Animation explains what lobbying is

Is lobbying a bad word? Should lobbyists be ashamed of their work? The Association of Public Affairs Agencies (APAA), in cooperation with renowned young animator Zuzana Bahulová, has made a short video that shows to the public what lobbying really means. Since last week, it is available on APAA’s YouTube channel.

The misunderstanding of the work of lobbyists as well as companies focusing on the communication between businesses and the state administration was the reason why APAA decided to present lobbying to the Czech public in a comprehensible form. APAA, which brings together the industry leaders, has therefore asked Zuzana Bahulová, an animator and designer from the city of Zlín, to create a video on lobbying for them. “We often see in the media and in the public sphere that people, who make money on various suspicious government contracts, are labeled as lobbyists. On the other hand, those who actually deal with the government and politicians, lobby for their clients, whether within companies, trade unions or various professional associations, are ashamed of the lobbyist label and reject it. We would like to change this perception,” says APAA chairman Vaclav Nekvapil, pointing out that the government is currently preparing a bill to regulate lobbying.

For the animator, this task was a great professional challenge, since she herself had a little awareness of lobbying and therefore had a similar perception of the topic as the rest of the public. “Despite the fact that I specialize in documentary and educational animation and I have done several such projects, APAA’s offer to create an educational animation about lobbyists surprised me,” admits Zuzana Bahulová. The lobbyist’s public image is not flattering, so she was glad to get to know the real lobbyists in person. “They are not like Mr. Rittig, Mr. Janousek or Mr. Dalik. Actually, they are quite the opposite. They are absolutely ordinary people who did not ask a pompous and puffy animation, but an entertaining and witty video explaining what the lobbyists actually do.”

The video is available on Youtube in English and in the Czech language.