Citizen Diplomacy Int’l Mtg #19: Democratizing & Localizing Int’l Relations

About Citizen Diplomacy International

Due to globalization, the internet, rising education levels, and long-term democratization, citizen diplomacy is growing, and becoming a more important part of diplomacy and international affairs.  Thus, in 2020, the Public Diplomacy Council of America (PDCA), a US-based NGO devoted to advancing the field of public diplomacy, formed the Citizen Diplomacy Research Group (CDRG) to advance the research and practice of citizen diplomacy.  In 2023, the CDRG became Citizen Diplomacy International (CDI), a network and program of Learning Life, a Washington DC-based nonprofit devoted to developing innovative learning communities in order to widen and deepen participation in democracy and diplomacy.  

CDI meets every three months online via Zoom for 1.5 hours to share research and news on citizen diplomacy developments worldwide with an eye to building a vibrant global CD sector for a more participatory, equitable and sustainable world..  Meetings typically begin with two presentations on CD research or practice, followed by discussion of the presentations, then news and announcements of past or upcoming international CD-related initiatives, publications, funding, conferences, etc. 

Anyone  — including scholars, students, citizen diplomacy practitioners, current and retired official diplomats, and others interested — can join CDI to learn, network, and/or present substantial research or practice in citizen diplomacy. For more information or to join the CDI email list, contact email@learninglife.info. You can also connect with CDI members via our Facebook group and Linkedin group, to which you can post citizen diplomacy-related articles, books, events, funding, etc. 

For a video recording of the September 6 CDI meeting, click here.  For prior CDI meeting video recordings going back to CDI’s first meeting in June 2020, click here.  Photos above are from the September 6 meeting.  For more meeting photos, plus the presentation slides, and the Zoom chat discussion from this or prior CDI meetings, click here.  

Meeting Participants & Agenda

Participants:

The meeting drew 28 participants from at least 13 countries: Brazil, USA, Ghana, Burundi, Angola, Italy, France, Germany, Turkey, UAE, Pakistan, Thailand and China.

Agenda:

1) Opening Remarks & Introductions  (10 minutes)

Review of meeting agenda.  During this time everyone is encouraged to post to the chat a one-paragraph bio about themselves, including your name, city, country, job title and organization.  

2) Two Presentations (30 minutes total):  

Daniele Archibugi, political theorist and Director of Italy’s National Research Council, presented on cosmopolitan democracy.

Paul Lachelier, political sociologist and founder of Learning Life, presented on localizing international relations. 

3) Questions & Discussion about the Presentations (40 minutes)

4) Announcements (10 minutes).    

Brian Smith, co-editor of the Citizen Diplomacy Bulletin reviews the latest issue. 

Meeting participants have the opportunity to publicize citizen diplomacy events, publications, projects, programs, and related needs.