that they were there.  We were there too.  On the mall. On this great day.  Two people amongst the 2 million listening intently to the new President's words for the world.   The day was cold but hearts were warmed.

There has been a celebratory atmosphere in Washington over the past week. Yet there was a solemn dignity around Tuesday's happy crowds. As President Obama said wherever we look there is work to be done. The atmosphere on the Mall seemed to reflect the measured tone of the President's speech.  I know that the UK Government will work tirelessly and ever more closely with President Obama's Administration and Congress to ensure that we meet the challenges of our time. The challenges are great but the sense of purpose and possibility evoked today is greater still. I feel confident that increased public and private diplomacy, political will and the will of our peoples will, in time, solve our economic challenges, the threat from climate change and conflict whether in the Middle East or the hills and plains of Afghanistan.

My 14 year old nephew from Chicago asked my wife and I where he could volunteer on Martin Luther King Day (the then President-Elect had called for people to volunteer). There is a sense of an ever growing challenge, resolve and, perhaps as result, optimism amongst the American people. 

We left the cold Mall after the speech and walked back to Virginia over a eerily car free highway bridge.

Posted at 10:53 22 January 2009 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[1]

BBC Persian TV

It is great to hear that BBC Persian TV will launch on 14 January.

This has been a long standing British goal, supported by our Government. The intention is to provide ordinary Iranians with accurate, impartial news and information analysis that will help inform them and, over time encourage the natural process of change in Iran.

The BBC Persian Service has long broadcast by radio and enjoys a strong reputation. The Iranian Government have already denounced the service - although this does not stop them investing heavily in foreign langauge broadcasting, both English and Arabic.

The TV channel is part of the BBC's multimedia Persian service. 

Posted at 09:16 13 January 2009 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[1]

Accountability

The UK Government is drawn from and accountable to Parliament. Weekly Prime Minister's Questions are the clearest example of accountability where the prime minister is asked to respond to tough questions from his fellow Members of Parliament. Each of the major government departments also has its own version of questions such as Foreign Office questions.

I am currently reading Guardian commentary of David Miliband's joint appearance with John Hutton in front of a joint session of the House of Commons Defence and Foreign Affairs Committees.

Posted at 11:41 28 October 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[0]

London's diversity and public diplomacy

I am visiting London this week for some developmental training. I have attended both the Foreign Office's Deputy Heads of Mission course, ran by Ashridge, and the Crisis Leadership Course ran by our impressive consular crisis team. Any readers interested in a career in the Foreign Office should know that we run a first class set of developmental programmes and courses.

London's cosmopolitan nature is striking whenever I return. Only New York comes close to London in its claim to be the world's city. A 2006 survey found that 18% of Londoners use a language other than English in their home. This suggests to me that many Londoners maintain close ties to their home countries. As a public diplomacy practitioner, I wonder if this represents a communication opportunity. Are the ties that Londoners, or New Yorkers for that matter, have with other countries the type that allow influence at home? I understand that the Smith-Mundt Act prevents the US from undertaking this type of activity at domestically. But do readers see a benefit in engaging local communities with close ties to other countries?

By the way, I would not agree with the definition of public diplomacy given in the Wikipedia entry on Smith-Mundt.

Posted at 10:28 27 October 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[1]

The Listening Project

The Listening Project is a documentary film that examines what a range of people around the world think of America.

I suspect a similar project on the UK would produce a range of results (I am tempted to conduct one around DC some time soon). The question for diplomats like myself is whether a mixed opinion of my country amongst the public at large overseas makes it more difficult to project soft power. It is tempting to say yes, of course. But the public at large in a number of countries are either disassociated or not interested in all but the most crucial foreign policy decisions. Simon Anholt gave his thoughts in the Foreign Office's recent publication on public diplomacy.

Posted at 09:58 21 October 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[5]

Credibility and the World Service

The BBC world service attracts a weekly global audience of 233 million people. Thirteen million unique users visit its website every week. Its budget is about $470 million a year.

The World Service has garnered a global reputation as THE source of news. From Mandela on Robben Island to the 16 million who listen to its Arabic service today, the world's public have heard unbiased news from impeccable sources. Credibility is the one of the key reasons for the World Service's reputation remaining impeccable.

The British Government does not commission stories or sway the BBC's line. Governments of different political stripes have, from time to time, found themselves on the wrong side of the World Service's independent reporting. This independence and reporting of the facts has ensured continued credibility for the organisation. Public Affairs Officers or Diplomats like myself can no more tell the World Service what to report than we could tell Al Jazeera to spike a story on civilian casualties. The Arab "street" or Soweto slums have become more and more media savvy. It would be a waste of money for the UK to pay for and serve up lukewarm propaganda.  
 
It is always interesting to compare and contrast how different governments go about their business. The UK devotes significant resource to both the BBC World Service (which is managerially and editorially independent) and British Council (which is operationally independent from government).

There is a wide ranging debate underway in Washington on how the US Government should go about influencing overseas. There seems to be a wide range of suggested approaches. Some in Congress had expressed concern about the reporting of Voice of America. Some seem to want more independent public diplomacy initiatives, others do not. The Department of Defence recently signed a $300 million a year contract for the production of supportive media in Iraq. What do readers think that the UK and US can learn from each other approach and ideas?

Posted at 16:10 14 October 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[6]

Exchange, exchange, exchange

A number of Embassy colleagues attended a workshop at the Brookings Institution over the summer that looked at shared transatlantic policy priorities and public diplomacy. The workshop concluded that there would be most benefit from Europe and the US working together to strengthen the systematic acquisition of political capital and and trust through young leadership programmes, educational and proffesional exchanges and international public events on shared concerns.

Gordon Brown wrote on this theme during his April visit to the US. It would take be some time to record all the misconceptions that I held about the US before I came to live here as a 21 year old junior diplomat. My experiences have convinced me of the value that exchanges can have. This year's class of Marshall Scholars has just headed off to the UK.  The British Council network of young leaders, TN2020, is about to have its first summit in Dublin and Belfast. Over the coming months I will be looking for opportunities widen UK and US exchanges - I have been talking to a few think-tanks about how to do this. I would be very interested to hear the views and ideas of readers. 

Posted at 16:44 30 September 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[2]

The importance of being credible

A recent FCO publication on public diplomacy included a chapter by USC professor Nick Cull. The chapter suggested seven lessons for public diplomacy practitioners:

1. Public diplomacy begins with listening.

2. Public diplomacy must be connected to policy.

3. Public diplomacy is not a performance for domestic consumption.

4. Effective public diplomacy requires credibility, but that has implications for the bureaucratic structure around the activity.

5. Sometimes the most credible voice in public diplomacy is not one's own.

6. Public diplomacy is not always 'about you'.

7. Public diplomacy is everyone's business.

I see these lessons as sound and sensible. Behaving this way could help us develop better influencing programmes around the world. I would be interested in the thoughts of my readers.

I wonder what the Russians think of Cull's advice. Did anyone notice their recent supplement in The Washington Post? The Weekly Standard Blog covered it. 

Posted at 13:35 24 September 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[0]

Does a (lack of) public debate influence priorities?

Joshua Keating has posted this on Russian warnings.

The Russians have become increasingly assertive over recent years on a number of fronts. 

Remember the Estonian cyber-attack? Tariffs on timber exports? Cold war style flights? We have had the Polish meat stand off, Ukranian gas supplies being off and naked aggression in Georgia. Now they are increasing military links with Venezuela.  
 
One can envisage individual goals for each of these Russian actions. But do readers see all of these activities as part of a larger pattern aimed at a wider objective or piecemeal short-term regional geo-politicing?

Russia has real challenges ahead: a declining population, HIV epidemic, low male life expectancy and falling investor confidence. But the siloviki seem focussed on Russia's borders and beyond. Would a free press and active civil society mean a greater focus on these priorities?

Posted at 19:55 17 September 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[2]

Footie, 15 years and cultural convergence

I arrived back in Washington with my family last October after a 15 year gap. The US and the DC region have changed in immeasurable ways since the early nineties. Many of our previous cultural references are now invalid. Seinfeld was THE comedy when we left, everyone knew what you were referring to when you mentioned "The Soup Nazi". Downtown DC was still recovering from the riots in the late 60s - there is now a vibrant, thriving downtown area around the Verizon center. Northern Virginia was pretty homogenous - it is now a lot more diverse and interesting. Perhaps more importantly to me though - you can now get footie (soccer) on cable TV.
 
I am an avant Liverpool fan. If I was living at home I would have a season pass like my brother. I read fansites and forums such as The Rattle every day.  

This weekend we play that lot from Manchester in England's biggest domestic soccer game. Fox Soccer Channel tells me their audience for British Football is continually growing - so much so that they are soon to be listed on the Nielsen ratings. This brings up the question of cultural convergence. Is the UK becoming more like the US (as many academic, I suppose pundits, say) and the US a little bit more like the UK? It's a difficult question for me to answer. My family is trans-atlantic in nature. I am equally at home at a baseball game over here as I am at a footie (soccer) game in the UK. Has our partially shared culture, sporting or otherwise impacted US and UK values? I grew up watching the A Team and Charlie's Angels in the UK - my predecessors' were do doubt partially moulded by Hemingway and Arthur Miller, their US counterparts by Olivier's Henry V. Can we measure the relationship between the degree of convergence in values and maybe policy against cultural penetration? Will our unique relationship with the US deepen if Liverpool put four past that lot tomorrow?

Posted at 07:30 15 September 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[1]

Google, the Queen and profile

It has been reported that The Queen will visit Google's UK headquarters next month.
 
It is tempting to write a long post about misconceptions and stereotyping of the UK as some sort of heritage park. Suffice to say that this story covers two key selling points for the UK: (i) how web savvy and innovation oriented us Brits now are and (ii) how the UK is Europe's number one destination for inward investment; businessmen are not generally known for making decisions on the basis of heritage. Great to see that Google have staff in the UK. David Miliband has frequently spoken of how he sees the UK acting as a global hub.
 
I would love to hear the perceptions that our readers have of the UK, its policies and how they see our role in the 21st century.

Posted at 11:00 14 September 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[1]

Do you own stock in the electric company?

My wife got me to listen to NPR's recent interview with pullitzer prize winner (and Marshall Scholar alum) Tom Friedman. I have rarely heard such a powerful, communicative advocate for policies to stimulate innovation in the energy sector and tackle CO2 emissions. His line on what our parents said when we left the lights on made me wonder if he was in my house 30 years ago.

Posted at 13:18 11 September 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[0]

A picture says a thousand words

A follow up to my recent post on the UK-led turbine mission in Afghanistan. Ex-soldier turned journalist and blogger Michael Yon has produced a brilliant blog entry on the recent successful operation. Some of his stunning photography and commentary brings home the difficult mission that coalition troops face over there.

Posted at 06:18 10 September 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[0]

2,000 Brits and a dog fight Al Qaeda

Some 2,000 British troops and a springer spaniel called Pip have just helped to deliver a hydro-turbine that will provide power to 1.5 million Afghans. The UK has the largest presence in Afghanistan after our US allies - with many of our 8,000 troops fighting in the frontline against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. This website has more on the UK's presence.

Posted at 06:15 05 September 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[0]