From the use of “soft power” in crisis areas to responsible finance, from the Afghanistan of the future to the crucial Eastern Partnership. The topics that will be explored at the 4th Festival of Diplomacy, entitled “Diplomacy, Economy and Responsibility” and taking place from 9 to 19 October 2013 in Rome and Spoleto, are both numerous and highly topical.
The events will see the presence of analysts of the calibre of Parag Khanna, along with foreign ambassadors, geo-political experts and Italian diplomats. Because our diplomacy is once again opening its doors to the public at large. It is no coincidence that the Festival will open with the Farnesina’s “Open Doors” event, with a guided tour of the Italian Foreign Ministry at 09.00 on 9 October.
From the Marshall Plan to Somalia, from Iraq to Afghanistan
The common thread linking the events in Rome and Umbria will, of course, be the major crises and disputes currently affecting our planet. Events kick off on 10 October with the premiere of the documentary “Clare, un’ambasciatrice a Roma”, dedicated to Clare Boothe Luce. The first female US Ambassador, she was sent to Rome in 1953 to implement the Marshall Plan. Jumping forward a few decades, the programme also includes a debate on the merits, or lack of them, of soft power in containing conflicts in the world’s most critical regions.
Iraq will be the focus of a workshop exploring how a “Country Risk Report” is created, an event in which the head of the Farnesina’s Crisis Unit, Claudio Taffuri, will be taking part. The delicate task of rebuilding the Somali state and, more generally, the precarious stability of the Horn of Africa, will be the common ground for a round table on Cultural Diplomacy and Peace Building, scheduled for 15 October in Rome. Participants will include religious figures from the region.
Afghanistan in the wake of the withdrawal of the ISAF troops at the end of 2014 will be the last major area to be examined in the “conflict” section of the Festival, on 16 October.
Global Governance: a conversation with Parag Khanna
Rome and Spoleto will also see discussions of Diplomacy and Global Governance, the other key themes of the Festival, starting with a conversation with the renowned Indian author, Parag Khanna. The event, which takes place on 14 October at the LUISS University, will be attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Lapo Pistelli. The economic strand of the Festival also includes a meeting on the “new industrial revolution” and a round table on ”Responsible and Sustainable: the new finance paradigm”, which will focus on Italy’s relations with the rest of the world.
A meeting with the Visegrad Group, scheduled to take place at the EU Commission Representation in Rome, will focus on the EU’s crucial Eastern Partnership. On 16 October the spotlight will turn to economic relations between Italy and Turkey, at another event attended by Deputy Minister Pistelli.
Post-election Germany and the fall-out from the Snowden case
Other major international issues will be discussed at the round table on ”Security and the Right to Freedom” on 12 October in Spoleto, taking the Snowden case as its starting point. The political future of Angela Merkel’s Germany will be the key topic of the conference on ”Post-Election Germany: which scenarios?”, which will see the participation of the Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General, Michele Valensise.
The diplomatic activity of the Vatican – which recently saw the appointment of the new Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin – will also have a share of the limelight, at a conference presenting a book entitled “La diplomazia della Santa Sede”. Completing the packed programme are events providing information for young people on diplomatic and international careers, and an EU “Finance Day for SMEs”.
In short, the leitmotif of the Festival will once again be the thousand-and-one facets of diplomacy.
