The Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy 2015

"Building Bridges of Peace and Reconciliation in Times of Greater Global Insecurity"

(Berlin; December 10th - 13th, 2015)

Conference Overview

The Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy is the world's leading event in the field of cultural diplomacy hosted and organized by ICD in partnership with other leading institutions at the end of each year.

The current political situation in many regions and countries such as North and Central Africa, Ukraine, Greece, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, South Sudan, Somalia and others together with the deteriorations of social norms for the use of violence, emphasizes the growing need for a greater cultural dialogue, understanding and trust in order to avoid further escalation. The 2015 Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy will therefore focus, on raising awareness and support for activities that promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

The 2015 Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy aims to present all successful CD practices in the area of the arts, sports, music, and cinema that the field of cultural diplomacy has to offer to the international community for their application to try to remedy and ease these growing global challenges. The conference will bring together leading politicians, religious leaders, senior academics and celebrated artists together with representatives from areas of conflict in order to establish new institutions and initiatives that will help with these challenges using the practice of cultural diplomacy together with other practices and means.

Conference Locations

Based in Berlin, the conference will be hosted in the ICD House of Arts & Culture and at the German Parliament.


Conference Speakers & Delegates

The 2015 conference will bring together over 500 delegates coming from the fields of politics and religion together with senior academics and celebrated artists travelling to Berlin from all corners of the world to promote global peace in our interdependent world.

The Symposium will include Keynote Addresses from the Honorable Members of the ICD:

President Emil Constantinescu
President of the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy
President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
President, ICD Advisory Board
Hon. Hans Eichel
Minister of Finance of Germany (1999-2005)
MEP Michèle Alliot-Marie
Vice President of the ICD for the Francophone Countries
Vice President Linda Lanzillotta
Vice President of the Italian Senate
Charles Huber (MdB)
Member of the German Parliament
Lord Jack McConnell
President, Africa EU Relations Program
Hon. Lawrence Gonzi
President, ICD Program on the Mediterranean Region
Hon. Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis
President, Council for Cultural Diplomacy Studies
Judge Dragoljub Popovic
Judge, the European Court of Human Rights
Judge Vagn Joensen
President the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
Judge Julia Sebutinde
President, ICD Program on International Law & Human Rights
Judge Xhezair Zaganjori
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Albania
President Vesna Medenica
President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro
President Fejzullah Hasani
President of the Supreme court of Kosovo
Hon. José de Faria Costa
Ombudsman of Portugal
Hon. Thuli Madonsela
Public Protector of South Africa
MP Ögmundur Jónasson
President IPAHP, (ICD) Human Rights Program
Nondas Cl. Metaxas
CEO, Cyprus Stock Exchange
Mr. Jens Lorenz
Jeweler, Creator of the “Berlin Peace Clock”
Dr. Mohammed Omran
Executive Chairman, the Egyptian Exchange
Hon. Vlad Nistor (MP)
President of the Senate, University of Bucharest
Prof. Michael Lederer
Vice President, Furtwangen University
Rector Mircea Dumitru
Rector, University of Bucharest
Prof. Anna Soos
Vice Rector, Babeş-Bolyai-University
Hon. Prof. Mmantsetsa Marope
Director, International Bureau of Education, UNESCO
Prof. Hans Köchler
President, the International Progress Organization
MK Omer Barlev
Member of the Israeli Knesset
Hon. MP Nouzha Skalli
Former Morroccon Minister for Family Affairs
Amb Ranko Vilovic
Ambassador of Croatia to Germany
Hon. Solomon Passy
President, The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria (ICD Bulgaria Branch Office)
President Valdis Zatlers
Former President of Latvia
Hon. Staffan Nilsson
Former President of the EU Economic and Social Committee
Hon. Yasar Yakis
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey
Hon. Ali Ahmad Jalali
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan
Hon. Erhard Busek
Former Vice Chancellor of Austria

Conference Participants »

Participation in the conference is open to governmental & diplomatic officials, academics, artists, journalists, civil society practitioners, private sector representatives, young professionals and students as well as other interested individuals from across the world.

If you would like to reserve a position and participate in the conference, please click on the link below and fill out the online application form:

Certificate of Attendance - All conference participants will be awarded an official certificate of attendance upon completion of the program, which will provide details of the speakers who took part and the topics discussed. Each certificate will be signed by members of the Conference Committee.

Participant Papers » - The Conference Committee encourages academic research and analysis of issues related to the goals of the Conference. The Conference Committee would therefore like to welcome the participants of the conference to submit a paper they would like to be considered for presentation at the conference as well as being included in the proposal document that will be issued following the conference and will be sent to all governments and leaders of the international community worldwide.