Main findings and recommendations
Australia's public diplomacy
The committee found that Australia's public diplomacy is spread
across a large canvas with many contributors. A significant number of government
departments and agencies are engaged in work overseas that either directly or
indirectly conveys to the world a positive image of Australia.
It commends the work of Australia's government departments and
agencies, the cultural and educational institutions and the many private
organisations that are actively engaged in promoting Australia's reputation
overseas. Many of these organisations are working quietly behind the scenes and,
through word and deed, are helping to secure a presence for Australia on the
international stage. They are helping to build a reputation that will hold the
country in good stead.
In the May 2007 Budget, the Australian Government provided
$20.4 million over four years to enhance Australia’s cultural diplomacy and
improve market access for Australia's cultural exports. The committee welcomes
the increased funding allocated to cultural diplomacy. Undoubtedly it will
allow Australia's cultural institutions to make an even larger contribution to Australia's
image abroad.
The committee notes, however, that Australia is in intense
competition with other countries also seeking to be heard on matters of importance
to them. To ensure that Australia's public diplomacy efforts are not
overshadowed in the highly contested international space, Australia must ensure
that it takes advantage of opportunities to capitalise on the positive outcomes
from its many public diplomacy activities. The committee identified some areas
where it believes Australia could improve its public diplomacy achievements. For
example, one pertinent observation made during the inquiry was that 'the whole
[of Australia's public diplomacy] is not as great as the sum of the parts'.[1]
The committee was particularly concerned about:
- the low level of interest in, or awareness of, Australia's public
diplomacy by many Australians;
- the lack of methodical and long-term research into attitudes
toward Australia by countries that are of significance to Australia;
- the effectiveness of Australia's whole-of-government approach to
public diplomacy in producing a cooperative, coordinated and united effort by
the many agencies and organisations that contribute to, or have the potential
to contribute to, Australia's public diplomacy, including Australia's diaspora;
- DFAT's ability to meet the growing challenges of conducting
public diplomacy in a fiercely contested environment including matters such the
resources devoted to public diplomacy, staff training and the role of locally
engaged staff;
- the need to ensure that those responsible for managing and
delivering public diplomacy programs are taking full advantage of advances in
technology to reach the global audience; and
- the apparent absence of appropriate performance indicators
suggesting that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade does not have
mechanisms in place to monitor and assess adequately the effectiveness of its
public diplomacy programs.
In light of these factors,
the committee made a number of recommendations.
Recommendation 1 (paragraph 6.36)
The committee
recommends that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) give a
higher priority to tracking opinions of Australia in countries of greatest significance to Australia
as a means of obtaining better insights into the attitudes of others toward Australia.
To this end, DFAT should devote appropriate resources to develop a capacity to
conduct and evaluate regular assessments of attitudes towards Australia and its
foreign policy.
Recommendation 2 (paragraph 6.49)
The committee
recommends that the government's public diplomacy policy attach greater
importance to creating an awareness of public diplomacy domestically. It
recommends that the government formulate a public communication strategy and
put in place explicit programs designed:
- to inform more Australians about
Australia's public diplomacy; and
- to encourage and facilitate the
many and varied organisations and groups involved in international activities
to take a constructive role in actively supporting Australia's
public diplomacy objectives.
Recommendation 3 (paragraph 7.39)
The committee
recommends that the government take a more active role in working with
Australian educational institutions to develop stronger and more effective
alumni programs for overseas students who have studied in Australia.
Recommendation 4 (paragraph 7.52)
The committee
recommends that:
- all visitors' or training programs sponsored or funded by the
government have clearly identified public diplomacy objectives;
- DFAT ensure that all government sponsored or funded visitors' or
training programs adopt a longer-term perspective and include measures or plans
that are intended to consolidate and build on the immediate public diplomacy
benefits that accrue from such activities; and
- as an accountability measure, the organisers or sponsors of a
visitors' or training program report on how the program has contributed to Australia's
public diplomacy.
Recommendation 5 (paragraph 7.61)
Consistent with the
findings of previous parliamentary reports,[2]
the committee recommends that the government consider introducing
additional incentives for Australian students not only to study an Asian
language but to combine their studies with cultural studies.
Recommendation 6 (paragraph 8.43)
The committee
recommends that the government restructure the interdepartmental committee
on public diplomacy (IDC) so that its functions extend beyond sharing
information between departments and agencies to include coordinating and
monitoring Australia's public diplomacy activities. It recommends:
- more senior representation on the IDC than is currently the
case—Departments should be represented at the Deputy Secretary level;
- expanding the functions of the IDC to ensure that it has a central role
in planning and overseeing a whole-of-government long-term strategic plan for
Australia's public diplomacy;
- the IDC have responsibility for ensuring that the synergies among
government departments and agencies are identified and exploited in pursuit of
the government's foreign policy objectives;
- the IDC produce a coherent public diplomacy strategy that outlines
priority objectives for public diplomacy along the lines of the UK Public
Diplomacy Board;
- the government's public diplomacy strategic framework acknowledge the
potential of local governments, particularly the major city councils, to engage
in Australia's public diplomacy;
- the government's strategic framework take account of non-state stakeholders and adopt as one of its key operating principles in its public
diplomacy strategy 'work with others, including business, NGOs and Australian
expatriates';
- some cross membership on the IDC and the Australia International
Cultural Council;
- the IDC produce a report on discussions and decisions taken at its
meetings to be published on its website;
- establishing a sub-committee of the IDC with responsibility for ensuring
that non-state organisations involved in international activities, including
diaspora communities, are incorporated into an overarching public diplomacy
framework;
- establishing a sub-committee of the IDC that would be responsible for
ensuring that Australia's public diplomacy stays at the forefront of developments
in technology.
The committee does not intend the IDC to encroach on the
independence of statutory bodies such as the ABC or of non-government
organisations bound by their own charters. The IDC would recognise and respect
their independence. Its objective would be to work in partnership with them,
advising and offering guidance and assistance where appropriate to maximise
their contribution to Australia's public diplomacy.
Recommendation 7 (paragraph 8.45)
The committee
recommends that if, after considering the above recommendation, the government
is of the view that the IDC cannot or should not be the body to take on this
leadership and whole-of-government coordinating and advisory function, the
government establish an appropriate separate and permanent body that would do
so.
Recommendation 8 (paragraph 8.58)
The committee recommends
that the Australian Government explore opportunities for greater and more
effective collaboration and coordination with Australian capital city councils
in promoting Australia's public diplomacy.
Recommendation 9 (paragraph 9.35)
The committee
recommends that the Australia International Cultural Council (AICC) take note
of the evidence relating to the coordination and planning of international
cultural activities with a view to addressing the concerns raised in evidence.
Close consultation with the relevant sections in the Department of
Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, DFAT and Australia's
cultural institutions would be central to AICC's consideration. The committee
suggests that a report of the Council's deliberations and decisions be made
available to the committee and also made public by publishing them on DFAT's
and the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts' websites
(also see recommendation 6).
Recommendation 10 (paragraph
9.36)
The committee
recommends further that the government consider that the AICC be co-chaired by the
Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Arts and Sports. The committee
suggests that this would contribute significantly to greater coordination and
cooperation in the area of cultural diplomacy.
Recommendation 11 (paragraph
9.40)
The committee
recommends that the government establish a small but specifically tasked
cultural and public diplomacy unit in the Department for Communications,
Information Technology and the Arts. In liaison with DFAT, the unit would
provide the necessary institutional framework to ensure that Australia's
cultural institutions are well placed and encouraged to take full advantage of
opportunities to contribute to Australia's public diplomacy.
Recommendation 12 (paragraph 9.52)
The committee
recommends that DFAT ensure that its public diplomacy framework accommodates
the concerns of the educational institutions especially with regard to industry
engagement by formulating with the Department of Education, Science and
Training (DEST) and the Vice Chancellors of Australian Universities appropriate
strategies to facilitate a more productive engagement by these institutions in Australia's
public diplomacy.
Recommendation 13 (paragraph 9.53)
The committee
also recommends that DFAT initiate and sponsor a public debate on measures that
could be taken to promote a more productive partnership between government
departments and educational institutions in promoting Australia's
public diplomacy.
Recommendation 14 (paragraph
10.42)
The committee
recommends that DFAT review the findings of the Lowy report, Diaspora,
reconsider the relevant recommendations made in March 2005 by the Senate
Legal and Constitutional References Committee on Australian Expatriates and consider the evidence
set out in this report with regard to Australian expatriates and Australia's
public diplomacy. The committee urges DFAT to formulate and implement strategies
that would enable DFAT to take advantage of the significant resource of the
diaspora and encourage Australian expatriates to engage more constructively in Australia's
public diplomacy.
Recommendation 15 (paragraphs
11.31 and 11.32)
The committee
recommends that DFAT conduct an independent survey of its overseas posts to
assess their capacity to conduct effective public diplomacy programs. The
survey would seek views on the effectiveness of the post's efforts in promoting
Australia's interests, and how they could be improved, the adequacy of
resources available to conduct public diplomacy activities, the training and
skills of staff with public diplomacy responsibilities, the
coordination between agencies in public diplomacy activities; and the level of
support provided by the Images of Australia Branch (IAB) and how it could be
improved.
The survey would also seek a response from the overseas posts
on observations made by the educational and cultural organisations, noted by
the committee in this report, levelled at the delivery of Australia's public
diplomacy programs. Such matters would include suggestions made to the committee
that public diplomacy opportunities are being lost in the absence of an effective
mechanism for the coordination of activities. See paragraphs 7.24–7.34 (alumni
associations); 9.22–9.30 (cultural organisations); 9.41–9.44 (educational
institutions); 10.23–10.39 (Australia's diaspora).
Recommendation 16 (paragraph
12.15)
The committee
recommends that DFAT explore the application of innovative technologies to
enhance the delivery of its public diplomacy programs.
Recommendation 17 (paragraph
13.57)
The committee
recommends that, as a matter of priority, DFAT put in place specific
performance indicators that would allow it to both monitor and assess the
effectiveness of its public diplomacy programs.
Recommendation 18 (paragraphs
13.65)
The committee
recommends that, two years after the tabling of this report, DFAT provide the committee
with a report on developments in, and reforms to, Australia's public diplomacy
programs giving particular attention to the role and functions of the IDC and
the way DFAT evaluates the effectiveness of its public diplomacy activities.
Recommendation 19 (paragraph
14.27)
The committee
recommends that DFAT undertake a review of the nine bilateral foundations, councils
and institutes (FCIs) with a view to assessing their effectiveness in
contributing to the conduct of Australia's public diplomacy. The review should consider,
among other matters, whether the FCIs should receive an increase in funding.
Recommendation 20 (paragraph
14.29)
The committee
recommends that each FCI produce an annual report to be tabled in Parliament.
Request to the Australian National Audit Office
The committee requests that the Australian National Audit
Office consider undertaking a performance audit of DFAT's public diplomacy
programs giving particular attention to the evaluation of the effectiveness of
such programs.
Chapter 15 provides a fuller
explanation of the Committee's findings and recommendations.
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