bout de papier, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1999) — Summer 1999 // Été 1999, p. 2
The knock on DFAIT has often been that it’s a Department that faces the world but ’has its back to downtown’ Ottawa. That Foreign Service Officers who achieve such remarkable success overseas through adept networking and use of their diplomatic skills fail to do the same in Ottawa; not reaching out to promote DFAIT’s interests and agenda with political Ottawa, with the key central agencies, or with other government departments. That the Department spends too much time talking to policy elites and too little time engaging with grassroots Canadians, many of whom have only a vague notion of what it even does (signal successes like the landmines convention notwithstanding).
Two feature articles this issue discuss how DFAIT is seeking to better communicate its key messages and build support for Canada’s international agenda among both domestic and foreign audiences. In “Public Diplomacy in the 21st Century”, Hugh Stephens describes how our public diplomacy programs are rebuilding through local initiatives, expanded cultural and academic activities, domestic outreach to Canadians and more aggressive media outreach. In “The Upper North Side”, Kevin O’Shea and Bernard Etzinger review how the New York consulate successfully brought together public diplomacy, business development and cultural promotion activities to ’brand’ the image of Canada in one of the toughest markets in the world.
This issue also highlights the sold-out 10th annual PAFSO Awards Dinner which took place in June, and which this year recognized Kathryn Aleong, Éloi Arsenault, Don Myatt and James L. Bissett, and Shelly Whiting. Also announced that evening was the RHOMA prize winner for best article in bout, Renata Wielgosz.
In “From the Archives”, Hector Mackenzie also highlights the public diplomacy theme, providing excerpts from diplomatic correspondence relating to one of the DFAIT’s early forays into cultural diplomacy — pianist Glenn Gould’s first-ever European tour to Cold War Moscow and Leningrad, in 1957.
Another feature article, by Wendell Sanford, describes his experiences as an exchange officer with the New Zealand foreign ministry, including lessons Canada can learn from the Kiwis — how through a sound management model implemented with rigour and constant improvement, a small foreign ministry can be highly effective in international affairs. The challenges faced by Canadian diplomats serving in the former Soviet Union during the Cold War are reflected in “Presenting Credentials in Moscow”, based on Geoffrey Pearson’s first reporting telegram back to HQ after presenting his letters of credential in 1980, and a personal letter home written by Landon Pearson describing the post-credentials reception at the Embassy.
In our “Commentary” section this issue, Andrew Caddell examines the “state of the spouse”, putting forth a number of suggestions on how DFAIT might improve the quality of life and career opportunities for foreign service spouses, building upon the discussion of spousal issues in the last issue of bout.
In a lighter vein, resident FS comedy writer Michael Kaduck is back to grace our pages with “The Fairey Firefly File”. T.A. Keenleyside has also provided a delightful recollection of events surrounding a dinner for Prime Minister Trudeau during his 1971 visit to Indonesia.
For “Books in Review” we thank regular bout contributor Nicholas Coghlan, who looks at a recent book examining the lives of Miles and Beryl Smeeton, “the greatest Canadian adventurers of this century”. A Aalto is back in fine form as always, this time with a “lyrical labyrinth” entitled “Up the Creeque”. Go figure and good luck.
Finally, as I prepare to leave on posting overseas, I bid farewell to bout readers with this issue. I had a wonderful year at the helm of bout, working with my fine colleagues on the bout Editorial and Senior Editorial Boards, with bout Managing Editor Debra Hulley, and with Acart Graphics. I also thank all those who have contributed to bout over the past year. May your pens never run dry. I am delighted to pass my Editor’s pen on to Robert Peck, who has had a close association with bout over the years. I wish Robert every success and would ask bout readers to provide him the same strong support that was shown to me over the past year.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1999) — Summer 1999 // Été 1999, p. 2. Read the rest of this issue →
