It’s time EU communicators stand their ground
Marco Ricorda
?? Modern International Communication Operations ?? | Communication Manager & Consultant | Certified Trainer | Certified Public Speaking Trainer | Science & AI policy communication |
European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker said this a couple of days ago:
We are not proud enough of what we have achieved. This was a continent of divisions and wars. European unity is the great luck of our continent
This statement reflects on a problem that communicators advocating in favour of the European union have to face right now. I’m not referring in particular to communication professionals working for the institutions, but mainly to those who believe in the European project and work in communication, in Brussels and beyond.
I fully agree with President Juncker’s statement: we are not proud enough of what we have achieved. On the other side though, I see lack of courage when it comes to showing this feeling of pride and to counterattack populist arguments, fake news and groundless political campaigns aimed at destroying or undermining one of the greatest political projects in human history.
This, in my own experience, brings up to the surface a couple of issues:
- Bubbles (not only the EURObubble) are too self-complacent. I define bubbles as cities or areas of cities that gather professionals working in the same field. Bubbles are echochambers where people have the same mindset (not necessarily they just think alike), which makes it hard for them to see what the world outside that sphere think.
I am a frequent attendee of conferences on communication, democracy, human rights and I see how, in Brussels, these debates are useless when the line-up of speakers is made of people that all share the same view or belong to the same societal stratum and are ergo unable to bring aglobal perspective to the discussion table. Instead, they like patting each other on the back by self-acknowledging their membership to the intelligentsia. Clearly, things are going the opposite direction over the past two years…and 2017 doesn’t seem to be more promising.
We are losing the communication battle with citizens outside of big cities, and still, we are not realizing the power we have in our hand to stand our ground and defend the European ideals now, when it matters most.
- Self-complacency makes you a softy. Instead of fighting back, as President Juncker does and proposes, we get scared. I believe this is the time to stand our ground and use our skills, our arguments our knowledge to advocate for the benefits, the goodness and the founding principle of the Union. What the EU has achieved is tangible and it cannot be taken for granted.
The Social Media Team in the European Commission are applying these principles well. You can go on their Facebook page or Twitter account and see how they rebut wrong arguments, fake news or questionnable data. My call if for all those communicators who believe in EU unity to do the same on their personal accounts and not to shy away from populist digital campaigning. It’s not easy, I know. But we have the chance to act and make our contribution to a great cause. Let’s make our skills count.
PM, QA & Evaluation | Research | Proposal writing
7 年Hi Marco, spot on! I had the same feeling while in Brussels last year (maybe because I am from Southern Europe as well? :)) Self-complacency and also not admitting where we (states, institutions) have failed without the fear that the project will collapse... We need an open discussion. We need to explain to people that are fiercely Eurosceptic why this projects is still of value and why some of their fears are misplaced.
I do that, too :).
Policy Officer at European Commission
7 年your entry is spot on, Marco. perhaps to add that it is not enough to for the Commission to communicate at the channels they are in control of (I.e. their Twitter account (s), Facebook pages. we have to go where people discuss EU related topics. I.e. tabloid forums, other communities' Facebook, LinkedIn spaces, etc. the average citizen will not follow the commission accounts, only believes and deniers will.
Founding director Feeling Europe FNDN, founder @C21fellow. Connected to NEXUS Institute | CEPS | Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism | Council for Inclusive Capitalism | CIFA | Odyssey | GBBC
7 年Europe has still choices. Over 2000 years there has been a vision of a future in which Europa would acquire some kind of unity. We can shape our life and therefore able to find appropriate relevance that gives Europe glamor. We have to compare our best practices and use these with each other for our common destiny. https://www.feelingeurope.eu/Pages/Rome%2060%20years.pdf
EU energy and climate policy executive ● Writer of six non-fiction books ● Owner of holiday home Green Escape Durbuy
7 年Good discussion and highly needed. There are several problems intertwined. I don't see a direct solution. Pointing people to the facts can help for sure especially when unjust things are said. For instance on 'euro is a disaster' I alwas say 'well in fact trade in the eurozone has doubled since the introduction of the euro.' I also note that the EU institutions have sometimes millions of views or supporters on the various social media. That is a fantastic and underrated accomplishment. But the Junckers of the world also completely mess it up themselves. For instance in an interview with a Dutch paper, ahead of the Ukraine referendum, Juncker said that a No vote would throw Europe into an existential crisis. That sort of dramatic statements are counterproductive. One final remark is that you can only do so much 'explaining' of the benefits of EU integration. Apart from the focus on Output legitimisation, we severely lack Input legitimisation in the EU. And that is where the real structural problem of Europe sits, and it gets bigger and bigger. Happy to discuss - debate in real life it is a very important topic for me!