The primary aim of The Model Conference (realized within the course entitled Diplomatic Practice) is to provide the 5th year students with an opportunity to expand their theoretical knowledge and to adopt practical experience in the field of negotiations, bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, diplomatic protocol and application of foreign languages. The summit platform of the simulated international NGO entitled “Forum for the 21st century” has been created with this purpose. Precedent studies to the conference itself were dedicated to the disciplines enabling the students to become better acquainted with the world of classic or economic diplomacy, as well as the private business. Model-based conference at the platform of the Forum creates a rare opportunity for practical training of students of international relations and diplomatic service in the Slovak Republic.
The project is divided into 4 sections and starts with the creation of drafts on the selected topics in respective sections. This year Model Conference includes security, economic, environmental and cultural section, each and every enriched by the presence of the representatives of the most important global key actors. Based on the drafts, the negotiation process consisting of several rounds gets under way, both on-line and by the students-to-students personal contacts representing the key players participating at the event. Final conference day with the presentation of the outcomes will take place on 6 December 2010 at the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia. The intention of the organizers is to provide students with high value-added outcome-presentation of the conference findings together with personal engagement of the invited representatives of international organizations, diplomatic missions to the Slovak Republic as well as academicians, business corporations and journalists. Their role is to enrich the event with relevant feedback on the conference findings in each section and to evaluate students´ visions and ideas about the upcoming set-up of the rapidly changing international relations and global politics in each section.
Forum for the 21st century aims to seek answers for the most scalding issues of the current alignment of international relations and tries to create concrete standpoints of their upcoming development in the security, economic, environmental and cultural field. Focus will be put on a re-creation of the effective bilateral and multilateral negotiations between the most important global actors in respected issues.
In order to simulate the real diplomatic negotiation process to high standard, students of the Faculty of Arts of the Comenius University in Bratislava will participate at the event and provide simultaneous interpretation to various languages. The intention is to engage also mass media to complete media coverage and various private partners in order to enhance the genuine environment and the outcomes of the conference.
Plenary session preliminary programme
Does the future need a new security framework?Global Security Issues
New format meeting of the most important players in the field of global security summoned by the independent NGO
Forum for the 21st century is a reaction to the constantly changing face of the global security environment.
The aim of the conference in new consternation of the relevant players is to revaluate the traditional view of the concept of security, to define new security challenges and to seek consensus on approaching the new players entering the international security relations (terrorist groups, naval pirates, private military and security subcontractors, cyber terrorists and others). Following the prognosis of the development in this area and on the basis of talks of the negotiating parties, the adoption of globally binding solutions of the defined problems (reduction of the number of WMD, nature of the defensive response on the nonconventional ways of aggression, actions against terrorist groups and aggressors, increase of the general effectuality and enforceability of the decisions taken in the field of global security etc.) is expected to be adopted.
Plenipotentiary representatives of The African Union, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, The European Union, India, Iran and Israel have kindly accepted the invitation of the Forum for the 21st century and agreed with the format of negotiations.
Common ambition of the negotiating parties is, on the basis of their mandates, to create a new security and political environment corresponding with contemporary conditions of the global security environment.
Virtual operations and their real impactsGlobal Economic Issues
Virtual economies have stood behind the reasons of the current severe disruptions of global economy. Artificially created system violates the traditional functioning of the market mechanism, creates the so called bubbles and induces instability and number of economic crises. Being aware of necessity to deal with this phenomenon, Forum for the 21st century has created a floor for discussion and negotiations among the most important players in the world economy representing broad spectrum of the regional interests.
The aim of the discussion is to define the reasons of system’s inherent imperfections (unequal distribution of the wealth in the world, shortage of conventional energy sources, relevancy of the world reserve currencies, speculative capital and funds, shadow economy and others). Goal of the subsequent negotiations will be the adoption of the effective solutions which would prevent future occurrence of the crises and will induce equal economic growth and fair redistribution of the world’s wealth.
Plenipotentiary representatives of ASEAN, European Union, International Monetary Fund, Brasil, India, Mexico, People’s Republic of China, Russian Federation and USA have kindly accepted the invitation of the Forum for the 21st century and agreed with the format of negotiations.
Is it going to take a global environmental crisis?Global Environmental Issues
Negotiations in the area of environmental protection and preservation aim at bringing the most important global players behind one desk to clearly define the direst contemporary problems and to adopt such solutions which would be acceptable and binding for all nation states and international organizations.
The climate change which undoubtedly contributes to the degradation of the natural environment and constitutes threat not only to the environment itself, but also to the security of the mankind, has been identified as the biggest challenge in the field of the environmental protection.
Invitation to the summit has been kindly accepted by the plenipotentiary representatives of the UN Environment Programme (IPCC), The European Union, International Union for Corservation of Nature as well as India and USA.
Common denominator of all negotiating parties is the consensus in the effort to find an effective solution to the climate change issue, decreasing capacity of water sources, desertification, waste-free economy, emission trading and new technology research, crisis management of the natural disasters and environmental migration.
Cultural integration or integration culture?Cross-Cultural Issues in the Global Context
Independent NGO Forum for the 21st century has decided to constitute the cross-cultural section in search for answers on standing questions relevant for the new century in this year’s summit as a natural reaction to the current state of the cross-cultural dialogue and cultural heritage preservation. In direct consecution to the need of preventing the ethnical conflicts, cultural animosity, blinded ideology and inability to accept globalization as a factor of unification of cultures, the most important players react on the current challenges in the framework of negotiations entitled “Cultural integration or integration culture?”
With the aim to find solutions mutually acceptable for all nation states and international organizations, Forum for the 21st century has identified the search for optimal model of effecting multiculturalism, natural establishment of global means of communication (in the form of lingua franca) and a peaceful way to cultural integration of the world religions as the biggest challenges for next 100 years. We will be able to witness more intensive impact of certain aspects of migration as reasons for the ethnical unrests and misuse of cultural differences for achieving of the political goals as implications of the above mentioned phenomena in the upcoming decades.
Invitation to the summit has been kindly accepted by the plenipotentiary representatives of UNESCO, The European Union, The Russian Federation, The USA, India, The People’s Republic of China and Latin American countries. Common denominator of all negotiating parties is strife for identification of the means to eliminate xenophobia, racial and ethnic intolerance as well as increasing of the awareness and information base of broad public in respective nation states about these issues.
