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 |