Panel 2000: Towards a "Cool Britannia"

A new image for Britain in the new millennium

April 1998: At the launch of Panel 2000, Robin Cook, the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary said "that it is important that we all project a positive image of modern Britain abroad."

Panel 2000 will bring together people with expertise in many walks of British life to advise us on how Britons can successfully convey an accurate, constructive picture of modern Britain. It brings together a remarkable collection of people: people at the cutting edge of industry, design, the media and the Government itself. It is a group of people whose creativity and energy show what modern Britain is about. Panel 2000 is also remarkable because of what it is setting out to do: it is tasked with improving the way Britain projects itself overseas.

Panel 2000 has been asked to produce an interim action plan by late summer. The British Tourist Authority and the British Council have been asked to produce papers on how they can work better overseas.

"We want to build in Britain a self-confident society, one that is forward-looking and proud of its place as a leading partner in Europe and a pivotal nation in the world. We are creating an open, dynamic economy at the same time as a tolerant, inclusive society. The world is taking note of those developments. The picture that many around the world have of Britain, however, is out of date."

Some still see Britain as it was two decades ago: in decline. others as no more than a relic of the past, a theme park of castles and villages. "We do not reject our heritage - we value our heritage, but we also need to be a forward-looking country preparing to face the challenges of the new millennium."   "Our task is to replace a myth of an old Britain with the reality of the modern Britain."

"We have already embraced the new media enthusiastically: we use the internet, CD ROMs and satellite television to get our message across. There is a long way to go, however, and that is where Panel 2000 can make a crucial contribution."

Panel 2000 has five crucial contributions it can make:

• Panel 2000 will produce an overall strategy for projecting a positive, modern image of Britain abroad.

• Panel 2000 will focus on the key messages which we will be sending out and the key audiences we need to target.

• Panel 2000 will pull together all the strands of our public diplomacy from both the public sector (such as the Foreign Office and the British Council) and also from the private sector. It is a genuine partnership between business and Government. It will make sure we are using all the tools we have at our disposal to promote Britain most effectively.

• Panel 2000 will help monitor and project Britain's strengths to enhance the attractiveness of our business and of our tourist potential. We need to establish a baseline of perceptions in the key countries and to measure our progress against how we raise those perceptions.

• Panel 2000 will work with the Foreign Office as we (Britain) project an open and modern image both at home and abroad.

• Panel 2000 is part of a process which the whole Government is dedicated to.

Other references:

• Creative Britain report published by the Design Council on behalf of the Prime Minister.

• Millennium Products - 2000 products for the Millennium Dome

• Foreign & Commonwealth Office information on Panel 2000, who is on the panel and a  feed-back form.

• British Council - Youth Millennium Awards

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