Red de Casas analyses cities as the field for diplomacy

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Aerial view of Berlin./ Photo: Sven Scharr, Wikimedia Commons

The Diplomat. 02/07/2017

The headquarters of the School of Diplomacy in Madrid will host, as of tomorrow and until 7 July, a summer course organized by the Red de Casas of the Foreign Ministry dedicated to the impact of cities as a “showcase for public diplomacy”.

The course, open to the civil society and in whose organization have participated the six Casas (Casa Árabe, Casa de América, Casa África, Casa Asia, Casa Mediterráneo and Centro Sefarad.Israel) “in accordance with their scope of action and influence”, intends to review the role of cities as a space of coexistence “in which more than 70% of the world population lives”.

Besides, the organizers emphasize the increasing importance of the international presence of cities through inter-city connections and the development of transnational networks that help “promote the best practices in matters related to environmental sustainability or the use of technologies, such as the case of the Smart cities or the network Greencities”.

Nevertheless, the course’s most important subject is the role of cities as “main figures in terms of public diplomacy” and as an “international showcase of the degree of development and cultural richness that the country offers as a whole”.

The six Casas participate in the event, which will take place at the School of Diplomacy

The objective of the Red de Casas is, in this sense, “to study the different facets of the phenomenon urban diplomacy from all the geographical perspectives, which will offer the opportunity of studying the international influence and activity of the cities, and the repercussion on the way and quality of life of their citizens”.

The course will be inaugurated by Ana María Rodríguez, director general of Media and Public Diplomacy of the Foreign Ministry.

Almost all the subjects will be taught in the School of Diplomacy, although some of the speeches will take place at the Linares Palace and the Aguirre School, which are the headquarters of Casa de América and Casa Árabe, respectively.