Welcome

The International Symposia on Cultural Diplomacy 2012 is the world's leading and largest event in the field of cultural diplomacy. The Symposia 2012 will include five large-scale events incorporating the fields of cultural diplomacy, international politics and economics, and international human rights. The events will take place in different countries and will include high level speakers and over 2000 participants. In addition to the main five events of the symposia, additional events will take place around the world in all 5 continents simultaneously during the month of June. 

During 2011 the international community witnessed historical events that changed the political landscape of the globe, ranging from the Arab Spring, to the "Occupy Wall Street Movement" and other protest movements around the globe. These transitions and protests were all facilitated and supported by the use of modern technology and the social media. These events represent, each in their own specific context, the people's will for a change, whether it is political, economic or social and their unified demand for more equality and justice. 

The events were each highlighted by the possibility for the people to better organize themselves and express their will through the social media, allowing them to gather millions of supporters around them within a very short period of time. When one compares these transitions to similar historical events, one can see that such changes have traditionally taken many years, rather than days, however once they do occur, they are sustainable and broad changes that are not then reversed.

The ICD therefore decided to dedicate the 2012 International Symposia on Cultural Diplomacy to the common goal of the public for more equality in the political, economic and social spheres. The Symposia will be divided into five main themes and will be hosted in three major international cities, which were chosen due to their relevancy to the theme of the conference. The Symposia will analyze the current global situation as well as future trends, strategies and the potential to counter political, social and economic inequality around the world.

Symposia Speakers »

The speakers during the symposia will include leading figures and experts from international politics, academia, the diplomatic community, civil society and the private sector, from across the world. These speakers will include a number of individuals from the ICD Advisory Board. To learn more about the ICD Advisory Board please click here

Speakers for the Symposia included:

Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) (more)	Amb. Rufus Yerxa Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization - WTO (Geneva, June 13th, 2012) (more)
The Hon. Said Musa Former Prime minister of Belize (Berlin, June 20th, 2012) (more)	The Hon. Charles Clarke Former Home Secretary of the United Kingdom (Berlin, June 20th, 2012) (more)
Michael Chertoff Former US Secretary of Home Land Security (Washington D.C. June 26th - 28th, 2012) (more)	Martha J. Kanter Under Secretary of Education, US Department of Education (Washington D.C. June 26th - 28th, 2012) (more)
Amb. John R. Bolton 25th United State Ambassador to the UN (Washington D.C. June 26th - 28th, 2012) (more)	Jeff "Skunk" Baxter Celebrated American Musician (Washington D.C. June 26th - 28th, 2012) (more)

Symposia Partners:

The Chertoff Group	Center for Transatlantic Relations
www.genevadiplomacy.com	Peres Center for Peace

A Selection of Symposia Locations:

United Nations Conference on Trade & Development	National Paublic Radion - NPR	The German Parliament
International Conference Center of Geneva	German Foreign Ministry	More »