HOW IS THE PROTOCOL GOING? WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH¡

In these troubled and unwanted times that we are living in and, above all, so uncertain, we have a certainty, however: the Protocol will not die.

This conviction does not stem from an exacerbated optimism or, even less, from the ability to predict the future. This certainty stems from an unquestionable fact: humankind needs to communicate in order to stay alive in society, that is his essence. It has always been and will be.

And what does this have to do with Protocol? Well, everything. We understand Protocol as a normative system, applied at a professional and institutional level, both to interpersonal relationships and, above all, to the management of ceremonies and events, with the main objective of transmitting a message of respect for the symbols and the status of individuals, organizations , of states. Through the use of Protocol techniques we communicate “who is who”. In Protocol, form is fundamental.

With the pandemic, our world suddenly stopped. Interpersonal relationships in a professional context started to happen, predominantly, in a digital context. The pragmatism and the inherent flexibility, adapted itself, using its set of rules designated as net-etiquette (rules that, by the way, were already applicable long before the pandemic) and the set of precepts regarding the personnel image applicable in the context of digital communication (also, of course, existing with no direct relation to the intensification of the telework system).

With regard to ceremonies and events, it seems clear, at this time, that nothing significant has changed or will change in the implementation of the protocol rules: the legislation referring to national symbols, the Law of precedence of the Protocol of the Portuguese State, organic laws of public administration entities, corporate organigrams, will continue to be applied and enforced. What changes, as far as we know now (social distance, respiratory etiquette, hygiene standards, among other aspects), is not directly related to protocol criteria.

What we all know is that face-to-face events and ceremonies, in their multiple formats, happen and, possibly, will continue to happen, less frequently, with different configurations, with a smaller number of participants, a reality that unquestionably and very much affects , the sector, but not exactly the application of the Protocol!

In a digital context, some ceremonies and events will continue to need a Protocol, namely the more formal ones or those that welcome high authorities and other personalities. As has always happened, in fact, also in the face-to-face format.

When analyzing the history and evolution of the Protocol – an indispensable and very useful exercise for those who practice this profession – we find that this discipline has been following the civilizational progress with flexibility and common sense, having arrived, robustly, until today, despite many times its uselessness and death have been predicted. We do not believe in “old Protocol and in“ new Protocol ”, in“ different ”Protocol for digital, hybrid, face-to-face events, we believe in a protocol regulation that exists and has to be applied, with professionalism, whenever it proves necessary and useful!

In our opinion, the Protocol will continue to follow the path of personalities, the presence of companies, the communication of institutions, diplomacy between states, fulfilling its greatest objective (communicating power), adjusting, shaping, leaving some practices and implementing others, retreating, remaining, advancing… we are sure of this: COVID-19 will not kill the Protocol!

Cristina Fernandes & Susana de Salazar Casanova

Article published in digital edition nº 35 of the magazine “Event Point”

http://cristinafernandes.com/como-vai-o-protocolo-bem-muito-obrigado/