Pardee School Hosts Diplomatic and Consular Corps of Boston
The Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University hosted a dinner and reception in honor of the diplomatic and consular corps of Boston on March 25, 2019. The evening featured conversations on the current state of the practice of diplomacy aimed at building deeper ties and beginning a regular exchange of ideas and knowledge between scholars and practitioners.
Following the dinner, which was held as a follow-up to a 2017 gathering at the Pardee School, a conversation on the “State of Diplomacy” was held to examine the challenges, opportunities, and changes that currently are taking place in the world of diplomacy.
Representing the diplomatic and consular corps of Boston at the reception and dinner were Leonard Kopelman, Consul General of Finland in Boston; Carol Kopelman, Consul General of Morocco in Boston; Graciela Gomez Garcia, Acting Consul General of Mexico in Boston; Marta Judson, Consul General of Liechtenstein in Boston; Daniel Agranov, Deputy Consul General of Israel in Boston; Christian Simm, Consul General of Switzerland in Boston; Uldis K. Sipols, Honorary Consul of the Republic Latvia in Boston; Jacob Friis, Honorary Consul of Denmark in Boston; Nicole Menzenbach, Consul General of Germany in Boston; Kim Yonghyon, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Boston; Marek Leśniewski-Laas, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Boston; Paul W. Garber and Philip C. Garber, Honorary Consuls of the Republic of Chile in Boston; Van Christo, Honorary Consul General of Albania in Boston; Ceylan Ozen Ensen, Consul General of Turkey in Boston; Fernando Alvargonzález, Consul General of Spain in Boston; and Peter Muzila, Honorary Consul of Slovakia in Boston.
Dean Adil Najam introduced the Pardee School programs related to the study of diplomacy. This was followed by a lively group conversation on the current state of diplomacy. A key takeaway was a strong consensus that despite the many challenges posed to traditional diplomacy, especially by technology, the world needs more and better diplomacy today than ever before.
The faculty of the Pardee School includes several former diplomats who contributed to the conversation on the state of the practice including Amb. Paul Hare, Senior Lecturer and British ambassador to Cuba from 2001-2004, Amb. Robert Loftis, Professor of the Practice of International Relations and Ambassador to Lesotho from 2001-2004, and Amb. Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations and former Ambassador of Montenegro to NATO and OSCE.
After dinner, Pardee School students and faculty also had the opportunity for further intellectually compelling, frank, and collegial conversation on the emerging trends in the practice and study of diplomacy with the diplomatic and consular corps of Boston.