It's not just what you say, it's how you say it
The Government of Canada has put together a website that details the 'whole of government' approach our country is employing in our relationship with Afghanistan. It is full to the brim of good information.
I'm particularly glad someone on the public payroll has decided to publicize the Afghanistan Compact. This document, finalized a year ago tomorrow and drawing from the collective participation of a list of nations longer than your arm, has been described as a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan (Stephane Dion, call your speechwriters). Canadians helped the Afghans draft the plan brought to that conference, we helped the Afghans ensure the plan was endorsed and adopted by the international community through the auspices of the United Nations, and in partnership with the nations of the world - including thirty-six others with troops on the ground - we're continuing to help the Afghans implement that plan. Anyone interested in the fate of Afghanistan would be well-advised to review this blueprint before deciding whether the Canadian mission is an appropriate one, which is why I'm pleased that the government is finally telling Canadians about it in a more prominent way.
Within the federal government's overall web-presence on Afghanistan, the CF has put together a site devoted to the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team. It is also overflowing with little-known information.
Especially useful is this page that breaks down some of the specific activities undertaken by the KPRT, although I have to wonder why the first subheading on the list is for Security, and you have to scroll all the way down past the Civilian Police, Military Police, and Quick Reaction Force sections before you get to the DFAIT diplomacy paragraph and then the CIDA development points. If this site is supposed to educate the public on reconstruction efforts, why is the big-money and big-project development story buried at the bottom of the page?
I know it's tilting at windmills, but one of these days I'd like to see the government allow its people to tell a story instead of spouting facts and figures. To pull one example out of the pile: statistics on the number of micro-loans that went to Afghan women are needed, no doubt, but I want to hear about a couple of those women's stories. I work in sales and service, and I was taught early on in my career that customers don't care what you know until they know that you care. In other words, discounting the importance of creating an emotional connection is counterproductive if you're looking to convince anyone of anything. Real people will consistently relate to the plight of other real people, and while bullet points detailing GDP growth per capita can support that effort, bullet points alone cannot accomplish it.
The one area of the site that creates a personal connection effortlessly is the photos page created by Combat Camera. How can pictures like this one of an Afghan woman thanking a Canadian medic at a Village Medical Outreach not touch Canadian hearts? And why aren't there more of them on each page alongside the cold, hard facts?
While mulling this over, I was visited by the Good Idea Fairy: I want you to tell me in e-mail or comments what information you'd like to see on these Canada-Afghanistan websites. Tell me how the government can make the presentation of that information more attractive and user-friendly. And in a few days, I'll e-mail the results of this little survey to a couple of people I know at DND and elsewhere in government who might be in a position to refine the message. Maybe we can throw a stone into the pond and be rewarded with a ripple or two for our efforts.
Because, quite frankly, the nation's effort in Southwest Asia is too important to leave informing Canadians about it to people whose fundamental purpose is to sell more pieces of newsprint or bombard you with more radio or television ads. The truth about the Canadian mission cannot be seen dimly through a media straw.
Of course, if you like an uninterrupted news diet of ramp ceremonies served with a side order of governmental Public Relations boilerplate, then this little project isn't for you. For the rest of you, my e-mail goes out on Friday of this week.
I'm particularly glad someone on the public payroll has decided to publicize the Afghanistan Compact. This document, finalized a year ago tomorrow and drawing from the collective participation of a list of nations longer than your arm, has been described as a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan (Stephane Dion, call your speechwriters). Canadians helped the Afghans draft the plan brought to that conference, we helped the Afghans ensure the plan was endorsed and adopted by the international community through the auspices of the United Nations, and in partnership with the nations of the world - including thirty-six others with troops on the ground - we're continuing to help the Afghans implement that plan. Anyone interested in the fate of Afghanistan would be well-advised to review this blueprint before deciding whether the Canadian mission is an appropriate one, which is why I'm pleased that the government is finally telling Canadians about it in a more prominent way.
Within the federal government's overall web-presence on Afghanistan, the CF has put together a site devoted to the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team. It is also overflowing with little-known information.
Especially useful is this page that breaks down some of the specific activities undertaken by the KPRT, although I have to wonder why the first subheading on the list is for Security, and you have to scroll all the way down past the Civilian Police, Military Police, and Quick Reaction Force sections before you get to the DFAIT diplomacy paragraph and then the CIDA development points. If this site is supposed to educate the public on reconstruction efforts, why is the big-money and big-project development story buried at the bottom of the page?
I know it's tilting at windmills, but one of these days I'd like to see the government allow its people to tell a story instead of spouting facts and figures. To pull one example out of the pile: statistics on the number of micro-loans that went to Afghan women are needed, no doubt, but I want to hear about a couple of those women's stories. I work in sales and service, and I was taught early on in my career that customers don't care what you know until they know that you care. In other words, discounting the importance of creating an emotional connection is counterproductive if you're looking to convince anyone of anything. Real people will consistently relate to the plight of other real people, and while bullet points detailing GDP growth per capita can support that effort, bullet points alone cannot accomplish it.
The one area of the site that creates a personal connection effortlessly is the photos page created by Combat Camera. How can pictures like this one of an Afghan woman thanking a Canadian medic at a Village Medical Outreach not touch Canadian hearts? And why aren't there more of them on each page alongside the cold, hard facts?
While mulling this over, I was visited by the Good Idea Fairy: I want you to tell me in e-mail or comments what information you'd like to see on these Canada-Afghanistan websites. Tell me how the government can make the presentation of that information more attractive and user-friendly. And in a few days, I'll e-mail the results of this little survey to a couple of people I know at DND and elsewhere in government who might be in a position to refine the message. Maybe we can throw a stone into the pond and be rewarded with a ripple or two for our efforts.
Because, quite frankly, the nation's effort in Southwest Asia is too important to leave informing Canadians about it to people whose fundamental purpose is to sell more pieces of newsprint or bombard you with more radio or television ads. The truth about the Canadian mission cannot be seen dimly through a media straw.
Of course, if you like an uninterrupted news diet of ramp ceremonies served with a side order of governmental Public Relations boilerplate, then this little project isn't for you. For the rest of you, my e-mail goes out on Friday of this week.
posted by Babbling Brooks at 2:19 a.m.
1 Comments:
Like I always say: More Orwell left and lest camp fire and holding hands left.
Also this is the first new website out of this new government that didn't need to come with a warning sign saying "ATTENTION BAD CSS AND OVERLY POLITICIZED BS AHEAD, AVERT YOUR EYES IF YOU HAVE AN ESTHETIC SENSE OR DON'T HAVE A POSTER OF PM HARPER ON YOUR WALL".
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