An Interesting Time to Be in Greece: Report from the Young Diplomat's Forum

10 July 2015

In the art of diplomacy, some things are better left unsaid.

While the above quote may hold true for many a diplomat, it seems that the effect of the crisis in Greece has been to strengthen the voice of diplomats, government officials and the people of Greece. At a time when many governments have reverted to silence on pertinent issues, we as the delegates of the Young Diplomats Forum were privileged enough to gain ‘raw’ insight on controversial matters on EU policies and a range of issues affecting Greece.

On the first day of proceedings, we were ushered to the Hellenic Management Association where we were addressed by the Ambassador of Venezuela to Athens and the Director of the Institute of Diplomacy and Global Affairs who both lectured on the issue of ‘Diplomacy in the 21st Century’. We were off to a riveting start as we heard about how issues such as social media have affected the nature of diplomacy worldwide and how the fast pace at which information is being disseminated has impacted on how governments conduct themselves.

I took the initiative to challenge the rather pessimistic views of social media being presented by asking the Director of the Institute whether a world in which governments that control media stations for purposes of propaganda (as has been observed in the past in many countries) is not better off with social media where whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden can expose propaganda for public benefit. I was met with the response ‘I didn’t say social media was bad, it has just made the life of a diplomat or difficult...and interesting.’

As an aspiring economist/analyst, I found the first three days of the conference extremely engaging as we delved into the Greek economic crisis. The range of speakers included ministers (both active and retired), academics and retired diplomats. What I found most interesting about the panel of speakers was the varying views and stances that they took in relation to this subject. Many of the academics took an objective stance in which they acknowledged the role that the Greeks played in enabling the crisis to occur in the first place, but they were equally vocal on the negative bias that the foreign media has presented in relation to their situation.

While sitting in the European Parliament, we heard compelling speeches made by more ‘defensive’ speakers that chose to highlight how the majority of the countries in the EU also did not comply with the required stipulations to be a part of the Euro Zone yet Greece had been singled out because their economy was the first to collapse. Other viewpoints put forward included scenarios in which the impact of the crisis could have been mitigated if the ‘Greeks had threatened to default earlier in the game before the French and Germans had a chance to get rid of the Greek bonds they held.’

Despite the many strong perspectives presented to us on this issue, all of the esteemed guests were in consensus about how the Greeks have lost legitimacy as a result of this crisis, how much the Greek people have sacrificed during this period of difficulty, and how unfair the foreign media has been to them. As someone that befriended many Greek people during the conference, I really came to understand that sometimes, in issues of diplomacy, people become reduced to policies, economic statistics and parliamentary debate. It is far too easy to forget that about the sufferance of the people at the grassroots.

Other topical issues that were discussed included the issues of illegal immigration by boat. While I was only aware of the Italy being used as a channel for many refugees to enter the EU zone, it seems that even more refugees stemming primarily from Syria use Greece as a channel to access the Western countries. We were privileged enough to be addressed by the Head of the South Eastern Europe Intelligence Unit, as well as to be hosted by the Hellenic Police Headquarters and Border Control in Piraeus. We were briefed on the situation from the Greek perspective and learnt of the initiatives that are currently in place to deal with the situation.

As always, more help is required and we as delegates were curious to understand how big a role the EU was playing in assisting Greece with the management of a crisis that sees over 2000 refugees trying to cross the water borders and make it to mainland Greece on mere floater boats. The situation is complex and incredibly intricate and thanks to the openness and frankness of the speakers, we really had the opportunity to ask questions that many would not have been as willing to answer.

Unfortunately, due to an unforeseen crisis with one of the attendees having a medical emergency, we were unable to make our presentations at the Chamber of Commerce. I was selected to moderate on the issue of Energy Security as this is an issue that is of interest to EU given the Russia-Ukraine situation that has the potential to affect gas supplies within Europe. We have been asked to forward through our presentations which we have done.

All in all, the content of the YDF was topical, engaging and beyond fascinating. Having access to such an esteemed panel is a privilege that I will not take for granted as it has benefitted me in so many ways. From a networking perspective, it seems that the Greek politicians have wholeheartedly embraced Facebook and Twitter and I will be following them on these podiums to see how they fare in future. In terms of knowledge, I doubt that many students will ever get the opportunity to actively engage with such open politicians that have no qualms in speaking frankly about issues that affect not only Greece but the EU as a whole. I have learned more than I expected to learn and as always, I am thankful to the business school for assisting me in pursuing this opportunity.

Lienda Kavindele, MSc International Business and Emerging Markets