Australia: Public Diplomacy Strategy 2014-2016

I am unfamiliar with sports diplomacy; this is my first time with the concept. I find it interesting that Australia is dedicated to growing tourism. I have always wanted to visit Australia. I however, am not interested in the sports aspect of the country. This might just be personal interest, but I want to explore this further. I am aware that professional sports generate a lot of money. I do believe that Australia has an ability to generate tourism and more directly funds through sports. I believe that even in the current environment, sports can be regulated to continue. This of course implies that protections are in place. I am curious to see more about sports diplomacy. The Science Diplomacy also interests me. Focusing on the development of technology and innovation as a tool to bolster the economic diplomacy is something I appreciate seeing. I believe I have used Australian made cyber toolkits in the past. I will have to look at see if I still have access to them. This was a very interesting document.

I would have never thought to look at this document myself but I am Very glad I did! It’s very interesting especially the certain things they have, that other countries. do not. I really Conne especially like 5eir cultural diplomacy approach. Often times we see hatred between cultures, solely because they do not understand each other. I tuink This approach will really bring a very different . As the article mentions, it will not only foster economic and geographic alliances, but also an alliance based on cultural understanding. It would be interesting to do a survey and see how citizens felt about a certain culture before they experience it and then how they felt about it after they experienced it and to see if there is any difference. It would be great to see this in other countries as well.

I found this document on Australia's diplomacy very interesting. Like @Madeline Smith the only thing I have read about regarding their diplomacy is on immigration issues and the rights of the indigenous people of Australia. However, I found it interesting that one of Australia's priorities in this document was to promote their candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council. A theme throughout parts of this document are promoting equality, democracy and human rights and it would be fascinating to see Australia become a champion for these issues in other countries. Australia has the advantage of being its own continent and therefore does not have to worry about political complexities about denouncing other countries' human rights violations. In this sense, they can be an unbiased arbiter for the Human Rights Council.

I was very fascinated with Australia’s Diplomacy strategy. I think the mission was very clear in that Australia wants to showcase their reputation in a positive light to foster strong relationships and expand their network of influence in the region as being a clear, concise, creative and confident nation. I believe their objectives in which they hope to accomplish their mission are very helpful. They offer a nonthreatening stance on every aspect and welcome collaboration. Australia seems to stress the importance of diversity and tolerance within its nation. The goals to promote Australia’s trade, business and investments are very similar to almost every other country in which they want to better themselves. As for underlining Australia’s commitment in the Indo-pacific region, I thought it was very similar along the lines of how NATO stressed their commitment in the Atlantic region. The country seems to want to establish their power as a credible developmental national with strong ties to diplomacy and diversity. One Aspect that was very fascinating was the areas in which they focused their diplomacy. Cultural, Sports, and Scientific diplomacy are all areas in which are very important to one’s country. Cultural diplomacy allows other countries to understand and to learn about Australia’s culture thus reaching their goal of a diverse and tolerant nation. Their sport Diplomacy can help boost their economy as funds are brought in from teams and help stimulate the economy as well as their scientific diplomacy which furthers their goal in advancing their innovation.

This document a very intriguing in my opinion. I have never studied Australia in depth and personally do not hear much or partake in a lot of discussion pertaining to the region. I found their 2014-2016 agenda very dynamic and diverse. I was especially interested in the cultural diplomacy section. Like @Madeline Smith mentioned, it was very interesting to read Australia's efforts to promote collaboration and networks between international partners as well as provide programs that recognize and promote the respect of Indigenous culture. I was aware that Australia had complicated relations with indigenous groups of the region, but was unaware of how segregated things were as well as how slow progression has been to mend these tensions. In 2017 it was reported that Australia's indigenous statistics were still far from equal, following the report rates of education, health and employment among different tribes. The Australian government was also criticized for continually not recognizing Aboriginals and Torres Straight Islanders in the constitution. I found this situation very similar to many of the situations currently going on with Indigenous groups in Latin America. While there are programs and organizations implemented to recognize and promote peaceful relations with indigenous and native people, there seems to be a continual disconnect and lack of resolution. As @Jay Rosato pointed out, from a moral and foreign relations standpoint, it would make sense for nations to continue to mend these ties and promote not only toleration, but full equality.

This was such an interesting document to read! I have not studied much on Australia outside of their immigration policies, so this was all new to me. Some certain points stood out to me, the first of which was the frequency and tenacity with which this document strives to solidify gender equality. The first mention is in the objectives section which seems to place this issue very high on the national agenda. It is listed several other times, as well, including under goals and promoting Australia's development credentials. This is promising to see prioritized with such passion. Similarly, although slightly less consistent, is the value placed on minority and diaspora representation in the Australian dialogue. This surprising given Australia's history with indigenous populations. Although strives to modernize dialogue on this troubled past has been more prevalent in the 2000s, across minority populations there is still a sense of distance. In recent years, and specifically, since COVID-19 began, there has been a distinct rise in anti-Semitic acts.

Australia's dialogue on climate change will continue to be at the forefront of climate science because of its unique position as an island state. The sea levels are rising on Australian coasts at a rate of 2.1mm per year, as well as the state noticing more frequent heatwaves, changes in rainfall, changing ecosystems, and more frequent wildfires. Their endeavor to engage with other states to communicate a solution for this crisis is very commendable and will be one of the leading issues for decades to come.

https://coastadapt.com.au/climate-change-and-sea-level-rise-australian-region#:~:text=Changes%20in%20sea%20level&text=Consistent%20with%20global%20increases%2C%20sea,over%20the%20past%20half%20century.

One of the programs that I found interesting was the Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program. It reminds me a lot of the Peace Corps, in that volunteers travel to developing regions of the world and provide skills development and assistance to organizations and people in those countries. While less broad in scope than the Peace Corps, AVID only focuses on Indo-Pacific Countries and some South African countries, it makes sense, as this is area is the primary concern of Australian foreign policy.

From what I can tell, the AVID program has been a success for developing Australian ties in the region. In 2014, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade conducted a study, interviewing 1,300 former volunteers and nearly 200 host organizations across Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Soloman Islands and ultimately concluded that the program had been successful in pursuing development objectives in the host countries and had also been successful in developing people to people links between Australia and citizens of the host countries. One thing the Professor of my public diplomacy course at Emerson College stressed was that personal interactions often had a major influence on how people thought of specific countries. By creating a program where Australians have consistently positive interactions with the foreign public, it can assure that many of these targeted countries will have positive views of Australia, which will further open the door to cooperation throughout the region.

A link to the study: https://www.oecd.org/derec/australia/Evaluation-of-AVID-January-2014.pdf