As part of Switzerland’s third OSCE Chairmanship, Dodis and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) organised the 18ᵗʰ International Conference of Editors of Diplomatic Documents (ICEDD) on 3 and 4 September 2026. The conference, held at the University of Bern and Bern Town Hall, was the third of four official Swiss OSCE Chairmanship conferences in 2026.
Half a century after the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, the conference focused on the founding phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), from which today’s OSCE emerged. The focus was on the question of what lessons can be drawn from the Helsinki Process for the present and future of an European security order.
Based on an international joint publication and twelve academic papers, researchers and conference participants from around fifty countries laid the foundations for a multi-perspective, source-based examination of the early history of the CSCE. Building on this, representatives from academia, diplomacy and politics – including former and current diplomats as well as OSCE Secretary-General Feridun Sinirlioğlu – discussed the organisation’s current and future opportunities and challenges. The historical keynote address was delivered by Dodis Director Sacha Zala.
The highlight and conclusion of the public high-level segment was the forward-looking keynote address by Federal Councillor and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ignazio Cassis. He emphasised that the history of the Helsinki Process continues to provide important guidance, even in today’s fragmented geopolitical environment. The OSCE remains an indispensable forum for dialogue, confidence-building and collective security.
Another key focus of the approximately 30 conference presentations was the use of artificial intelligence in the editing of diplomatic documents. In particular, discussions centred on how AI can support the cataloguing and preservation of serialised and highly standardised sources without compromising the academic requirements for transparency, contextualisation and source criticism. The highlight was the presentation of the Dodis Tool, the Swiss Army Knife for Editors of Diplomatic Documents.
- Conference programme
- Selected recordings from the conference
- Joint edition
- Dodis Tool
- FDFA press release
- OSCE press release
The historical input presentations by Nicolas Badalassi, Antonio Varsori, Michael Kennedy and Thomas Bürgisser, as well as the keynote speeches by Sacha Zala and Ignazio Cassis, were recorded and can be viewed on the Dodis YouTube channel.
Photographs: Angelina Imboden, Pierre-Yves Massot, FDFA (3.9.2026; 4.9.2026)