Door-Openers for Good Will
Yesterday I was at the Swiss annual ambassadors conference in Berne, looking after a stand during a pause. It was interesting to observe the diplomats – 95 per cent men, in dark suits, grey-haired jovial representatives of Switzerland from all over the world. I had a short talk with an ambassador from central Africa and exchanged some impressions with a gentleman from another stand, of Swiss Timber.
He told me that Switzerland is exporting quite an amount of wood to countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia. He had been around the world in several crisis areas and said that, though sometimes ambivalent, the reconstruction in crisis areas is always a big business where many different players are on site. For the export business they keep in contact with the embassies, as door-openers for business interests.
I thought why not door-openers for good will activities. Good will however might not need exportation, since you can meet it everywhere. The work is also mostly more silent, not attracting attention. But if you are engaged in some good work, you represent also its interests.
