The Capacity Building Office of the College of Europe in Natolin was pleased to organise a two-day workshop titled: "Cultural diplomacy in the EU" delivered by Mr Juan Manuel VILAPLANA LÓPEZ, Senior Advisor at the Directorate General for Mediterranean, Maghreb and Middle East in the Spanish MFA.
During the two-day workshop students examined the concept, history and institutional models of cultural diplomacy with a focus on the emerging role of the European Union in this field. Based on a thorough review of the body of academic research on this topic, it paid special consideration to current events such as the recent shifts in US foreign policy, the profound cultural impacts of conflicts in the EU’s eastern and southern neighbourhoods and the historical competition between the colonial paradigms and the multilateral, developmental approach to international cultural relations.
About the speaker:
Mr Juan Manuel VILAPLANA LÓPEZ is a Spanish diplomat, currently serving as Senior Advisor, at the Directorate General for Mediterranean, Maghreb and Middle East in the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
He has previously been Chargé d’affaires of Spain at the Republic of Moldova. He has also served in different positions in the European External Action Service and in Spanish diplomatic representations, including four years as Head of Culture and Science in the Embassy of Spain in Berlin.
He was posted before in the Consul General of Spain in Alexandria and as political officer at the Delegation of the EU in Kyiv and Beirut.