Evolution Theory in Communication (Eric Dauchy)

The Clipper ‘Stad Amsterdam’. Aka The Beagle anno 2009. It is a perfect communication platform that will soon plunder PR Awards at swanky gala evenings of the industry’s ‘Haute Communication’. Charles Darwin himself though had a slightly different tack on the matter. The good fellow was seasick from the minute he stepped on board remained so for all the time he was at sea. Beagle Captain Robert FitzRoy wrote home: “Mr Darwin is pained tremendously by seasickness, every time we sail.”

Charles himself said afterwards: “I single-mindedly hate every wave of every ocean. I am disgusted by the sea and all the ships sailing on it.”

Thankfully the man had only to endure two fifths of his five years journey on sea, the rest being spent on trekkings over land – being hosted by local English aristocracy who gave him all the necessary support to carry out his expeditions wherever they would take him. A 19th century Michael Palin as it were.

And like Palin he used England’s global network of commercial and military contacts extensively – not in the least to ship tonnes and tonnes of collected stuff with a returning ship back to the motherland. DHL-style.

Do I hear someone whisper project management, PR, ROI? Absolutely spot on. It was all part of Darwin’s package even before he sailed from Plymouth.

The Beagle sailed to the Falklands for instance to score a diplomatic point over the Argentinians. The purpose of the voyage was twofold: to chart the South American coast and to check longitudes around the world with a set of chronometers. But Captain FitzRoy’s brief also included to find commercially attractive transport routes in order to maximize the combination of colonialisation and industrialization. Which fitted glove in hand indeed as history tells us.

President Kennedy had NASA to propel his country upwards and Queen Victoria had HMS Navy to conquer the world. And communication was a key element in both strategies to sell their messages to the world.

The Stad Amsterdam revisits the Beagle’s historic global tour de force once more – with little political afterthoughts this time though. And with an ambitious mission: to check out how the world is faring these days and show that to all the people of the world. It is an initiative we welcome with open arms. And once again does it put the Low Countries, the organizers of the trip, on the map. And that’s a splendid idea.

It is. Because I was quite amused to read a Reuters story about English and American scientists who would sail the world in honour of Charles Darwin. Not a word about any Belgian or Dutch participation. In this fast-changing global landscape I would have appreciated the presence of some distinguished Asian scientists. That’s only natural in the Internet zone. It’s just a matter of evolution in my opinion.

Eric Dauchy
Global PR Consultant

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