The Bright Future of Diplomacy

Kennedy School Students Explore Vital Global Issues

Training the next generation of foreign policy practitioners is one of the key missions of the Future of Diplomacy (FDP) Project and the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship. Indeed, there would be no “future” without them. The program aims to help students cultivate skills and harness the vast Harvard network to grow professionally while they are on campus. From providing opportunities to hone presentation skills through event introductions, to carving out time for office hours and career-focused programming with FDP's high-level guests, we seek to fold students into all aspects of the program.

This spring, FDP and the Europe Project worked closely with many student groups including the European Club, the Ukraine Caucus, the Armed Forces Committee, the Diplomacy Professional Interest Caucus, and Women in Defense, Diplomacy, and Development (W3D) which celebrated its fifth anniversary this semester. 
 

As one of the most active student groups on campus, W3D hosted 40 events this academic year as well as a 3D Career Fair which brought together professionals from diverse fields and featured Belfer staff and fellows. The fair had more than 10 organizations represented and attracted more than 50 attendees, providing a networking opportunity for students interested in pursuing a career in diplomacy, defense, and development.

Additionally, the Project on Europe sponsored the European Club’s ninth annual European Conference in March 2023 which convened an impressive lineup of speakers such as Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, Dritan Abazović, Prime Minister of Montenegro, and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Democratic Opposition Leader of Belarus. Julien Descamps, MPA student and European Club Co-President said, "The Project on Europe's efforts to connect the European Club with senior policymakers provided us with exceptional learning experiences and opportunities for professional development throughout the year.” Similarly, Julien gave the introduction at the Project’s seminar with former Prime Minister of France Édouard Philippe in April 2023.

Leveraging his personal contacts and expertise on Ukraine, Ilya Timtchenko, the Future of Diplomacy Project’s Belfer Young Leader Fellow and head of the Ukraine Caucus, convened experts to examine various aspects of the country’s current war through the Project’s platform. He helped bring the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, to the Kennedy School in February 2023 for a discussion moderated by Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, FDP Senior Fellow, and Eric Rosenbach, Belfer Center Co-Director, on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Ilya also spearheaded a two-part seminar series on Ukraine reconstruction efforts with guest speakers such as Lawrence H. Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and Director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, and Natalie Jaresko, former Finance Minister of Ukraine. 

As Timtchenko explains: “One of my highlights at the Kennedy School was working with Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project. Being the chair of the Ukraine Caucus and working for FDP provided an opportunity to cover all angles whenever a special guest was to speak at HKS. This spring semester FDP brought in the Department of Justice’s [Counselor for War Crimes Accountability] Eli Rosenbaum for a public panel discussion, and the Ukraine Caucus hosted a separate off-the-record student group discussion with Mr. Rosenbaum…Both discussion formats – public and off-the-record – are highly valued among the HKS community and complement each other. The collaboration between FDP and the Ukraine Caucus was able to efficiently magnify the impact of those discussions.”

As the 2022-23 academic year draws to a close and students prepare to begin their next chapters beyond HKS, the future of diplomacy looks bright!

FEATURED IN THE SPRING 2023 NEWSLETTER