Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy in the Francophone Region

Following the Second World War, the transformations that ushered in a new era for Francophone countries with the immeasurable task of rebuilding cities, cultures, and societies, demonstrated a unique and unparalleled political experiment with important lessons to impart to the rest of the world.  While France has maintained its commitment to the stability of the Francophone Region, for the members who not only share a common language, but embody the active solidarity of common values, and more importantly, the common goal of securing a harmonious future, there is still a constant need to use the diverse and modern tools and instruments available in order to maintain and further develop a successful regional cooperation.

In addition, while economic policies are at the top of everyone’s concern, increasingly divergent views on issues such as military engagement and on the very nature of supranational governance, threaten to divide the region, testing the commitment of the member countries. It is obvious that a greater reliance on a culture-based brand of diplomacy is in no way a magic bullet for answering the complex problems affecting the world, but will certainly go a long way toward furthering Francophone understandings of one another and, in turn, resolve some of the critical challenges to fostering a sustainable and peaceful regional cooperation.

The conference will take place over a two-day period in Paris and will be held in the French Senate. The conference is dedicated to increasing the awareness and understanding of the historical and theoretical foundations of La Francophone and the role Cultural Diplomacy can play in uniting the Francophone countries today.

Symposium Locations

Based in Paris, the conference will be hosted at the French National Assembly and at a number of important political, historic, and cultural locations across the city.

Symposium Speakers & Delegates

Speakers and delegates during the symposium will include leading politicians, chief diplomats, leading governmental officials, senior academics, renowned authors, journalists, and celebrated artists. These speakers will include a large number of individuals from the ICD Advisory Board. To learn more about the ICD Advisory Board, please click here.

Speakers and Delegates for the Symposium include:

Hon. Jacques Toubon Former Minister of Culture of France	Hon. Michèle Alliot-Marie Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France	Director General Eric Revel Director General of La Chaîne Info
Christian Cappe CEO, 2C Associés	Alexandra Vandernoot Celebrated Belgian Actress	Prof. Raphaël Liogier French Sociologist, Sciences Po Aix

Symposium Participants »

Participation in the symposium 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.

Certificate of Attendance

All Symposium participants will be awarded an official Certificate of Attendance upon completion of the program, which will provide details of the speakers who took part in the event, and list the topics which were discussed. Each certificate will be signed by members of the ICD Advisory Board.

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:

Sustainable Network »

During the program participants will have a number of opportunities to network with one another, with the speakers, and with ICD Advisory Board Members and partners. Conference participants will become part of the ICD Alumni, a growing international network of people of diverse interests and backgrounds from around the world who share a commitment to intercultural exchange. Members of the ICD Alumni Group will benefit from the following opportunities: Alumni online forum, Advisory Board Networking, ICD support for individual Leadership Initiatives, free access to all ICD research, videos and photos as well as other event documentation. Participants will be able to remain in touch with each other through the ICD Networks. (more »)

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.