The UfM Secretariat supports Diplomacy and Diplomatic training
Dubrovnik, 24th-26th of May 2012. Deputy Secretary General for Higher Education & Research, Prof. Ilan Chet, was invited to participate in the 15th Dubrovnik Diplomatic Forum which took place in Dubrovnik.
The topic of the meeting was “Diplomacy and Intercultural Dialogue” and was attended by approximately 50 high state officials, experts, academics and junior diplomats from various countries of both rims of the Mediterranean.
Prof. Chet gave the keynote address on the second day of the Forum. He dedicated his speech to underline the importance of Diplomacy in the development of large transnational projects by using, as examples, the main UfM projects promoted by the Secretariat. “Without Diplomacy sometimes projects don’t fulfil”, he said. Prof Chet’s intervention was followed by the audience with great interest and generated discussion.
Among those attending the conference were: Mr. Michael Frendo, Speaker of the Maltese Parliament; Mr. Gianni Pittela, Vice-President of the European Parliament; Mr. Jorge Sampaio, High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilizations; and Mr. Josko Klisovic, Deputy Minister of European and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia.
The Dubrovnik Diplomatic Forum began as a pioneer project of the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & European Integration of the Republic of Croatia, with the University in Zagreb and its Centre for Advanced Academic Studies (CAAS) in Dubrovnik. Having initiated as an international conference in the field of diplomacy and diplomatic training, the Forum has grown over the years into an annual event of its kind in this part of Europe. The EMUNI University and the London Academy of Diplomacy are, currently, providing a new impulse to the Forum.
The aims of the 2012 Dubrovnik Diplomatic Forum were to enlighten a particular role of diplomacy in an on-going intercultural dialogue as well as to discuss the benefits of better understanding and intercultural communication in a regional, inter-regional and global context, by emphasizing the role of Education, Research and Innovation.
