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Public diplomacy through social media brings ASEAN closer to its people
In the past few years, social media has become an integral part of the daily life of foreign policy and seems to be an effective way to introduce and communicate with the public at large.
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Say cheese!: Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi (left) takes a selfie with journalists during a visit to the media center on July 10, 2023 ahead of the 56th ASEAN Ministers Meeting in Jakarta. (Antara/Muhammad Iqbal)
T
he scene is the great lobby of the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta. A lady in a nice batik blouse and big black glasses walks through the gallery to lead a series of serious roundtable meetings among a group of men.
There is also a short speech on the importance of ASEAN in dealing with many challenges. In between those meetings, quick selfies and laughter create a warm and friendly atmosphere.
That is the sort of short Instagram video shared by the Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi on her personal Instagram account @retno_marsudi nearly every day during the ASEAN Ministers Summit and related meetings last month.
Like Retno, Vivian Balakrishnan, the Singaporean foreign minister, also regularly uploaded videos and pictures of his activities during the summit. These pictures were usually accompanied by a long caption explaining what the meeting had concluded, the important commitments that had been made, and of course, much appreciation for how the meeting was productive and went well.
We would never have imagined these kinds of social media interactions with ASEAN ministers happening 10 years ago. ASEAN meetings and, in fact, many international conferences were often considered long and boring and only of concern to the elite, either government officials or politicians. Certainly, not much of interest to the public.
But today, with the skyrocketing number of social media users, diplomats and government officials are starting to rely on social media platforms to reach a broader audience to promote what they have done and why such achievements are relevant to the general public. Furthermore, the postings demystify what happens around the table of international negotiations. A few years back people could not imagine what really happens inside these negotiations. They simply counted on television channels, which normally aired short footage and news.
Indeed, in the past few years, social media has become an integrated part of the daily life of foreign policy and seems to be an effective way of introducing and communicating with the public at large. Retno, for instance, now has around 506,000 followers on Instagram, while Vivian has 82,000. These are certainly huge numbers and most of the followers appear to be young.
