17th International Conference of Editors of Diplomatic Documents
Rome, 30 – 31 May 2024

 Conference Programme

 

Thursday, 30th May

09.00 – 09.30 Arrival and registration at the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, Sala Conferenze Internazionali, Piazzale della Farnesina, 1
09:00 – 09:45 Welcome Coffee
09:45 – 10:00 Opening and welcome [tbd]
10:00 – 12:00 Session 1: National minorities: documentary evidence and problems related to editing documents on minority issues
Chair: Antonio Varsori
Francesco Lefebvre D’Ovidio (Italy): German-speaking minority in South Tyrol/Alto Adige: problems in the editing of diplomatic documents on internal legislation for autonomous administration
Tim Geiger (Germany): Buying Freedom. The FRG and the German minority in Romania 1969-1989
Piotr Długołęcki (Poland): Confronting the Holocaust. Documents on the Polish Government-in-Exile’s Policy Concerning Jews 1939-1945
Thomas Bürgisser (Switzerland): The question of national minorities in the case of multicultural Switzerland
Kathryn David (USA): Black Activism and U.S. Foreign Policy on South Africa, 1989-1992
12:00 – 13:00 Session 2: Presentation of the joint edition on «The dissolution of the USSR as seen from world capitals» ‒ Francesco Lefebvre D’Ovidio
Keynote speech by Ambassador Umberto Vattani, The dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
13:00 – 14:00 Light lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Session 3/1: The comparative history of Foreign Affairs Departments in the world
Chair: Ilse Dorothee Pautsch
Carola Tischler (Germany): The People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the USSR (1917-1939): Structural Changes of the Soviet Foreign Policy Agency
Francesco Lefebvre/Antonio Varsori (Italy): The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: a 300-year history, 1717-2017
Michael Kennedy (Ireland): «The Department is the apple of your eye, bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh»: how Joseph Walshe’s world view shaped the creation of Ireland’s Department of External Affairs
15:30 – 16:00 Coffee break and family picture
16:00 – 17:00 Session 3/2: The comparative history of Foreign Affairs Departments in the world
Chair: Sacha Zala
Helena Pinto Janeiro (Portugal): The Diplomats of the Carnation Revolution: Portuguese Women in Foreign Affairs
Richard Smith (UK): The unwritten history of the British Foreign Office
17:00 – 18:00 Collezione Farnesina Guided Tour
18:00 – 18:30 Transfers to the dinner venue
18:30 – 21:30 Conference Dinner at Circolo degli Esteri, Lungotevere dell’Acqua Acetosa, 42
21:30 Transfers to the taxi stand in Piazzale della Farnesina (next to the Ministry)

Friday, 31st May

09:00 – 10:00
ICEDD Bureau Meeting (For ICEDD Bureau members only)
10:00 – 10:30 ICEDD General Assembly (For ICEDD members only)
10:30 – 10:45 Welcome Coffee
10:45 – 13:40 Session 4: Questionnaire updates and presentation of country programmes
Chair: Richard Smith
Jillian Beard (Australia): Documents on Australian Foreign Policy: an Indo- Pacific focus
Brendan Kelly (Canada): The Past, Present, and Future of the Documents on Canadian External Relations Series
Giuliana Del Papa (Italy): Public Diplomacy and the publication of the Italian Documents
Miruko Atsuta (Japan): Japanese Diplomatic Documents and Publications: Relations with Italy and Vatican
Cees Heere (Netherlands): Listening to the past. Observations from the Dutch Diplomatic Oral History project
Piotr Długołęcki (Poland): 30 volumes of the PDD series – plans and challenges
Sabriye Kısa (Türkiye): Thematic and chronological editions of Turkish Diplomatic Archives
Kathleen Rasmussen (USA): Taking Back Control: Recent Innovations in FRUS Production
13:40 – 14:40 Light Lunch
14:40 – 16:10 Session 5: New developments in the field of digital editing
Chair: Piotr Długołęcki
Louise Fischer/Michal Saft (Israel): The challenges in long term management of digital publications
Joe Wicentowski (USA): FRUS AI – Exploring Applications of “Artificial Intelligence” for Editing and Enriching the Foreign Relations of the United States Series
Sacha Zala (Switzerland): Punctual as a Swiss watch – Dodis goes AI
16:10 – 16:25 Closing Remarks [tbd]
16:30 – 17:00 Minivan transfer to the farewell cocktail venue
17:00 – 18:30 Farewell Cocktail at Parco dei Principi Hotel, Via Gerolamo Frescobaldi, 5
18:30 – 19:00 Walking through Villa Borghese to the Galleria Borghese
19:00 – 20:00 Private guided tour in Galleria Borghese, Piazzale Scipione Borghese 5