Ladies and Gentlemen,

What do people abroad know about Norwegians? Is it really important to us what kind of image Norway has internationally? If it is important, what kind of image - or rather: images - do we want to project? And; is it possible to "brand" a nation? Should we "brand" Norway?

This is the kind of questions we are dealing with on a daily basis in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Let me start with some well-known facts:

Firstly: we know that Norway is not very well known internationally.

Secondly: Despite the fact that Norway underwent major economic and social transformations at the end of the 20th century, the current image of the country abroad has not changed significantly. To the extent that the foreign public is aware of Norway at all, it tends to think of a tradition-bound country of mountains, fjords, Vikings and the midnight sun.

Thirdly: Yes, it is important to Norway, and to any nation, what kind of image that is projected internationally of that country. As you, Mark Leonard, has put it: Identity matters. To gain influence, we have to be noticed. We have to show who we are and where we stand.

In my view, Norway should be considered a relevant and interesting partner to cooperate with. To achieve this is a long-term work, which has to include a range of different partners in our society: businesses, NGOs, the Government, research institutions as well as the whole cultural field.

We might not agree on which images of Norway that could or should be projected. But we should at least start the process by asking ourselves two questions:

What are we in Norway really good at?

And: How do we communicate our messages to the international community?

By "communicating to the international community" I mean not only the traditional state-to-state diplomacy, but the broad, public diplomacy efforts that aims to communicate with non-governmental actors and civil society.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a special obligation to raise these issues. But we can not, and should not, try to define and promote "the images of Norway" on our own. We need partnerships, and we seek advice from you - resource persons and institutions outside the Foreign Ministry.

As for the role of diplomacy, we can safely say that the international climate after the terror attacks on World Trade Centre on September 11th 2001 and the current situation in the Middle East has again shown us the importance of national and international diplomacy as an alternative to military confrontation. This serves to remind us of the significance of clarifying the values and strategies upon which our foreign policy is to be conducted.

In today’s world foreign ministries must aim at a wider audience than before. The media, international organisations and non-governmental players have become much more active in defining public opinion. For foreign ministries this challenge requires increased attention to what has become known as public diplomacy – that is, engaging in dialogue with a wider audience, both at home and abroad.

Such modes of communication require new strategies, methods and perhaps even a changed conception of what foreign policy is all about.

In this regard, we in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are very pleased to cooperate with the Foreign Policy Centre in London, an institution which during the last years have produced several reports on the renewal of international politics.

The first part of our cooperative venture resulted in the report ”Public Diplomacy”, which was published last year. The report presented an analysis of the British Foreign Service, with Norway as a "case" with regard to "niche diplomacy".

This year’s follow-up project emphasises the challenges of Norwegian public diplomacy, and will provide us with proposals for future strategies and practical methods on the field. The Institute for Media and Communications here at the University of Oslo, is the Norwegian partner to the project.

The purpose of today’s conference "Images of Norway" is part of this work. Our intention is to provide diverse points of view and stimulating perspectives from different persons, institutions and parts of Norwegian society. I therefore encourage everyone present here today to contribute actively to the discussions following the three interrelated parts of the conference.

After this conference, I intend to contact my colleagues in a number of different Ministries and ask them to join forces with me with the aim of raising the issues discussed here, to a political and national level.

1. In the first session (”Values, Identity and Credibility: Images of Norway”) the point of departure will be a discussion on various aspects of Norwegian identity or, rather, identities – and how these could be presented abroad.

The discussions on Norwegian identity of the 1980s and 1990s indicated that there are several different and to some extent conflicting ideas of what is typically Norwegian. Although Norway seems very homogeneous compared to a number of other countries, there are unquestionably many different Norwegian identities. This must be reflected in the image of Norway that we present.

At the same time there is a limit to how complex a picture a country can expect to project of itself internationally. For small countries like Norway, which people in most countries have no idea of at all, it is a special challenge to avoid stereotypes.

2. The second session of today’s conference ( ”Norway – a partner for peace and development”)explores a field where Norway has established a certain international experience and standing. This topic is obviously relevant to explore the wider issue of Norway’s reputation abroad. It goes without saying that if Norway is going to have any influence on, say, the situation in the Middle East, our general reputation as an international partner will be of great importance for the efficiency of our diplomatic efforts.

3. In the final session we shall discuss milestone events and national branding, with a special view to the 2005-centennial of the peaceful dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway. This and other forthcoming milestone events represent interesting opportunities to explore Norway’s present platform, resources and dilemmas with regard to international politics.

As to branding, it is a controversial issue whether this commercial perspective can be applied to nations. But whatever the name, there seems to be broad consensus on the political, social and economic ripple effects of establishing a more or less coherent national image abroad.

For instance, one may well ask today what kind of image and reputation Norway has in the member countries of the European Union – and to what extent that reputation is important to us.

We know for a fact that although the other European countries are our most important cooperation partners in a number of areas, their knowledge about Norway is limited. And despite our reputation as an international partner for peace and development, the foreign press is full of examples where Norway is portrayed as a rich, self-centred and rather self-sufficient country.

This illustrates the importance of developing effective strategies for international dialogue in order to present more carefully nuanced pictures of modern Norway to prevent us from being gradually marginalized.

This conference is taking place at a crucial time for Norwegian foreign policy thinking. I do hope that all of you will find today’s exercise useful and that it will increase your interest in these vitally important topics.

I am convinced that with so many resourceful participants, it will serve it’s function well and provide us all with fresh ideas and thought-provoking perspectives. I look forward to hearing your ideas, digesting them and putting them to good use in my own follow-up meetings with colleagues in other ministries.

Thank you for your attention.