Artevelde University of Applied Sciences (Ghent, Belgium) welcomed the MARPE Network on the occasion of the Erasmus+ MARPE Diplo launch, February 6. The challenging topic -Public Diplomacy and Brexit: are States ignoring the power of Soft Power- definitively inspired the speakers.

Nicolas Baygert (Professor at IHECS, ULB, President Protagoras) defined the field focusing on the strategic narrative promoted by public diplomacy, reflecting on how 2016 Brexit referendum was framed, and developing the EU’s public diplomacy efforts during and after the Brexit referendum campaign.

On this fertile ground, Alastair McCapra (CEO CIPR) reframed Brexit not as a problem in public diplomacy but as one of public diplomacy, using Brexit to interrogate public diplomacy, and, in particular, to question the assumption of the pre-eminent importance of soft power in the modern world.

Pierluigi Puglia (Head of Communication British Embassy in Rome) responded by illustrating the UK discourse in Italy, opening the debate orchestrated by Richard Linning who welcomed several questions from the captive audience.

As announced in Aarhus (during the EUPRERA Congress 2018), the MARPE Diplo Talks will be followed by publications.

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