You're reading: How Ukraine can boost its international image

Ukraine’s national identity remains weak in the outside world, more than 25 years after national independence.

Even as Ukraine reaches out to Europe, the Western world remains ignorant and disinterested. In addition, the country’s image on the international arena has been overshadowed by the war and corruption narratives prevailing in foreign media. This harms the business climate and hinders further economic development of Ukraine.

So creating a strategic communications plan for Ukraine was a hot topic at the 5th annual Tiger Conference, organized by the Kyiv Post on Nov. 29 in Kyiv. Communications experts discussed how the nation can go from zero to an internationally recognized brand by asserting clear and positive message about its identity, history and values.

Confidence issues

John Lough, an associate fellow with the Russia & Eurasia program at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said the basic lack of understanding about Ukraine in the West is rooted in three key issues that have yet to be overcome.

First, the West lacks trust in Ukrainian leaders.

Second, the tradition of communicating as an independent state is still absent in Ukraine, resulting in a lack of self-confidence in the nation.

Third, Ukraine’s image has been damaged by Russian propaganda on the internet and in the media.

“There are no insuperable problems,” Lough said. “Ukraine has to stop using the war as an excuse and begin to communicate positive messages. In the competition for the credibility in Western perception, Ukraine can beat Russian disinformation by providing quality evidence of positive changes.”

Made in Ukraine

The experts all acknowledged that in 25 years of independence, Ukraine is yet to develop a comprehensive communications plan to promote itself to the foreign public.

Some efforts have been made by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine. More than a year ago, it created booklets “Invest in Ukraine” and a few promotional videos in English and German presenting opportunities in Ukraine for investment, tourism, and information technology services. It also launched a hashtag #FollowUkraine on Twitter to engage social media users.

One of the people behind the campaign was Natalia Mykolska, a deputy minister of economic development. As a newly appointed trade representative of Ukraine in 2015, she was faced with a lack of quality informational materials for potential business partners, she said.

“Foreigners have no idea about Ukraine as a country of innovation, manufacture, e-commerce, IT, how well educated Ukrainians are, and, most importantly, they don’t know about the ongoing reforms,” said Mykolska.

At the moment the ministry is working on a national strategy to build and expand “Made in Ukraine” brand.

“We have to promote highly innovative industries and domestic products with high added value, but besides that, we need to promote the country as a whole,” said Mykolska, calling on those present to join “Team Ukraine” – an international network of Ukraine supporters.

Cultural diplomacy

Ukraine may not be known as a leading manufacturer or a service hub yet, but it has definitely gained some prominence on a cultural scene by having won Eurovision song contest twice and being a long-time supplier to the Russian pop music industry, with artists like Vera Brezhneva or Ivan Dorn.

Moreover, Ukrainian traditional embroidery has been in the forefront of haute couture over the past couple of years as traditional vyshyvanka embroidered shirts appeared on catwalks at fashion shows around the world.

However, Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, the general manager at arts and cultural center Mystetskyi Arsenal, believes that Ukraine has a lot more than vyshyvankas to offer to the world. She thinks that the country has to promote its contemporary culture by stimulating cultural diplomacy in order to counter the negative narrative in foreign media.

“The first step is to support the local creative class such as artists, cinema producers, and writers,” said Ostrovska-Liuta. “The next step is to organize an academic and youth exchange with other countries..”

Such exchange programs would bring to Ukraine foreign scholars like Marci Shore, an associate professor at Yale University, whose article about a modern Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan was published in The New Yorker magazine this week.

In pursuit of a positive image, however, Ukraine should not shy away from pieces of art that depict violent or traumatic events in the country’s history. This happened in 2014 when critically acclaimed but disturbing film “The Tribe” was not put forward as the Ukrainian entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards. Instead, the selection committee chose a more patriotic film, “The Guide.”

“Ukraine should not try to present only a polished version of its history out of fear of shocking or scaring off the foreign audience,” Ostrovska-Liuta said.

Role model

As for Ukraine’s unique selling point, there is at least one more thing the country can export in addition to its goods, services, and culture – its experience in transformation. According to media expert and public intellectual Yevhen Hlibovytsky, Ukraine could become a role model for other countries in transition.

Hlibovytsky argues that Ukraine as a nation was born during the EuroMaidan Revolution in late 2013 and early 2014, and irrespective of aftermath, it has set a precedent for the non-Western world.

Having worked in Kyrgyzstan and Georgia, he reckons Ukraine has the potential to turn into a strong regional player that links West and East.

“We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of the Eastern policy. If we want to be interesting to the West, we have to strengthen our position in the East first,” Hlibovytsky said. “We can’t sell to the Germans how well we deal with the French, but we can sell them our successful relations with the Caucasus, Turkey, Central Asia.”
Finally, Maryana Kahanyak, head of the Export Promotion Office at Ukraine’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, pointed to the large number of communication experts working on promoting Ukraine but not cooperating with each other.

“We hear about so many initiatives from different sides, all with the same goal of promoting Ukraine. We should join our efforts,” Kahanyak said.

“Ukraine is the largest country in Europe but it doesn’t sound large when it communicates.” – John Lough, associate fellow with the Russia & Eurasia program at Chatham House

“Ukraine is the largest country in Europe but it doesn’t sound large when it communicates.”
– John Lough,
associate fellow with the Russia & Eurasia program at Chatham House (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)

 

“It’s known that if you’re not building your reputation yourself, someone will do it for you. Usually it’s someone from the outside and not with good intentions.” – Myron Wasylyk, CEO at PBN Hill+Knowlton Strategies

“It’s known that if you’re not building your reputation yourself, someone will do it for you. Usually it’s someone from the outside and not with good intentions.”
– Myron Wasylyk,
CEO at PBN Hill+Knowlton Strategies (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)

 

“Everyone who promotes Ukra­ine now does good for our kids and future generations. This is Ukraine – Unique, Knowledgeable, Rational, Ambi­tious, Innovative, Natural, and Emotional.” – Nataliya Mykolska, deputy economy minister of Ukraine

“Everyone who promotes Ukra­ine now does good for our kids and future generations. This is Ukraine – Unique, Knowledgeable, Rational, Ambi­tious, Innovative, Natural, and Emotional.”
– Nataliya Mykolska, deputy economy minister of Ukraine (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)

“People know that Russia is the country of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. Of Ukraine, they just know that it’s a country somewhere in the East.” – Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, general manager at Mystetskyi Arsenal,

“People know that Russia is the country of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. Of Ukraine, they just know that it’s a country somewhere in the East.”
– Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta,
general manager at Mystetskyi Arsenal, (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)

“Israel can be an inspiring example for Ukraine on how to transform national trauma into the statehood.” – Yevhen Hlibovytsky, partner at the pro.mova expert group

“Israel can be an inspiring example for Ukraine on how to transform national trauma into the statehood.”
– Yevhen Hlibovytsky,
partner at the pro.mova
expert group (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)