The Chair explores the role of public diplomacy in shaping international relations, building soft power, and fostering mutual understanding, cooperation and goodwill between nations and the people. Today, public diplomacy is an essential tool for intercultural dialogue and trust-building, and building soft power leverage through cultural, educational, and scientific exchanges. Public Diplomacy can also help to boost the economy by projecting a positive national image or country brand, to promote tourism, attract investment and strengthen trade relationships.
Digitalization and the rapid spread of social media and social networks has shaped the global communication landscapes and international relations. Digital strategies are crucial not only to combat disinformation, information war and harmful narratives, and but also to engage with foreign audiences in real-time and to listen and foster dialogue. Hence, the Chair pays special attention to digital age public diplomacy, including Artificial Intelligence, while also scrutinizing the ethical and moral implications in the use of technology.
In addition to the theoretical and analytical approach, the Chair has the mission to analyze contemporary public diplomacy practices and strategic communication approaches in different contexts and global scenarios. It is a place for sharing the best practices and hands-on experience to provide strategic insights required to effectively engage with diverse audiences such as government, media, civil society, private sector and academia. The expertise of the Chair combines evidence-based best practices with hands-on experience and latest research.
Strategic Objectives
- Enhance Strategic Understanding: Strengthen knowledge of the role of public diplomacy in foreign policy, soft power, and international relations.
- Develop Practical Skills: Equip practitioners to design, implement, and evaluate effective public diplomacy strategies across education, culture, and sport.
- Foster Media and Digital Engagement: Promote ethical and innovative use of media, social networks, and digital tools to engage foreign audiences and counter disinformation.
- Promote Cultural Sensitivity and Global Cooperation: Support dialogue and collaboration across cultures, advancing mutual understanding, trust, and international goodwill.
Chair Director: Anna Virkama
Anna Virkama, MSSc, PhD Candidate is a researcher, lecturer and international expert. She has over 20 years of experience that range from academic cooperation and research in Europe, North Africa and Latin America to projects funded by the European Commission and other donors. She has gained hands-on experience in implementing public diplomacy and communication projects in Latin America, and has served as economic, commercial and political coordinator at the Embassy of Finland for Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Her writing has been published both in peer-reviewed academic and in non-academic publications. In 2021-2022 she served as a senior editor for Finnish international affairs digital media, The Ulkopolitist.
Her current research interests include transnational mobility, intercultural communication, narrative studies and discourse analysis, global power dynamics and sociocultural change. She gained her Master´s Degree in Social Sciences and Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies from University of Eastern Finland and is PhD Candidate at the University of Tampere in Finland at the Faculty of Education and Culture. She is currently Associate Researcher at the Institute of European Studies and Human Rights in Spain.