Activities

Events

International Conference on Global Diplomacy

The conference «Global Diplomacy – A Post-Institutional Approach» focused on new and interdisciplinary perspectives of diplomatic research. It has brought together historians as well as researchers from the social sciences and related disciplines with an interest in the history of diplomacy, transnational law, and global governance. A main objective of the conference was to challenge the former Eurocentric diplomatic history in favor of a global history of diplomacy that takes into account border-crossing entanglements and transnational networks.The conference consisted of four panels, two roundtable discussions and a digital humanities session with the presentation of the database «Swiss-Diplo» (see conference program). The participants of the event were affiliated with leading universities around the globe, e.g. Waseda University Tokyo, Columbia University, University of Oxford and the ANU Canberra. Furthermore, experts of Switzerland’s major research institutions were present at the conference.The conference was organized in the course of the research project «A Global History of Swiss Diplomacy», a cooperation between the Institute for European Global Studies of the University of Basel and the research center Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland (Dodis). The conference was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft (FAG) Basel. It took place on August 30–31, 2018, at the Institute for European Global Studies in Basel.@Europainstitut and @Dodis have been live-tweeting from the conference under the hashtag #globaldiplomacy.Further Information:Conference programConference website on www.swiss-diplo.ch/conference
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The birth of the «International Committee of Editors of Diplomatic Documents»

From 1st to 5th October 2013, delegations from 5 continents came together for the 12th International Conference of Editors of Diplomatic Documents, which took place at the Palais des Nations, in Geneva. The research group of the Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland (DDS) was responsible for organising the event with the collaboration of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) and the support of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) as well as the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). Top-flight talksThe Conference opened with an inaugural speech by the Director-General of the UNOG, Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (left in the photo with Sacha Zala, DDS (middle) and Blandine Blukacz-Louisfert (right)). Peter Maurer, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), then spoke on the role of global governance. Other important items on the agenda were the reports given by delegates on their projects’ newest developments, as well as the workshops in which current questions relating to editing – such as the issue of the many languages of diplomatic documents or the role of social media – were discussed. Digital collaboration DDS-FRUSThe workshop entitled «Going Online and Connecting Diplomatic Documents – Possibilities of Digital Collaborations» gave the opportunity to present the new collaborative project between the DDS and the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS). Within the context of this collaboration, the FRUS are making use of a web service developed by the DDS, Metagrid (cf. http://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/root-elihu). The birth of an international organisationThe high point of the Conference of Editors was the founding of the «International Committee of Editors of Diplomatic Documents». The Dutch delegate Marc Dierikx was elected founding President of this new organisation, and Sacha Zala, the Director of the DDS, was named Secretary General. Other Board Members come from Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the USA. Public SymposiumThe Conference ended with a public symposium on «Diplomacy and Global Governance». Over 150 participants were present at both panels, in which representatives from publishing projects as well as academics presented papers on diplomacy and global governance in relation to international organisations. The next conference, which will take place in 2015, will be organised by the Office of the Historian of the State Department and will take place in the USA.Conference Proceedings
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International Conference of Editors of Diplomatic Documents and Symposium «Diplomacy and Global Governance»

Preparations are running at full speed: The research group of the Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland is in the midst of organising the 12th International Conference of Editors of Diplomatic Documents and the International Symposium «Diplomacy and Global Governance».Global changes in the edition of diplomatic documentsAt the beginning of October, representatives from 29 countries will convene in Geneva: a definite record-number of participants for the 25 years since the network was created. The conference will take place at the United Nations Office at Geneva, namely the Palais des Nations, a particularly meaningful location for history of the 20th century. On the agenda: the newest developments in the field of editing of diplomatic documents. A particular focus this year will be on new technologies.Editing projects in light of the Digital turnFifteen years ago already, the DDS launched the innovative project of their online database Dodis (dodis.ch). In the last months, the DDS have started a step-by-step updating of Dodis, launched the new e-book series «Quaderni di Dodis», as well as developing a Dodis iPhone app. Numerous other projects enabled by the digital turn have been developed and focus on the areas of digital publishing and social media.Cooperation with the FRUSParticularly important for the DDS is the presentation of a newly-launched collaborative project with the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS).High-level representatives of the International GenevaSupported by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Conference will also welcome representatives of the «International Geneva». The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as well as the Ambassador Alexandre Fasel, Permanent Representative of Switzerland at the United Nations Office and other international organisations at Geneva, will address the participants. Peter Maurer, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross will give a talk on the experience of the ICRC in light of the shape of global governance.International Symposium «Diplomacy and Global Governance»«Diplomacy and Global Governance» will also be the focus of the International Symposium, which will end the public part of the Conference of Editors, on October 4. In an innovative setting, internationally recognized experts in the history of international organisations together with the editors will discuss the interaction between the diplomacy and shape of global governance. The chosen timeframe will run from the second half of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century, and the main focuses will range from Switzerland to the politics of the United States with regards to the Arab-Israeli Conflict.The symposium is open to all. Registration is however mandatory by September 24 at geneva2013@dodis.ch.The program can be downloaded here : Flyer-Symposium.pdf
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