Science and Skills Diplomacy in an Uncertain World

This event asks how science and skills diplomacy can support trust-building, human capital development and long-term international cooperation in a fragmented geopolitical context, with a particular focus on Europe’s engagement with the Mediterranean and Africa regions. 

Its distinctive contribution is to connect three topics that are usually discussed separately. Science diplomacy is mostly about research cooperation and the exchange of knowledge. Skills diplomacy is about developing people’s skills, strengthening institutions and helping education and training systems keep up with social, economic and technological change. Higher education adds universities and university alliances, which offer lasting channels for partnership, student and staff mobility, and exchange between countries.

The aim is to look at practical ways in which science, skills and higher education can work together with partners in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and across Africa, so that cooperation rests on trust and benefits both sides.

Three institutions are involved, each with a different role. The ETF works on skills and human capital development with partner countries and knows how education and skills systems work in neighbouring and partner regions. The University of Torino (UniTo) leads on science diplomacy and hosts the event. The European University Institute (EUI) contributes its research on knowledge, governance, higher education, university alliances and international cooperation.

The roundtable, hosted in the Rectorate of the University of Turin, is conceived as a compact strategic discussion, closed door under Chatham House rule. It will combine an opening analytical framing, selected institutional and regional perspectives, and a moderated discussion.