IEAA News

Australia's Public Diplomacy

Written by: VISTA Editorial, 04 Mar 2010

AUSTRALIA'S PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 

Governments, both Commonwealth and State, appear to have begun to learn from their public diplomacy failures over the past year.

Unwillingness by senior government figures to take advice of the international education sector and probably their own senior advisers, including in Foreign Affairs, has meant that Australia has been presented to the world as amateurish and prevaricating and possibly arrogant and truculent when it comes to international education.

While the Indian Government has been openly vocal and critical in response, other government such as China have been no less concerned and forceful in their criticism in private to embarrassed and floundering ministers and bureaucrats.

Working with governments to help the situation has proven to be difficult, but there is a growing sense that messages are getting through.

In late February, the Premier of NSW, Kristina Keneally, announced that the NSW Government will establish a Premier’s Council on International Education. This was primarily a response [...]

Read the rest of  VISTA February editorial here (members only)