From May 11th-14th 2010 on the Greek island of Rhodes, the Chios Institute for Mediterranean Affairs (CIMA), in cooperation with the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy(ICD) and the Department of Mediterranean Studies of the University of the Aegean, will organise the first Euro-Mediterranean Forum for Cultural Diplomacy.


The Euro-Mediterranean Forum aims at fostering an interdisciplinary approach to Cultural Diplomacy and its potential impact on the Euro-Mediterranean Region. Participants will therefore be selected from a variety of backgrounds: journalists, NGO and union activists,students, representatives from the academic world as well as young professionals.
Graduates and young professionals with a keen interest in Cultural Diplomacy and in Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation are invited to submit a proposal in one of the two tracks:

1 – Academic Track: Call for Papers: M.A. students, PhD candidates and researchers with a background in anthropology, sociology, international relations, political science, cultural studies, history, geography, economics or law are required to send their CV and  submit an abstract of 500-700 words for participation.

2 – Practitioner Track: Call for Projects: Young professionals, lawyers, businessmen, journalists, trade-union and NGO activists as well as any interested person are invited to send us a CV and a project proposal of 500-700 words on issues covered by the Forum.


The topics of interest include and are not limited to:

- the framework of cooperation: the Barcelona Process, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Union for the Mediterranean;
- North-South and South-South regional cooperation;
- the definition of priorities for the political dialogue;
- the political economy of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation;
- cultural diplomacy and civil society dialogue;
- civil society cooperation and the role of NGOs;
- journalism in the Mediterranean;
- the role of states and civil societies in the Northern and Southern Mediterranean;
- the role of universities and exchange programmes;
- definition, criticism and added-value of the concept of Cultural Diplomacy;
- cross-border cooperation at the basin level;
- hard power and soft power in the Mediterranean;
- regional development;
- sustainable tourism;
- environment and management of natural resources;
- education and professional training.

The Euro-Mediterranean Forum for Cultural Diplomacy aspires to be the place where theory and practice meet, where proposals become projects and where projects become reality. To this aim, participants will interact with distinguished academics and practitioners with first-hand experience of cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The first day will provide for an opportunity to discuss both the concept of Cultural Diplomacy and the challenges and perspectives of regional cooperation. On the second day, regional cooperation areas will be discussed in more depth. The afternoon will be dedicated to poster presentations. The third day will be fully devoted to thematic workshops, allowing participants to discuss and get feedback on their current or future cooperation projects. Projects will be presented in plenary during the final day and further cooperation possibilities with the CIMA will be discussed.


Deadline for submissions: Now extended to the 5th of Apryl, 2010

For more information visit the source site: http://www.egeo.gr/euromedforum