Simon Anholt
is acknowledged as the leading international authority on the images of countries, cities and regions and has pioneered
a wide range of evidence-based techniques for the measurement and management of these critical soft power assets.
He first coined the term “nation brand” in the 1990s, although his approach to curating and enhancing place image
is primarily based on policy and strategy rather than on communications: on deeds rather than messages.
Simon has written six books
about countries, their images and their role in the world. His latest book,
The Good Country Equation: How We Can Repair the World in One Generation,
was published in October 2020 and was described by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights,
as “a masterpiece”.
His talk Which country does the most good for the world?
is the all-time most viewed TED Talk on Governance,
with over 12 million views on TED.com and YouTube. It was also ranked as the 4th “most inspiring” talk ever by TED viewers.
In addition to his best-known research project, the Good Country Index,
Anholt also produces three major global surveys tracking public perceptions of countries and cities,
the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index, City Brands Index and U.S. City Brands Index,
in partnership with the research group Ipsos Mori. He is Founding Editor Emeritus of the academic journal,
Place Branding and Public Diplomacy
and is an honorary Professor of Political Science at the University of East Anglia.
Robert Govers
is a Senior Partner at Anholt & Co.
where he has worked on numerous assignments with the Governments of the Netherlands,
the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Qatar. He has also advised
many other administrations worldwide including the national and regional governments of Luxembourg,
three provinces in the Netherlands, and the City of Ghent.
Dr Govers is founding chairman
of the International Place Branding Association
and has been an adjunct or visiting scholar in Beijing,
Hyderabad, Leuven, Rotterdam, London, Milan, and Dubai. He also teaches place branding on the UNESCO World Heritage
at Work Master’s programme in Turin, Italy. He has written numerous papers and (co-)authored/edited
five books
on the topic of place branding. His award-winning book Imaginative Communities was published
in English, Portuguese and Spanish. He is co-editor of the journal of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy,
and is a frequent contributor to other publications including Apolitical,
the World Economic Forum Agenda and The Economist Intelligence Unit Perspectives.
Dr Govers co-authored the Good Country Index together with Simon Anholt in 2014.
Robert Govers has held positions in South Africa, the Netherlands,
Belgium and Dubai and has a PhD and Master’s degree from Erasmus University,
Rotterdam School of Management. He has been a keynote speaker
at many international conferences such as the Club of Venice,
Kyiv International Economic Forum, World Cities Culture Forum, European Cities Marketing,
European Travel Commission, Tel Aviv Cities Summit, and the International Association of Convention Centres.
