Event Reports
80 leading PR experts of state institutions from 25 countries met in Sofia on 26th and 27th March at the invitation of the KAS Media Program South East Europe. The Conference on Digital Communication received high level political support and was held in co-operation with the "Club of Venice" and the "Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies" (Brussels). Top of the agenda was defence of European values on the Web.
Traditional media are losing audience. Exchange of information on the Web is booming. Heads of government communications in the whole of Europe must face this challenge. For a long time news portals have no longer been the only sources of political information on the Internet, Facebook und Twitter are replacing or supplementing professional journalism. Those who want to enter into dialogue with the public must communicate asymmetrically through many channels.
This is an enormous task in two respects: citizens increasingly expect to contribute opinions and ideas in political opinion-making. But the European model is also under attack from political actors who do not share its goals and values. Political conflict takes place around the clock on global platforms.
"We are simply taking the values of the EU for granted," was the criticism of the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov in his address at the beginning of the conference. "We must explain the EU better and start defending it," said the Foreign Minister, with regard to Russian action in Ukraine and extremist parties inside Europe. "Our European communication has to become more strategic in nature." The German Ambassador Detlef Lingemann emphasised the importance of citizen involvement and value orientation as aspects of digital communication by governments. Democratic values like freedom and the rule of law and universal human rights were in need of protection.
More than 20 contributors to the conference discussed these themes in detail. A succession of three panel discussions considered examples of good practice in online-dialogue with citizens, the war of information in the Ukraine crisis, and new approaches to the explanation of European values in the world.
Feeding the trolls or not? – The new Facebook page of the German Government
Erik den Hoedt began by saying that social media were a great way to improve communication with citizens. The director of the Public Information and Communication Office of the Netherlands chaired the Panel on citizen participation. A new approach to this was presented by Keynote speaker Georg Streiter, Deputy Spokesperson of the German Government. This is newly also represented on Facebook and manages citizens’ comments in an unorthodox way. Impertinent criticism from Internet users is not ignored but is answered by a 15-strong team with humour and in unofficial language. "It is generally said, don’t feed the trolls - but we do, in our own manner," explained Streiter. This prevents arguments from escalating and preserves the basis for serious contributions.
More in the report here.