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Government officials mull promotion of Belarus’ image

Government officials met in Minsk on June 7 to discuss how the authorities should use the Internet to promote the country’s image abroad, BelaPAN reports.

Yury Tsaryk, a departmental head at the information ministry, said that Belarus’ scientific, cultural and academic life was covered insufficiently on the Internet, unlike its political events. “There is room for work,” he said, expressing hope that Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s February 1, 2010 edict, entitled "On Measures to Improve the Use of the National Segment of the Internet,” would help accomplish the mission.

Naum Halperovich, director of the Belarus radio station’s foreign-language broadcasting service, noted the need to do away with a “hackneyed” approach to covering events that take place in the country. “We are often unable to identify priorities and bring to foreign audiences what they are really interested to hear about us,” he said.

Alyaksey Vasilkow, of the Presidential Administration’s Analytical Processing Center, pointed to a “lack of coordination” between agencies in charge of the promotion the country’s image.

“It is very important to climb specific image heights, especially now amid the crisis,” he said. “True, the belarus.by portal is a breakthrough and the Belarus TV channel was one once, but we live in a slightly different world. It has changed and so have people.”

Mr. Vasilkow suggested using widely social networks to promote Belarus’ image abroad. “An entire generation has grown up that uses social networks rather than search engines to find necessary information,” he said.

Andrey Savinykh, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, said that non-governmental organizations should to join the government’s effort. And the government should “burn with ideas and attract others with this passion,” he said.

“One Pole, an acquaintance of mine who lived all his life in Switzerland, told me once that our country has things capable of arousing the interest of at least half of Europe,” Mr. Savinykh said. “Even two brands such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Karl XII who were to Belarus will be enough to attract crowds of tourists if they are positioned properly in respect of the country.”