The Foreign Ministry’s revamped website www.esteri.it went online today. The announcement was made by Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi at the forum on “Diplomacy in the Age of Twitter” organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the City of Turin with the collaboration of La Stampa. The Forum took place at the International Labour Organization’s International Training Centre in Turin.
“The new site has been designed to look more like an online news portal where text is often replaced by images that link users to more detailed items written in a more direct and less bureaucratic language. A language that is meant to interest readers who are not necessarily familiar with foreign policy issues”.
“I have said since the earliest days of my mandate: diplomacy is at the service of citizens. From Washington to Bucharest, from Tunis to Beijing”, added Terzi, “Italian diplomacy has opened its doors to a potentially huge audience”.
“48 embassies, consulates and Italian cultural institutes have opened an account on at least one social network”, explained Terzi. “We have 45 Facebook pages, 7 official Twitter profiles and many more diplomats tweeting all around the world. And based on the experience of our American friends, the Foreign Ministry is introducing training in social media management in the standard pre-posting process for our diplomats”.
