Kevin Rowan column
Jun 12 2006 By Kevin Rowan, The Journal
It's hard not to write something about football, or, more precisely, the World Cup, at this moment.
It's always quite interesting that a number of other debates are inspired by such events. Two spring to mind: the use (and abuse?) of the flag of St George and the second, related discussion, around internationalism and nationalism.
The flag of St George has become an emotive issue for a couple of unrelated reasons. Apparently some people think the UK Prime Minister shouldn't fly this flag as his office represents the whole of the UK.
What total rubbish. Is the Prime Minister of the UK not also the same for England? This must be seen as nothing more than a pretty cheap attempt to have another pop at the embattled Mr Blair.
The second issue regarding the flag is much more divisive in my view. Last month the National Front held a pitiful march in Newcastle City Centre, their main emblem being the flag of St George. In this context, the flag is portrayed as a symbol of white, male stereotype of "Englishness" that no longer exists, except in the ignorant minds of a few NF thugs.
The St George flag is the English flag, and we should be proud to fly it. But we must claim if back from the fascists and racists that use it to create and perpetuate hatred and division. We must make a collective effort to reclaim our emblem and use it to celebrate what England is today - inclusive, international and aspirational.
And that leads into the second discussion, that of internationalism. It is an over-said truism that we are the subjects of international dynamics, increasingly global, whether that is capital or labour. The prosperous societies of today are already international, but is the North-East?
Any analysis would show that our region is still pretty parochial, relatively white, and mostly English. The region's image marketing has improved dramatically in the last year or so, the "Passionate People, Passionate Places" strategy is highly effective, very positive and impacts well upon those inside and outside of the North-East.
One of the key targets of this marketing campaign is to attract more visitors to the region, to boost our growing hospitality and tourism industries, and it is working well.
It is also designed to get key inward investors to see this region as a place to do business in, to locate here, along with attracting individuals with key skills from around the world to move here too.
This is a massive challenge for us, and it is crucial that we are successful if we are to not only change the image, but change the reality and become that international, prosperous, successful, modern region we can become.
