BMI Conference: Conflict Diplomacy in the Digital World
The conference took place in Rome between 18th-20th of September 2019, thanks to a collaborative effort of Boris Mints Institute and Link Campus University in Rome, hosted by Prof. Vincenzo Scotti, President of Link Campus University, Former Italian Minister of Interior, of Cultural Heritage, of State Holdings and Former Mayor of Naples. The conference has been a major success, featuring key decision makers, former ambassadors, negotiators, prime ministers, foreign and defense ministers, as well as prominent members of International Academia from Israel, Italy, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Czech Republic, Austria and others. Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, Member of BMI Advisory Board; Founder and President of the Israel Institute; Former Ambassador of Israel to USA and President Emeritus of Tel-Aviv University; Amb. Prof. Maurizio Melani of Link Campus University, Former D.G. in the Italian MFA and Ambassador to Iraq, to the Political and Security Committee of the EU and to Ethiopia; Prof. Itai Sened, Head of BMI; Founding Head of the School of Social and Policy Studies at Tel-Aviv University; Dr. Ahmed Abdelwahed, Chairman of the Academy for International Development – Middle East and North Africa AID-MENA; Prof. Daniela Giannetti, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna and Prof. Wolfgang C. Müller, Department of Governance, University of Vienna were among the prominent speakers.
During the conference, through six panels - major global geopolitical issues were discussed, such as the conflict in Colombia, which is one of the longest lasting conflicts that was resolved; the Israeli - Palestinian Conflict, its’ roots and origins, as well as the prospects of the two states solution; the general situation in the Middle East and how it affects the modern world; the current state of diplomacy and how hard it is to negotiate, with such a rapid spread of information as well as the dimension of “fake news” that only makes it harder to keep peace intact, and lastly - the current state of the European Union, after the recent elections to the European Parliament, investigating how the EU is slowly radicalizing its’ governing bodies with populism on the rise.
On the side of significant former or current decision makers, the list of participants included Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami, Vice President, Toledo International Center for Peace and former Foreign Minister of Israel; Mr. Sergio Jaramillo Caro, Former High commissioner of Peace, Colombia; Prof. Massimo D’Alema, Link Campus University, President of the Italianieuropei Foundation, Former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy; and Dr. Elisabetta Trenta, former Minister of Defence of Italy.
Overall - the conference was deemed a significant breakthrough to the recent work of BMI, shedding light on major global challenges that the contemporary world is facing, hence moving us closer to finding valid policy recommendations to contribute to solving such.
Agenda
Thursday, 19.9.19
09:00 Opening Statements:
Prof. Vincenzo Scotti, President of Link Campus University, Former Italian Minister of Interior, of Foreign Affairs, of Cultural Heritage,of State Holdings and Former Mayor of Naples
Dr. Boris Mints, President of BMI
Prof. Itai Sened, Head, BMI; Founding Head, School of Social and Policy Studies, Tel-Aviv University
10:00 The Peace Process in Colombia – Why Did it Work?
Moderator: Prof. Piero Schiavazzi, Link Campus University
Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami, Vice President, Toledo International Center for Peace and former Foreign Minister of Israel
Mr. Sergio Jaramillo Caro, Former High commissioner of Peace, Colombia Discussion
Prof. Alberto Melloni, Director of the John XXIII Foundation for Religious Studies, Coordinator of the European Research Infrastructure of Religious Studies
11: 30 Academic Forum 1: The Fundamentals of the Palestinian – Israeli Conflict
Moderator: Professor Itai Sened, Head of the Boris Mints Institute, TAU
Dr. Sami Miaari, Department of Labor Studies, Tel-Aviv University View Presentation
Prof. Fabio Nicolucci, Middle East political analyst, Link Campus University
Dr. Ahmed Abdelwahed, Chairman of the Academy for International Development – Middle East and North Africa AID-MENA
Discussant: Amit Loewenthal – Ph.D. student Tel Aviv University
14:00 Ambassadors’ Forum 1: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict – Perspective and Prospects
Moderator: Amb.Prof. Maurizio Melani, Link Campus University, Former D.G. in the Italian
MFA and Ambassador to Iraq, to the Political and Security Committee of the EU and to Ethiopia
Amb. Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, Member of BMI Advisory Board; Founder and President of the Israel Institute; Former Ambassador of Israel to USA and President Emeritus of Tel-Aviv University
Amb. Daniel Shek, Former Ambassador of Israel to France and Monaco
15:30 Foreign and Defense Ministers’ Forum: The Middle East in the Contemporary Global Perspective
Moderator: Amb. Prof. Maurizio Melani, Link Campus University, Former D.G. in the Italian MFA and Ambassador to Iraq, to the Political and Security Committee of the EU and to Ethiopia
Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami, Vice President, Toledo International Center for Peace and former Foreign Minister of Israel
Prof. Massimo D’Alema, Link Campus University, President of the Italianieuropei Foundation Former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy
Dr. Elisabetta Trenta, former Minister of Defence of Italy
Friday, 20.9.19
09:00 Ambassadors’ Forum 2: Diplomacy in the Modern Era
Moderator: Professor Itai Sened, Head of the Boris Mints Institute, TAU
Amb. Ferdinando Salleo, Former Secretary General of the Italian MFA, Former Ambassador to USA, USSR (and then Russia) and OECD
Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, Member of BMI Advisory Board; Founder and President of the Israel Institute; Former Ambassador of Israel to USA and President Emeritus of Tel-Aviv University
Amb. Daniel Shek, Former Ambassador of Israel to France and Monaco
Prof. Clelia Piperno, CEO of the Talmud Project
10:45 Institutional and Academic Forum : Europe after the EP Elections
Moderator: Amb. Prof. Maurizio Melani, Link Campus University, Former D.G. in the Italian MFA and Ambassador to Iraq, to the Political and Security Committee of the EU and to Ethiopia
Prof. Daniela Giannetti, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna View Presentation
Prof. Wolfgang C. Müller, Department of Governance, University of Vienna
Karen Umansky, BMI Fellow, Department of Public Policy, Tel-Aviv University View Presentation
Hon. Vaclav Klaus, Member of BMI Advisory Board, Co- Founder of the Václav Klaus Institute, former President of the Czech Republic
12:15 Concluding Remarks
Prof. Vincenzo Scotti, President of Link Campus University, Former Italian Minister of Interior, of Cultural Heritage, of State Holdings and Former Mayor of Naples
Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, Founder and President of the Israel Institute; Former Ambassador of Israel to USA and President Emeritus of Tel-Aviv University
