Debate on the diplomacy of the cities joins Porto and Athens

Rui Moreira participated in the second “Public Diplomacy Talks” event, promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece. The main topic of the debate, which took to the online format, between the Mayor of Porto and Athens City Hall, Kostas Bakoyannis, was the diplomatic role of cities at global level.

The debate also included other mayors, namely the mayors of Janina and Ioannina, whose outlining goal was the reflection on the relevance of the diplomacy of cities, “which are emerging as key-actors” at international level, as marked by the organisation of the “City Diplomacy: Creating Global Networks” event, which took place last week, by initiative of the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, Konstantinos Vlasis, and the State Secretary John Chrysoulakis.

All the more relevant to the topic of the event – the role of the new technologies in today’s societies – was the fact that this conference was held in the digital platform, which is telling of the point that local governments are well aware that new technologies have boosted proximity among cities at a global scale, thus helping identify common challenges, namely the tackling of climate change and the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the debate moderated by Nektaria Stamouli, a journalist form Athens, specialised in local and external politics, the Mayor of Porto, who has recently participated at a Eurocities forum, enhanced that the experience sharing is “a great advantage”.

The annual forum “Public Diplomacy Talks (PD Talk)” is organised by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2020, “with the goal of promoting a vibrant and fruitful platform for dialogue and the sharing the best practices regarding public diplomacy”.