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Florence School of Transnational Governance

Skills for the new European Diplomat: Capacity building programme for mid-career diplomats of the Western Balkans

Programme Start Date

10/10/2022

Duration

5 Days

Delivery mode

Residential

Location

Badia Fiesolana ,

Palazzo Buontalenti

Tailored training

Programme Description

This training programme aims to build capacities of mid-career Western Balkan diplomats to analyse, act, and negotiate as representatives of countries aspiring to join the EU. Once their countries are part of the EU, the Western Balkan diplomats will join their EU colleagues in a network of diplomats working to protect the interests not just of their country but also of the EU. In fact, EU candidates are already expected to follow certain EU foreign policy guidelines if they wish to move forward, which has a significant impact on diplomacy as well. This training programme was developed with this future in mind, with a strong focus on skills development for new European diplomats. The programme is part of a broader capacity building project for Western Balkan diplomats implemented by the School of Transnational Governance with support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs which started with a training for junior diplomats in June 2022.

The first two training days will focus on 21st century negotiation skills for diplomats. This mini workshop will be delivered by leading negotiation trainers Prof. Kalypso Nicolaidis and Prof. Alain Lempereur. In a highly interactive setting, the participants will learn and pratice responsible negotiation techniques. The third day is devoted to keynotes and peer-discussion, and will include a keynote lecture from Miroslav Lajčák, the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues. On the following day, a social programme is organised in collaboration with the City of Florence, in which the participants will meet City officials and attend a tour of the historic Palazzo Medici Riccardi. The final day is devoted to strategic foresight as a tool that has gained prominence in various issue areas in the EU, including the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The participants will learn how to apply this analytical tool by looking at the different examples and by practising its use in a real-world scenario.

The training also aims to build a transnational network among diplomats of the region, and to connect them with experienced policymakers, analysts, and academics from across the EU.

This training programme organised by the EUI School of Transnational Governance has received funding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Contact us if you are interested in a programme tailored to your organisation's needs.

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Speakers

  • Alexander Stubb, Director, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute;
  • Fabrizio Tassinari, Executive Director, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute;
  • Renaud Dehousse, President, European University Institute;
  • Vincenzo Celeste, Direttore Generale, Directorate General for Europe and International Commercial Policy, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation;
  • Kalypso Nicolaidis, Professor, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute;
  • Alain Lempereur, Professor, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute & Alan B. Slifka Professor of Conflict Resolution at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management;
  • Robert Francis Cooper, Part-time Professor at the School of Transnational Governance;
  • Miroslav Lajčák, EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues;
  • Christopher Hurst, Director General, Projects Directorate, European Investment Bank;
  • Adam Kamradt-Scott, Professor at EUI School of Transnational Governance and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Global Health Security Network;
  • Boshko Stankovski, Senior Programme Officer, Governance/Democratization, OSCE Mission in Kosovo;
  • Jelena Džankić, Professor in the Global Governance Programme at the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute;
  • Jakov Devčić, Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for Serbia and Montenegro;
  • Alexandre Adam, Conseiller Europe, Présidence de la République, France;
  • Viola von Cramon, Greens/EFA MEP, European Parliament rapporteur on Kosovo and shadow rapporteur on Serbia;
  • Florence Gaub, Foresight advisor, European Council.

Contacts