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The Festival of Diplomacy, as an annual event, was born in 2009 with the awareness of the centrality of Rome on the international scene and to encourage discussion on issues related to international relations. During the past fourteen editions, illustrious guests have participated such as Parag Khanna, John Ikenberry, Trita Parsi, Brian Klaas, Michael Klare, Daniel Drezner, Judith Saphiro, Thomas Range, Sarah Yerkes, Anand Giridharadas, Simon Anholt, Saskia Sassen, Ivor Roberts, Heidi Tagliavini, Charles Goodhart, Carla Del Ponte and many others. Why Rome? A large international community operates and lives in the city which constantly interacts with the economic, organizational and cultural structures. Rome is the nerve center of diplomatic relations, with 139 Embassies accredited to the Italian Republic, 78 to the Holy See, 134 to the FAO and 73 to San Marino. To this must be added the rich fabric of international organisations, universities, academies and foreign cultural institutes which consolidate Rome’s projection as the first global city in the world. This year the fifteenth edition will take place from 16 to 25 October, thanks to the support and patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Representation in Italy of the Commission and the European Parliament, over 70 Embassies, 9 Universities and numerous scientific partners. The title chosen is Looking for Cratos, the Greek god of Power, and as a subtitle: The many faces of Power (Power and its countless faces). Power has a magnetic appeal.
The Festival program will be divided into the following sub-themes:
Force and Territories: Borders, Expansions and Territorial Disputes. Regional wars and military force as a psychological deterrent, terrorism, nuclear threat.
Economics, Technology and Interference: Monopolies, raw materials (rare earths) Technologies, ITC, AI, Space, Finance and Sovereign Funds.
Media and Reputation: Role of soft power, new and traditional media, the risk of disinformation, spheres of influence, religion
People and Needs: Dependencies in the energy, agricultural, water sectors, embargoes, inequalities, emigration, demographic crises.
Governance: Ideologies and political realism, Crisis of Multilateralism, Regional Alliances, Rules and the market.
The press conference will take place on the morning of October 16th and then the Festival will kick off with an event in the afternoon of the same day.
In summary, the Festival of Diplomacy has become an unmissable event not only for the diplomatic community but above all among young people studying in Italian and foreign universities, interested in understanding what happens behind the scenes of international governance and in preparing for an international career that perhaps it will be in Diplomacy but which can take place within companies, law firms, NGOs or international organizations.