Kyiv, E. Konovalets, 36

Department of International Relations

Кафедра міжнародних відносин

“Projects of cultural diplomacy” by Daria Ponomarenko

“Projects of cultural diplomacy” by Daria Ponomarenko

 

As part of the author’s course “Leadership and International Communications”, a motivational master class was held by Darya Ponomarenko, a graduate of the Department of International Relations.

The event was moderated by Anatoly Dmytrovych Revenko, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations.

 

 

During the meeting with the students, Darya broached the topic of “Cultural Diplomacy Projects”, outlining their important role in foreign policy relations.

“Cultural diplomacy (an instrument of “soft power”) began to take on the characteristics of a systemic state policy after 2016. It is considered as a part of public diplomacy, that is, the efforts of diplomats of a certain country or organizations financed by certain countries, aimed at communicating with the population of another country. Unlike traditional diplomacy, which involved contact only within the framework of the diplomatic corps, public diplomacy is aimed at the general public of another country and tries to conduct two-vector communication with it, i.e. dialogue,” the speaker noted at the beginning of the master class, emphasizing that in each country functions of cultural diplomacy assigned to a specialized institution that has the status of a state or affiliated with a state body. In Ukraine, this is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

 

 

D. Ponomarenko drew special attention to the Ukrainian Institute – a state institution of Ukraine that represents Ukrainian culture in the world and forms a positive image of the country abroad. The Institute was founded by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 2017 and belongs to the management spheres of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

“In the conditions of a direct military threat, a hybrid war, a lack of systematic steps, it becomes obvious for the relevant international image of Ukraine that the international capacity of the country as a factor of its national security is formed not only thanks to military power, economy or geopolitical positions, i.e. “hard power” forces), but also through the humanitarian and cultural potential of “soft power”, – stressed Darya.

As the students learned, one of the examples of “soft power” implemented, in particular, by the Embassy of Ukraine in Italy, is countering the narratives of the Kremlin in the Italian Republic. In order to tell the truth about the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which has been going on for more than a year, the Embassy initiates the holding of international conferences in the Senate, the Institute of International Affairs of Italy with the involvement of political figures, leading experts, mass media and academic circles. On a regular basis, Ukrainian representatives also conduct information campaigns in social networks to inform about the real course of modern political events and debunk entrenched myths about Ukraine.

Separately, the specialist mentioned her former membership in the youth public organization “Action Diplomacy: Ukraine”, which she joined as part of the project of professional and practical training at the Department of International Relations of KNUKiM. By the way, later Daria headed “ADU” and, together with other students, had the opportunity to visit numerous embassies and consulates, diplomatic institutions and departments, state authorities, learning the knowledge and experience of famous diplomats, public, public and cultural figures; politicians, businessmen, economists, lawyers who are developing their own professional activities at the international level.

 

 

After receiving a master’s degree at the University of Culture, the international graduate decided to leave the position of the head of the Ukrainian NGO Diplomacy of Action and join the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.

“I absolutely share the vision and mission of AmCham Ukraine: to unite the business community and make Ukraine a world-class place for investment, innovation and job creation. I am lucky to work with wonderful people. Together we are developing an effective dialogue between the business community and the government of Ukraine (B2G). In addition, work in the field for which a person is qualified is a source of stimulation for professional and personal growth.”

 

 

At the end of the master class, Darya Ponomarenko thanked the teachers of the Department of International Relations for their knowledge, experience and motivation, which helped her to start a career in the chosen field of “International Relations, Public Communications and Regional Studies”.