Delphi Forum: Greece must take more active role abroad, including in think tanks
Greece needs to change its image, both domestically and internationally, or how Greeks and foreigners see the country, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Extroversion Kostas Fragogiannis said at the Delphi Economic Forum VI, out of Zappeion Hall in Athens, on Wednesday.
Fragogiannis was a participant in the panel "Upgrading the Image of Greece: Theoretical Explorations and Empirical Experimentations".
Greece's image abroad follows three lines - history & culture, beautiful nature, and bureaucracy, lack of meritocracy and lack of infrastructure, he said. "This is not modern Greece, and we are working consistently to change the country's image and substance both domestically and globally," the minister underlined, according to a forum announcement.
Citing best practices, he said Greece should emulate the noted example of Estonia in digitization and become a hub of innovation and technology and a desirable investment location globally.
Also participating were former minister and former EU Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou, who said Greece must invest in think tanks, in which it lags behind; Michel Foucher, geographer and former French ambassador, who said Greece's image is often subverted by propaganda mechanisms and the state appears as conservative, with the Turkish agenda dominating news; and George Prevelakis, emeritus professor of geopolitics at the University of Sorbonne, who said that Greece must enter the arena of think-tank talks, which has affected how Greece is seen abroad.
As Prevelakis noted, Greek presentations abroad appear uncoordinated, as very able diplomats abroad simply convey Greece's positions in talks. The country's problem is introversion, he said, and Greece's national narrative must become a national call so that journalists, politicians and policy makers can embarce it and promote and explain Greece's positions abroad.