Future Diplomacy

Digital tools enable and support participative practices and networks, trespassing all borders.

In our globalized world, a whole range of transnational webs perform independently and often with no connection to the traditional channels of diplomacy.

Lectures, Discussions & Workshops Embassy Lab Future Diplomacy @  Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Berlin, 7 October 2016

Embassy
Lab
Future
Diplomacy

A dynamic ‘networked diplomacy’, driven by self-organized transnational participation platforms is emerging in parallel to official diplomacy.
These international bottom-up networks are based on ‘many-to-many’ communication systems, departing from the top-down ‘one-to-many’ approach of Public Diplomacy.

These transnational peer-to-peer networks offer engaging experiences to their participants, thus fostering transcultural understanding, much like the official Cultural Diplomacy programs.
These transnational nomadic communities sometimes also function as innovation agents, based on crowd-sourced Creative Intelligence that follows what Bruce Nussbaum calls a “sociological approach in which creativity emerges from group activity, not a psychological approach of development stages and individual genius”.
Such a Creative Intelligence (CQ) can promote, according to Nussbaum, “the ability to frame problems in new ways and to make original solutions.”

Creative
Diplomacy

‘Creative Diplomacy’ taps into these creative networks and supports diplomacy by framing problems in new ways and developing new solutions.
‘Creative Diplomacy’ builds on the innovative potential of cultural differences, thus differentiating itself from a Cultural Diplomacy that aims to “exchange ideas, information, art and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding.”

The “Embassy Lab” at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Berlin brings together the official traditional institution of the Embassy with the innovative potential of a creative Lab to develop a ‘Creative Diplomacy’.
Following the innovative Dutch Approach, the “Embassy Lab” is a think-tank and innovation hub for research and discussion, experimenting with new models, and presenting and communicating ideas.

The “Embassy Lab” program provides a framework for investigating the added value and dynamics created by the intercultural fertilization between the Netherlands and Germany.
Its program promotes the innovative crossover Dutch Approach as a space of exchange between Dutch, German, and international experts.

“Embassy Lab” is also a prototype for experimenting with future functions of embassies. In the current age of globalization, digitalization, and EU-ization, embassies could rethink their role and reframe their historical function as hubs promoting national identity.
The “Embassy Lab” program is a laboratory for the 27 Dutch embassies in Europe + the 28 x 27 = 756 EU-member embassies existing within the Europe Union…

The “Embassy Lab Future Diplomacy” reflects and investigates the potential of such an “Embassy Lab” model. “Embassy Lab Future Diplomacy” creates an interdisciplinary framework for crossover exchange between Dutch, German, and international professional diplomats, creative professionals, and other experts.
It consists of a one-day program, which includes a series of short lectures and a concise workshop format.

Global
Diplomacy
Lab

Embassy Lab Future Diplomacy is organized in network partnership with the Global Diplomacy Lab.

The Global Diplomacy Lab (GDL) is a platform for exploring a new and more inclusive diplomacy, supported by the Federal Foreign Office, under the patronage of Federal Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and in partnership with the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Mercator Foundation and the Global Leadership Academy of the giz.

Global Diplomacy Lab (GDL) is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Foundation Mercator, and the Global Leadership Academy of the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH).

Innovation
Lab

Embassy Lab Future Diplomacy addresses following interconnected issues:

* How can we build bridges between official diplomacy and creative ‘networked-diplomacy’ practices that are driven by self-organized transnational citizen networks and what could that mean for the future functions of embassies?

* How can embassies ally with self-organized crowd-sourced transnational citizen networks, tapping into their innovative creative potential?

* Can ‘creative embassies’ contribute to renewal by using the creative potential of cultural differences as a motor for innovation?

* What is the potential of the “Embassy Lab” format and what are possibilities for developing such a project further, for example, as a “European Embassy Lab”, or otherwise?

Global
Diplomacy
Lab

Embassy Lab Future Diplomacy is organized in network partnership with the Global Diplomacy Lab.

The Global Diplomacy Lab (GDL) is a platform for exploring a new and more inclusive diplomacy, supported by the Federal Foreign Office, under the patronage of Federal Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and in partnership with the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Mercator Foundation and the Global Leadership Academy of the giz.

Global Diplomacy Lab (GDL) is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Foundation Mercator, and the Global Leadership Academy of the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH).

Community

Curators

Prof. Elizabeth Sikiaridi and Prof. Frans Vogelaar of Hybrid Space Lab curate Embassy Lab Future Diplomacy, together with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Berlin.

Welcome  Address

Dr. Guido Biessen, Head Economic Department, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Berlin

Introduction

Prof. Elizabeth Sikiaridi and Prof. Frans Vogelaar, Hybrid Space Lab

Keynote

Cathryn Clüver, Executive Director Future of Diplomacy Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government

Lectures

Innovative Diplomacy

Weijer Losecaat Vermeer, Communications Advisor for Digital and Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands
Global Diplomacy Lab

Economic Diplomacy as a Motor of Innovation

Natasha Apostolidi, Senior Political Advisor, Orange Grove Incubator, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Athens
Marijke van Hees, Vice-Chair of the Economic Development Forum from Eurocities, Chair of the Dutch RetailAgenda, Member of the Dutch Council for Culture

Involving Civil Society and Creative Professionals

Isabelle Schwarz, Head of Advocacy, R&D and Knowledge Management, European Cultural Foundation, Amsterdam
Özkan Gölpinar, Art Critic, Researcher Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society, Member of the Dutch Council for Culture

Creative Practices

Dirk Weber, Psychologist, Executive Director, Senior Consultant, DWEC Group, Berlin
Janec KohlschütterDominik Wörner, Co-Founders Insights Germany

Creative Ritual

Meike Ziegler, Artist, Designer of Creative Rituals, Founder of Creatual Lab

Workshops

Digital

moderator Felix Schramm, Head of Customer Relationship Manager, Universal Music Group and Founder AgProp Berlin
* How can Social Media influence the international political discourse: opportunities and risks.
* How can we handle Big Data to visualize and understand complex dynamic environments to enable us to act in an informed way?

Human Centred Design

moderator Dr. Sabine Junginger, Politics for Tomorrow and Head of the Competence Center for Design & Management, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
* What can Human Centered Design contribute to the ever-changing EU, helping to shape it?
* What are the values that form the common grounds for the way we shape our current environment?

Citizens Co-Creating

moderator Susanne Salz, Founder of United Actors
* What is the digital revolution’s impact on the state ownership of diplomacy?
* How can all citizens be encouraged and enabled to take an active role in co-creating the EU?

Cultural Synergies

moderator Gabriella Lazzoni, Program Director, Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation, The Hague, and Program Director New Diplomacy Initiatives, Académie Diplomatique Internationale, Paris
* Can European identity be a chance for innovating and creating a more open, inclusive and complex identity that englobes different cultural backgrounds?
* How can cultural differences function as a motor of innovation?

Start-Up Diplomacy

moderator Nicola Forster, President of Think Tank Foraus
* How can tools and methods from the startup world be used in diplomacy?
* How can we create startups in the
foreign policy and diplomatic realm?

Closing Session

moderators:
Imran Simmins, First Secretary Political, South African Embassy in Berlin, Global Diplomacy Lab Member
Prof. Elizabeth Sikiaridi and Prof. Frans Vogelaar of Hybrid Space Lab

Participants

Natasha Apostolidi, Senior Political Advisor, Orange Grove Incubator, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Athens
Sarah Bidoli, Network for International Affairs – Stiftungskolleg and Mercator Fellowship Alumni e.V.
Dr. Guido Biessen, Head of Economic Department, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Berlin
Corinna Blutguth, Program Coordinator Berlin Programming, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Dieuwke Boersma, Artist and Artistic Researcher, Assistant Professor, Academy of Media Arts Cologne
Dr. Elisabeth Botsch, Program Director, European Academy Berlin
Rolf Brockschmidt, Journalist, Editor, Head of Supplement, Der Tagesspiegel
Gabriela Canales, Global Diplomacy Lab
Sue Lyn Chong, Global Diplomacy Lab
Cathryn Clüver, Executive Director, Future of Diplomacy Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government
Onur Eryuce, Secretary General, Association of Social Democratic Municipalities of Turkey (SODEM), Global Diplomacy Lab Member
Juliana Figale, Global Diplomacy Lab
Elisabeth Flesch, Global Diplomacy Lab
Nicola Forster, President of Think Tank Foraus
Egbert Fransen, Director Pakhuis de Zwijger – Platform for Art, Design and City Making, Amsterdam
Linda Gabel, SAP Innovation Center in Potsdam and SAP Labs Berlin
Sebastian Gallander, Head of Think Tank, Vodafone Foundation Germany
Gordana Gavrilovic, Global Diplomacy Lab
Özkan Gölpinar, Art Critic, Researcher Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society and Member of the Dutch Council for Culture
Marijke van Hees, Vice-Chair of the Economic Development Forum from Eurocities, Chair of the Dutch RetailAgenda and Member of the Dutch Council for Culture
Ilka Hennet, Senior Manager, BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt
Sabine Hentzsch, Representative for the Executive Committee 
in the Capital City Office, Goethe-Institut
Senta Höfer, Global Diplomacy Lab
Bernd Hüttemann, Secretary General of the European Movement Germany and Vice-President of the European Movement International
Amarachi A. Igboegwu, Diversity Consultant, Heidelberg University, Germany, Global Diplomacy Lab Member
Adi Farjon Israel, Spokesperson of the Embassy of Israel in Berlin, Global Diplomacy Lab Member
Dr. Sabine Junginger, Politics for Tomorrow and Head of the Competence Center for Design & Management, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Peter Kettner, Head of Office of the Former President of Germany Christian Wulff
Janec Kohlschütter, Co-Founder Insights Germany
Thomas Kraubitz, Architect and Urban Planner, Senior Consultant, BuroHappold Engineering Cities, Berlin
Gitta Lauster, Special Assistant to the Director, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin
Gabriella Lazzoni, Program Director, Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation, The Hague, and Program Director New Diplomacy Initiatives, Académie Diplomatique Internationale, Paris
Lina Li, Project Manager at adelphi consult GmbH, Global Diplomacy Lab Member
Dr. Katharina Lobeck, Global Leadership Academy, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Heiko Nitzschke, Research Commissioner, Policy Planning Unit, German Foreign Office
Sabine Olthof, Head of Program Global Partners of Germany / Alumniportal Deutschland, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Dr. Dieter Reinl, Head of Section Foreign Policy Network in Germany, Federal Foreign Office
Philipp Sälhoff, Senior Project Manager, Das Progressive Zentrum
Susanne Salz, Founder of United Actors, Global Diplomacy Lab Member
Jochen Sandig, Cultural Entrepreneur Radialsystem, Advisory Board Global Parliament of Mayors, Berlin
Felix Schramm, Head of Customer Relationship Manager, Universal Music Group and Founder AgProp Berlin
Isabelle Schwarz, Head of Advocacy, R&D and Knowledge Management, European Cultural Foundation, Amsterdam
Carolin Silbernagl, Member of the Board betterplace lab / gut.org gAG
Imran Simmins, First Secretary Political, South African Embassy in Berlin, Global Diplomacy Lab Member
Aarash D. Spanta, Human Rights Attorney, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Eckart D. Stratenschulte, Director European Academy Berlin
Cristina Umani, Senior Manager, BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt
Weijer Losecaat Vermeer, Communications Advisor for Digital and Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands
Daniel Wagner, Steering and Reform of the Center for International Peace Operations, Crisis Prevention, Stabilisation, Peacebuilding Network, Evaluation, German Federal Foreign Office
Dirk Weber, Psychologist, Executive Director, Senior Consultant, DWEC Group, Berlin
Dominik Wörner, Co-Founder Insights Germany
Meike Ziegler, Artist, Designer of Creative Rituals, Founder of Creatual Lab
Christel Arlette Zunneberg, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Berlin Office

Embassy Lab is a prototype for experimenting with future functions of embassies in the current age of EUization, globalization and digitalization.

Embassy Lab Future Diplomacy is developed by Hybrid Space Lab together with the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands Embassy in Berlin and Kingdom of The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague.

Workshops, Lectures & Symposia Embassy Lab @ Kingdom of The Netherlands Embassy, Berlin, Germany & Kingdom of The Netherlands Ministery of Foreign Affairs, The Hague, The Netherlands, 2014~2021

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