Early this year, during a meeting at the Trade Department, Mari Pangestu, the Trade Minister, presented the Trade Department's agenda, projects and plans for 2009. The presentation included a schedule for international trade fairs the Trade Department will hold throughout the year, at locations such as Shanghai, and China where the World Expo expects to bring in at least 70 million visitors.
A combined promotional schedule for investment, trade and tourism in 2009 was also unveiled, with coordinators such as the Trade and Foreign Services Departments. The schedule outlined plans for Indonesia's participation in the Seoul Food and Hotel 2009 Expo in South Korea, the Foire Internationale d'Alger in Aljazair and the 6th China-ASEAN Expo at Nanning, China.
Toward the end of the meeting, the Trade Minister fielded questions and comments from members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin), heads of associations (e.g. the Association of Indonesian Fisheries and the Association of Young Indonesian Designers) and a new batch of Indonesian ambassadors bound for their upcoming assignments.
Several comments were made regarding the success of Indonesia's participation in international trade fairs and what more could be done to boost the accomplishments achieved in previous trade fairs.
In other words, what are the steps we need to undertake to improve trade relations with other countries?
After pondering the results of the meeting, I believe of significant consideration is the role of the local media in the dissemination of information regarding Indonesia, especially when Indonesia is participating in large-scale international trade fairs.
I believe it is important for Indonesia's diplomats to merangkul or embrace the local media in the countries for which they are responsible.
"Embracing" the local media does not mean placing a myriad of advertisements in the print media or on the television about Indonesia. This will cost a tremendous amount of money on the part of the government, and it would be difficult to measure the effectiveness of the advertisements.
"Embracing" the local media refers to a more systematic approach by diplomats to befriend local journalists and media owners. Inviting the journalists and media owners to cultural events at the embassy would be an excellent start. In return, diplomats should make a concerted effort to attend some of the more prominent media events to establish necessary contacts.
When a good rapport and relationship is established between Indonesia's diplomats and the local media, members of the local media would want to know more about their friends from Indonesia. Like making new friends, they may want to write feature articles in their newspapers regarding the beauty of their friends' country, as well as the intriguing and myriad aspects of Indonesia's rich traditions and cultural heritage. Feature articles and/or television documentaries will have a much bigger impact on the local society, rather than a big, flashy print advertisement the government places a few days before a trade fair.
Another essential benefit of a close relationship with the local media is the potential to correct a piece of misinformation before it goes to print. Journalists close to diplomats may easily check their information with the embassy without going through a host of bureaucratic hurdles that may delay the report of the information. Therefore, a potential public relations crisis may be averted before it begins.
The more information regarding Indonesia that is being written and presented in the local media, the more curious members of the local society would be.
Therefore, when a trade fair is imminent, a press conference preceding the advertisement for the trade fair would be beneficial to disseminate information regarding the event. More visitors would thus be more inclined to attend the trade fair.
From my observation, diplomats from other countries in Indonesia have already successfully implemented this systematic strategy of embracing the local media. A concrete example would be the Turkish Embassy.
The increased number of tourists to Turkey from Indonesia in recent years is the indirect result of this media coverage and the efforts of the embassy in Indonesia.
As we strive to promote Indonesian trade fairs, culture, traditions and heritage in bilateral and multilateral endeavors, we must not forget the role of local media. They can be our crucial partners in enhancing our country's name and image abroad.
The writer is Kadin's vice chair of the International Committee on Economic Cooperation for Asia Pacific. She holds a Ph.D in Communications from New York University and is currently teaching at the University of Indonesia's Graduate Program in the Department of Communication.
