‘Unleash Wales’ gentle strengths for growth on the world stage’
Chief reporter Martin Shipton looks at how Wales performs internationally in comparison with other small nations and examines a report which says we could use ‘soft power’ better
WALES should take greater advantage of the opportunities to extend “soft power”, according to a report from the British Council.
Soft power builds a country’s or region’s international influence through aspects of society like tourism, culture, education, trade, personal exchanges, and sport.
As a devolved nation Wales has significant powers in such areas.
The British Council’s report – The Soft Power of Small Nations – looks at the people, brands, political values, liveability, culture and sport of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and seven other broadly comparable regions and countries.
Scotland, for example, currently has a very strong international brand and reach.
Wales, with its smaller size and population, appears to perform slightly less well.
The research suggests this may be connected to the fact that Scottish identity can be described as “political” first, “cultural” second, and “linguistic” a distant third.
Welsh identity, on the other hand, is perhaps the inverse of that.
The report concludes that Wales is not fully realising its soft-power potential but also suggests ways in which it can improve its position.
The research creates a regional soft-power index, combining more than 50 objective metrics and international survey data.
It brings together analysis of existing data on each area’s government, its use of digital technology, its culture, its enterprise, its engagement and education with the results of a newly commissioned survey of 5,000 people in the 10 nations.
The research goes on to focus on Wales as an in-depth case study.
Overall the report suggests a mixed performance for Wales, with it coming sixth behind Quebec, Scot- land, Flanders, and Catalonia but ahead of Corsica, Northern Ireland, and Puerto Rico.
Wales was ranked second for sport, just behind Catalonia, and ninth for cuisine, leaving last place in that category to Northern Ireland.
In the data analysis Wales scored best for its digital technology, taking third place – behind Scotland – and for its enterprise sector, at fourth place, outperforming larger regions like Catalonia.
Education was Wales’ weakest performance area, coming in seventh.
The report suggests plenty of scope for Wales to improve its leverage of its considerable soft-power potential and says it should regard this as an important priority. It proposes that Wales should seek to further develop its soft-power resources.
This would involve attracting more international students, growing its network of trade and investment offices and hosting more consulates, hosting more cultural festivals and events, and promoting the Welsh language more outside Wales.
It also suggests that Wales needs a more coherent narrative to leverage positive perceptions about Welsh sport and make more of the friendly welcome given to visitors to Wales.
It also recommends that Wales treats next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan as a major opportunity to promote the country overseas.
Chris Lewis, head of education for British Council Wales, said: “Globalisation and devolution present major new opportunities to countries such as Wales, which do not have the same foreign policy levers as nation states, to operate on the world stage.
“We’re pleased to see the report finds that Wales has considerable soft-power resources.
“The appeal of our sporting culture has clearly been boosted by Wales’ performance at Euro 2016, and the country’s digital infrastructure and investment environment are among its other strengths.”
Mr Lewis said the challenge now, particularly in the context of Brexit, was to build on this performance and unlock the nation’s true softpower potential.
He said: “We’re calling on the Welsh Government to develop a new international strategy for Wales that will really help bolster global engagement.
“Small nations, regions, and cities around the world are increasingly aware that they have so-called ‘soft power’ and are using this to attract inward investment, boost trade, and increase tourist and international student numbers.”
In his foreword to a Welsh Government document called Wales in the World, First Minister Carwyn Jones wrote: “Wales needs a strong footprint around the world and we have to be fast and focused with our offer. If we’re out there knocking on doors we have at least some chance of beating off the competition and landing the investment – if we’re not there we have no chance at all. I make no apologies to anyone for doing our utmost to sell Wales abroad. I want those jobs for Wales and this government will do everything we can to get them and keep them.
“We maintain a presence in all the world’s major investing regions: North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. This gives us the capacity to build networks, get Wales known, and to make early pitches for investment. We are not alone. Our offices are surrounded by other countries and regions who are trying to do exactly the same thing as us.”