After an initial burst of favorable international publicity over Kosovo’s declaration of independence, Kosovo has faded to the back pages of newspapers and off the evening news. 

 

When international media and press outlets write about Kosovo now, they begin with the latest Russian and Serbian obstructions and usually conclude that Kosovo is sinking into a “frozen conflict.” Forty or so states have recognized Kosovo as an independent state—a significant number, but far fewer than the hundred or so that were hoped for.

While Kosovo’s elected political leadership, particularly President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, have conducted themselves with grace and dignity in international institutional forums and in international press interviews, the message communicated remains essentially a defensive one: responding to the latest Serbian threat to establish institutions independent of the lawful government in Kosovo, the latest dithering about deployment of EULEX, or the latest waffle by the UN Secretary General to avoid forthright recognition of Kosovo’s statehood.

 

No effective, pro-active, public relations campaign is evident, and Kosovo badly needs one.

 

In April 2004, as the dust was settling from the March riots, Michael Kunczik was making some good suggestions at a Symposium on Final Status for Kosovo held at Chicago-Kent College of Law.  Kunczik is a Professor of Journalism at the University of Mainz, Germany, and the author of the 1997 book, Images of Nations and International Public Relations.

 

His paper, prepared for the Symposium, asserted, “Public opinion in the West has been decisive in all phases of the Kosovo-conflict and is of central importance today . . . . New countries or new governments have to introduce themselves to world public opinion.” They have to do so, he explained, through a carefully constructed public relations campaign comprising several distinct phases.

 

In phase I, embassies and consulates abroad, and ministries at home, must become skilled at producing materials for the press, including images, and surely including good material on the Web--the cheapest and easiest way to present a face to the world. In this phase, Kunczik suggests emphasizing information that casts a country and its people in a favorable light: information on painters, sculptors, architects, musicians, writers, works of art, cultural events and athletics. In Phase II, he suggests using "the aura of famous persons to cultivate a country's image," by exhibitions and visits abroad by artists and athletes. Upon such a foundation of foreign appreciation of the talents of the people of Kosovo, the campaign then can move to Phase III, where the message shifts more explicitly to the activities of statehood, such as initiatives to combat corruption and install good government, success in building a sustainable economy, and respect for democratic values and human rights. All three phases, he says, must begin with foreign journalists, but also should include other opinion leaders such as upcoming young politicians, young managers in the business community, and intellectuals.

 

This is sound advice, and Kosovo should follow it. Effective public relations in 1997 and 1998 was decisive in building international support for Kosovo’s struggle against Serbian oppression. It could be decisive now in building support for Kosovo’s statehood. But the effort must begin. It has not begun yet.

 

The Kosovo Government’s website has no page for its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its Ministry of Culture has an essentially blank page as its only offering in English. Its Ministry of Trade and Industry has no functional Web page, in either Albanian or English—only a technical message from the Web server administrator. This is a disgrace. A decent Web page can be constructed in an hour and published in a minute or two by any one of hundreds of young Kosovars who have the requisite knowledge of technology. Why have not these ministries recruited some of these young people to do the most basic step in getting information out about Kosovo? Why has not the Prime Minister’s office insisted that they take this trivial step?

 

This is not a frill. The first thing a foreign reporter does when he is writing a story is to check for Web resources. When he finds empty pages on the Kosovo Government website, he is not likely to write favorably about Kosovo’s progress.

 

These pages, instead of being empty, should be full of photographs and biographical data about Kosovo’s people, featuring its musicians, visual artists, actors, playwrights and athletes. They should features some of the works and accomplishments of these creative people.

 

If the ministries lack the energy and the competence to construct and execute such a strategy, they should be compelled to retain one of any number of excellent European or North American public relations firms who do have the energy and competence. And then the people of Kosovo should hold them accountable for results, beginning with an attractive Web-based message, and including trips abroad by athletes, musicians and other artists.