We invite you to join us in LAMPA Conversation festival on Friday 20 August at 17:00 for the discussion “Diplomacy in the 21st century” both online and in Cēsis city.
This discussion will examine the changes experienced by the field of diplomacy in recent decades, both in terms of how diplomacy is practiced and the issues diplomats confront, using the last 30 years of bilateral diplomacy between Latvia and the United States of America as a frame.
Diplomacy played a central role in the dramatic events of 1991, when Latvia reclaimed its independence from the failing Soviet Union and began the long task of rebuilding the political, economic, military, and diplomatic institutions needed to protect this independence and ensure the country’s sovereignty and integration with like-minded allies. Thirty years later, diplomacy remains front and centre as the United States, Latvia, and their allies work to strengthen the alliance in the face of new challenges.
Academics, diplomats, and politicians will reflect on their personal experiences and/or observations of the diplomatic field during this time. Among the questions they will consider:
• What has changed for practicing American and Latvian diplomats since 1991, and what has stayed the same?
• What lessons have we learned (or failed to learn) about diplomacy since 1991?
• How is digitalization, social media, and disinformation influencing the practice of diplomacy?
• What can we expect in the field of diplomacy as we look ahead to 21st century challenges?
• How has the pandemic affected the diplomatic field?
The discussion will be moderated by Toms Rostoks, Visiting Lecturer at RGSL, Associated Professor at the University of Latvia, participants include Richard Damstra, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Latvia, Imants Lieģis, Former Latvian Ambassador and Minister of Defence, Senior Researcher at LIIA, Sarma Gintere, Third Secretary, Embassy of the Republic of Latvia to the United States of America, RGSL Alumni, Ilze Rūse, Professor at RGSL, Latvian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden. The language of the discussion: English, with a translation to Latvian.
The discussion is organized by Riga Graduate School of Law and USA Embassy in Riga in collaboration with Fonds atvērtai sabiedrībai DOTS.
The discussion will take place in Pils laukums in Cēsis on stage 10 Skatuve UZZIBSNĪ and online here https://festivalslampa.lv/lv/programma/pasakumi/1713 or on our Facebook page.