Mark McDowell

Mark McDowell (born October 8, 1962) is a Canadian diplomat and was the first resident Ambassador of Canada to the Union of the Republic of Myanmar. He is considered an Asia hand and is a specialist in the fields of public diplomacy and digital diplomacy.[1] He has been characterized as "an unconventional diplomat" and a champion of LGBTIQ rights.[2]

In October 2016, he took an extended leave from the Canadian foreign service and joined the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). He is currently the head of International IDEA's Myanmar office.[3]

Education

Attracted by its "counterculture atmosphere", McDowell attended Innis College at the University of Toronto.[4] He received a MA from University of Toronto in East Asian Studies in 1988.[5] In 2018 he attended the Kennedy School of Government as a Fulbright Scholar, earning a Master of Public Administration, and stayed on as a visiting Research Scholar at the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation.[6]

Public Diplomacy and E-diplomacy

McDowell is known as an innovator in public diplomacy and e-diplomacy. Canada's Globe and Mail credits him with "helping drag the Department of Foreign Affairs into the Internet age",[7] and Canada's former Ambassador to China called him "among the most original of thinkers when it comes to using social media".[8]

E-diplomacy

Ambassador McDowell is a frequent speaker and participant in e-diplomacy conferences, offering a practitioners perspective. In 2015 he spoke at events organized by the foreign ministries of Armenia[9] and the Netherlands.[10]

He is known for starting Canada's social media presence in China with "canadaweibo" on the Chinese Sina Weibo platform. Canadaweibo grew from zero to 400,000 followers within two years, becoming the second largest and most influential embassy site in China after the USA's. Similarly, he made social media a priority during his posting in Myanmar. In an interview with Mizzima News, he explains that social media was prioritized because the embassy was "starting late, and from scratch, with small budgets. The only way we could compete with other embassies for the attention of the Myanmar people was through cyberspace."[11] By the time McDowell finished his term, the embassy's Facebook page had over 300,000 followers, making it by far the largest Canadian Embassy page in the world.

Since his term ended in September 2016, he started a new page to detail his post-diplomatic life `X-Ambassador to Myanmar, Mark McDowell'.

McDowell's work in e-government is longstanding. He gave the government of Canada's address to the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society in 2002. At that time he also took a leading role in initiatives in Canada related to getting Aboriginal communities online, and disseminating news about the international activities of Canadian Aboriginal peoples.

Public Diplomacy

McDowell has worked on public diplomacy throughout his diplomatic career, and was a Director of Public Diplomacy and Domestic Outreach in Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs.[12]

He wrote a brief primer on public diplomacy based on a talk he delivered at the 100th Anniversary Edward R. Murrow Memorial Conference at the Fletcher School for Law and Diplomacy (see www.fletcherforum.org/2012/07/26/32-3/). In a 2010 talk at the Fletcher School on the connection between domestic outreach and public diplomacy abroad, he coined the concept of "Total Diplomacy", engaging and partnering with segments of the domestic audience to achieve foreign policy goals.[13] McDowell has been connected with "panda diplomacy" for his work in bringing a pair of Chinese pandas to Canada, and "sports diplomacy" for his public diplomacy in Myanmar connected with the traditional Burmese sport of chinlone.[14]

A conversation with McDowell forms one of the chapters of Chinese public diplomacy thinker Zhao Qizheng's 2012 book "The Wisdom of Public Diplomacy: Cross-Border Dialogues".[15]

Diplomatic career

Myanmar

McDowell was named Canada's first ever resident ambassador to Myanmar in March 2013.[16] Because of the long period of sanctions imposed by Canada on Myanmar, the relationship between the two countries was very limited and cold.[17]

Since taking up his job in June 2013, relations have warmed considerably, with Canada naming Myanmar a priority country for both trade[18] and aid[19] and opening a visa office.[20] Ambassador McDowell has focused much of his attention on supporting grassroots democracy and human rights organizations working on issues such as freedom of speech and voter and civic education. Canada has also started to cooperate on security related issues like border management and prevention of human trafficking.[21]

He has staked out a leading role for Canada in the area of federalism and minority rights, and in the promotion of LGBTIQ rights in this laboratory for democracy.[22] "Pride abroad Canada’s support of LGBTIQ activism in Asia" describes Canada's leading role in supporting the nascent LGBTIQ movement in Myanmar, and McDowell's high profile as a supportive Ambassador.[23]

The Embassy of Canada has had success in rapidly raising Canada's public profile in Myanmar, through both traditional and social media. Its Facebook presence has over 300,000 followers on its Burmese, English, and French pages. The English language page has the highest following of any Canadian Embassy page in the world.[24]

China

McDowell served in Beijing from 2010-2013.

Thailand

McDowell was head of the political section in Thailand from 2003-2007.[25] He managed the Embassy throughout the Indian Ocean Tsunami crisis.[26] During his term in Thailand, there was significant unrest in the south of the country, attributed to Muslim terrorist groups. McDowell led Canada's engagement in this region.

McDowell began his work on LGBTIQ issues with his support for the First International Asian Gay and Lesbian Studies Conference in Bangkok in 2005, where he spoke on the topic of marriage equality.[27]

Aboriginal Affairs

McDowell was deputy Director for Aboriginal Affairs in the Global Issues Bureau from 2001-2003.

Taiwan

McDowell served in Taipei from 1997-2001.

References
  1. Dunant, Ben. "Committed to Myanmar". Mizzima. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  2. MacKinnon, Mark. "Tough job awaits Canada's first-ever envoy to Myanmar". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  3. "Mark McDowell". International IDEA. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  4. "Mark McDowell". Innis Alumni and Friends. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  5. "Diplomatic Frontier". UofT Magazine. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  6. "Communique Winter 2009 Vol 3" (PDF). Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  7. MacKinnon, Mark. "Tough job awaits Canada's first-ever envoy to Myanmar". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  8. Mulroney, David (2015). Middle Power, Middle Kingdom. Allan Lane/Penguin. pp. 29–30.
  9. McDowell, Mark (May 11–12, 2015). "Digital Diplomacy: Prospects and Challenges" (PDF). Diplomatic Academy. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  10. "McDowell: HQ's job is to allow embassies to experiment and then collect best practices #digitaldiplomacy". Twitter. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  11. Dunant, Ben. "Committed to Myanmar". Mizzima. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  12. "Diplomatic Appointment". Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  13. McDowell, Mark. "Public Diplomacy at the Crossroads" (PDF). Fletcher Forum. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  14. Cengel, Katya. "Chinlone Diplomacy". Roads and Kingdoms. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  15. Zhao, Qizheng (2012). The Wisdom of Public Diplomacy. New World Press.
  16. "Diplomatic Appointment". Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  17. MacKinnon, Mark. "Tough job awaits Canada's first-ever envoy to Myanmar". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  18. "Global Markets Action Plan". Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  19. "Canada Updates List of Development Countries of Focus". Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  20. "VFS Global". Apply for Visa to Canada. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  21. "Embassy of Canada to Burma- Myanmar". Facebook. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  22. Vanderklippe, Nathan. "Democracy, Interrupted". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  23. "Pride Abroad Canada's Support of LGBTIQ Activism in Asia" (PDF). Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  24. Dunant, Ben. "Committed to Myanmar". Mizzima. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  25. Thompson, Andrew S. "Canada-Burma Relations Inside the Issues 6.4". Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  26. Murray, Scott. "Diplomatic License". Scott Murray. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  27. "Bangkok to Hold World's First International Conference on Asian GLT Studies". Fridae. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
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