The CEI continues to strengthen its engagement in science diplomacy through participation in international conferences, partnerships and capacity-building activities aimed at promoting scientific cooperation and regional dialogue.
Until June 2026, the CEI co-chaired the EU Science Diplomacy Alliance, together with the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Trieste. In this capacity, it contributed to the organisation of important events in Prague, hosted by the Extreme Light Infrastructure, and in Belgrade, hosted by the Embassy of Italy in Serbia. In parallel, the CEI was invited to present its activities at conferences organised by the University of Turin and TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences).
More recently, the CEI took part in the second edition of the International School on Science Diplomacy, organised by the Italian National Research Council in Erice on 4–10 October; in the 18th Annual Conference of the Institute of Economic Sciences, held in Belgrade on 20–21 October; and in the Regional Conference Science Diplomacy for South-East Europe: Building Regional Partnerships for Knowledge, Innovation, Resilience and Foreign Policy, held in Sofia on 12 November.
The Sofia Conference, organised by the Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute in cooperation with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, provided an opportunity for an in-depth discussion on how the European Union framework for science diplomacy can be aligned with the specific context and needs of South-East Europe. This objective will remain relevant to the CEI's work under its Plan of Action 2027–2030.
Building on these activities, the CEI is organising the second edition of the Advanced Training Course Challenges and Perspectives of Science Diplomacy in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, in Trieste and Gorizia, Italy, from 24 to 27 November 2026. It is expected to bring together approximately 70 participants, including experts and trainees from 12 CEI Member States.The course will provide an opportunity to explore the science diplomacy potential of CEI countries and strengthen the skills needed to navigate the complex challenges at the interface of scientific cooperation and foreign policy.
The course will thus lay the groundwork for future initiatives in this field, while further strengthening the emerging CEI science diplomacy community of knowledge and practice.
For information: lombardo@cei.int
