“Go to the field…The better you know the work you are representing, the better you will communicate it.” - Warren O'Donnell– European Union National Institutes for Culture

Warren O'Donnell is the Communications Manager of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) - the European network of national-level organisations engaging in international cultural relations. It ensures cultural collaboration in more than 100 countries through a network of 143 clusters, drawing on the experience of its members from all EU Member States and associate countries.

What does the change you are trying to achieve look like? Why is the EU important?

Our mission is to ensure that culture plays a prominent role in international relations.

Our members build trust and understanding across borders through culture. The goal is to build relationships between European and non-European actors on an equal footing — creating strong links with civil society and local communities.

In a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, trust between people and societies is essential. Open, democratic societies depend on dialogue across borders. That’s why our work matters for the EU. Building trust through culture helps communities find solutions together.

A current focus is the Culture Compass for Europe, recently proposed by the European Commission. One of its key components is strengthening the EU’s international cultural relations. EUNIC is a strategic partner for the EU and we aim to bring the expertise of our members into discussions at EU level. In this way, EUNIC helps ensure that cultural cooperation is a core dimension of Europe’s external action.

How are communication and policy advocacy connected?

Expertise and knowledge need to be brought to EU level — and we play a key role in that.

EUNIC’s members operate around the world - our community of cultural relations practitioners have valuable experiences and deep insights from their cultural work at local level. Communication is essential to translate that expertise into messages that inform and resonate with decision-makers in Brussels.

EUNIC supports its clusters and members in communicating their work, ensuring a steady flow of information from the work being done on the ground to the conversations that are taking place at international level. It’s a two-way process.

Which challenges are you facing?

Despite being a large network globally, we are a relatively small Brussels-based association — so there is always a question of where to focus and what to prioritise. 

Another complexity lies in our diverse membership. EUNIC brings together independent cultural institutes and governmental bodies, with very different organisational structures, diverse perspectives and national realities. Balancing the different needs of members in our communications work can be challenging - we have to find ways to connect with all a broad membership internally, while reflecting a clear message externally.

One tip you want to share with other public interest advocates?

Go to the field. Speak to the people doing the work you represent.

For member-based associations, it’s crucial to get closer to the projects and programmes you support. The more communicators understand the realities on the ground the more compelling and credible their advocacy becomes.

The better you know the work you are spotlighting, the better you will communicate it.