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My impression of the Euroblogger meetup in Cordoba: Yes Spain is different
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December 13th, 2010EuroblogosphereThis weekend I had the pleasure to be invited by the great folks of the office of the European Parliament in Spain to a roundtable on how to communicate Europe online along with about 50 bloggers, journalists, EU officials, and MEPs. I was asked to make a presentation on the topic of “How to communicate Europe through social media” on behalf of the Blogging Portal. My grandparents fled Spain in 1939 because of the civil war. So for the French woman of Spanish origin that I am, being invited in Cordoba to talk about Europe, which is above all a project of peace, was very symbolic and also quite emotional.
Although I am following closely what’s happening in the French and English-speaking Euroblogospheres, I am not too aware of what’s going on in the Spanish one. This meeting was a true crash course. It’s always good to get out of the EU bubble. In Brussels we live and breathe Europe. Having regular meetings with national actors is not only beneficial but also essential. In the end, the Cordoba meeting was exactly the breath of fresh air I needed after 3 hard-working months. And I’m back to Brussels overwhelmed with ideas. Talking about them all would probably take about 10 posts. But here are my general impressions of the meeting.
Spain is different
You wouldn’t believe this. The meeting started with an “ola” performed by the 50 participants around the table. The “ola” is the human wave you see supporters do at football games. This reflected the general atmosphere of the gathering: friendly, laid-back, and above all, cooperative. I’ve previously written that I would like to see more public figures talk about Europe with passion. Not surprisingly I found passion in Spain this weekend. Cultural difference? Probably.
Communicating Europe vs communicating between Europeans
The main point I wanted to make during my presentation was that in today’s networked world, European institutions should stop trying to “communicate Europe”, as if Europe was a message to broadcast to the masses, and start interacting i.e. talking about Europe between Europeans. As Pau Solanilla from Europeando.eu pointed out: “Either we understand that hierarchy is not the organising principle anymore or we haven’t understood anything”. In social media, communication is personal. You will not be successful communicating online if you speak as an institution. Therefore, European institutions should give away a bit of control and allow its representatives to speak, not as institutions, but as people working in institutions. Bárbara Quílez, who is in charge of the European Parliament’s web page in Spanish, made a very subtle remark on this point: “We [European civil servants] can humanise Europe, not personalise it”. Indeed, it’s about giving Europe a face, not about being the face of Europe.
In the end it’s all about relationships
According to Pau Solannilla, networked communication is about content, channels, and relationships. The success of the meeting in Cordoba demonstrated something online activists know very well. Building relationships online leads to strong relationships offline. Although I have been interacting for months with all the Spanish Eurobloggers who attended the meeting, I had never met them in real life. My experience has showed me that online activities are always strengthened after bloggers meet in person. That’s why meetings such as the Cordoba one are essential.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.[1]
On Saturday #PEredes, the hashtag used at our meeting in Cordoba managed to get into the Twitter trending topics in Spain, and talking about Europe at that! For Europe to be in the public debate, it just takes a full room of EU geeks and good wifi.
At our meeting, Susana Del Río, a sociologist specialising in European communication said: “Debate between Europeans creates political creativity”. I couldn’t agree more, Europe is the future of politics. Nowadays throughout the Western world, democracy is in disarray: low election turnouts, falling numbers of party memberships, lack of trust in politicians… we are all politically disenchanted. In such a situation, speaking about politics between Europeans can lead to new solutions and regained interest in politics. The European Union is a UPO, an unidentified political object. It is up to us, European citizens, to shape it the way we would like it to be. As Francisco Luis Benítez put it: “Europe is worth it”.
Eventually I would say that the initiative of Ignacio Samper’s team of the European Parliament’s office in Spain has led the way. We need similar meetings held in other European countries. I would like to see this happening in France, for example, where the blogosphere is one of the most dynamic in Europe. On top of it, I would like to see a general Euroblogger meeting organised in Brussels. European Parliament, do you read me?
[1] Margaret Mead, American anthropologistThis post is also available in: French
Tags: Bloggers, Communication, Cordoba, European Parliament, Europeando.eu, Pau Solanilla, Spain, Susana del Río
8 responses to “My impression of the Euroblogger meetup in Cordoba: Yes Spain is different” 
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Estupenda crónica de Córdoba, Laurence. Ojalá éste sea el comienzo para coordinar toda esa energía de los eurobloggers. Un saludo desde Granada: emilio
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Europasionaria December 16th, 2010 at 00:38
Es que Cordoba fue estupenda! Estoy segura que este encuentro fue el empiezo de nuevos proyectos. Hasta pronto!
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Gracias Laurence, queda mucho por hacer. Sobretodo reconstruir un storytelling que vuelva a emocionar a los europeos y europeas.
Por favor crea un hipevínculo de mi nombre a mi blog si puedes…Espacio de Ideas http://www.pausolanilla.com
Un saludo y hasta pronto
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Bárbara December 14th, 2010 at 12:26
Buena crónica, Laurence… I have the feeling that the European Parliament is, indeed, reading you
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Europasionaria December 16th, 2010 at 00:37
Good
We should meet up some time to discuss how we could take this all further.
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Hello Laurence,
I think your presence there was very important because, as you said, we have to build bridges.
I think is very important to make the same Europe for all the Europeans, and not one Europe for the French, other for the Spanish, other for the Estonian, etc. Europe must be the same for all the Europeans and that is why I think your presence there was very important.
We must share common issues and we must not allow that National Governments, press, etc. make different Europes for every State Member.
Bloggers are fundamental for this task.
Kind regards.
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Europasionaria December 16th, 2010 at 00:36
Alejandro,
You know what they say “United in diversity”
That’s exactly why this blog is bilingual and I wish it could be trilingual or more! Meeting you all in Cordoba was a great learning experience for me. It gave me food for thought for the whole year!
Congratulations for your translation job on your blog. I know how time-consuming it can be… 0 likes-
Yes, translation of texts can take long time but it is useful for the blogs of Europe.
I just would like to ask you if you can put a link to my blog in your blogroll.
Thanks and Merry Christmas.
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5 Trackbacks / Pingbacks
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Tweets that mention Europasionaria » My impression of the Euroblogger meetup in Cordoba: Yes Spain is different -- Topsy.com December 14th, 2010 at 00:23
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rosa Jiménez Cano, Europasionaria. Europasionaria said: My impression of the Euroblogger meetup in Cordoba: Yes Spain is different: http://ow.ly/3oBcE
#PEredes [...]
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[...] España no es diferente votando. La abstención y el escepticismo son el fantasma que recorre Europa en el siglo XXI, y quizá, como puso de relieve en el encuentro Laurence Modrego, eso ocurra porque esperamos una comunicación piramidal desde Bruselas… que no tiene por qué producirse. En Córdoba se constató que la comunicación one-to-one entre europeos, con una base común, y con herramientas contemporáneas, es más que posible; que incluso ese flujo Bruselas/Estrasburgo-europeos puede emitirse de una manera distinta, amena y distendida; que es posible la reacción ciudadana, si se me permite incluso el debate, a pesar de que los líderes políticos se empeñen en cambiar la filosofía del continente a golpe de madrugadas. [...]
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bloggingportal.eu Blog & Support » Blog Archive » The Week in Bloggingportal: Mr Berlusconi, tear down this Twitter wall! December 19th, 2010 at 22:07
[...] with quite different audiences. Reports and reflections on the meetings have been published here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here or [...]
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[...] Laurence Modrego en el blog Europasionaria [...]
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[...] In the afternoon, MEP Salvador Garriga focused much of the attention during the roundtable “communicating Europe through social networks”. Other speakers included the co-editor of bloggingportal and author of the blog “Europasionaria”, Laurence Modrego, who gave the event the international touch from the side of the bloggers. Her impression after the meeting… “yes Spain is different“. [...]
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emilio December 14th, 2010 at 11:37