Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović - Building Policy Consensus on the World Stage: The Pitfalls, Progress, and Possibilities

SEMINAR SERIES

Building Policy Consensus on the World Stage: The Pitfalls, Progress, and Possibilities

We see it all across the globe – multilateral world order challenged, erosion of values, deeply polarized societies, represented by uneasy coalitions and divided governments, factions unable to come together to make important policy decisions for its citizens. This seminar series with President Grabar Kitarović will explore the need to find common ground and to build stronger alliances, resilient societies, and an empowered citizenry.

The seminar series is built on the experiences of a girl who grew up fighting prejudice and unequal opportunities while navigating political and diplomatic corridors and centers of power—from the rural roads of the suburbs of Rijeka, from Canada and the United States to Brussels and NATO—to eventually become Croatia's first female Head of State.

Dates & Times
- Monday, March 22 at 4:00 p.m. (ET)

Guest speakers Robin Harris, biographer, advisor and confidant to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Tanya Golesic, currently President of Jimmy Choo and soon to be director of the Women’s Division of Michael Kors for the United States and Canada, will join us to explore how one can capitalize on their personal and professional experiences to maximize the potential in themselves and their community.

- Monday, March 29 at 4:00 p.m. (ET)

Guest speakers Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs at the United Nations, and Dr. Julian Lindley-French, a leading security advisor, strategist and author, will discuss the future of diplomacy, offering a global perspective.

- Monday, April 5 at 4:00 p.m. (ET)

Guest speaker: Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, former Secretary General of NATO.

- Monday, April 12 at 4:00 p.m. (ET)

Guest speaker: Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait, Human Rights Lawyer & Author

- Monday, April 19 at 4:00 p.m. (ET)

Guest speaker: General John R. Allen, President of Brookings Institution

About Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is a Croatian politician and diplomat who was the fourth President of the Republic of Croatia (2015-2020) and the first female to be elected to the office. Before her election as president, Grabar-Kitarović held a number of governmental and diplomatic positions.

In 2003, she was elected to Parliament and became the Minister of European Integration from 2003 to 2005 and then the first female Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration from 2005 to 2008. She was the Croatian ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011 and the first female Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy at NATO from 2011 to 2014.

In 2019, Grabar-Kitarović was appointed Chair of the Council of Women Leaders and remains chair emerita. She is also the recipient of the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Award and has received a number of national and international awards, decorations, honorary doctorates and honorary citizenships.

Seminar Details

- March 22, 4:00PM ET

The Beginning: How personal paths shape our perspectives

This first seminar will center on how our own life experiences, including successes and failures, can shape our perspectives, values and leadership styles. Special focus will be placed on dealing with prejudice, the leadership of women, being open to change, and breaking glass ceilings. Guest speakers Robin Harris, biographer, advisor and confidant to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Tanya Golesic, currently President of Jimmy Choo and soon to be director of the Women’s Division of Michael Kors for the United States and Canada, will join us to explore how one can capitalize on their personal and professional experiences to maximize the potential in themselves and their community.

- March 29, 4:00PM ET

The Future of Diplomacy: A Global Perspective

This seminar will focus on the increasing number of challenges against the established world-order and evaluate the fitness of the current UN-system and other multilateral organizations to solve global issues such as climate change, migrations, terrorism, inequality, sustainable development, and public health. Featured guest lecturers Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs at the United Nations, and Dr. Julian Lindley-French, a leading security advisor, strategist and author, will discuss these issues and provide insight into the challenges facing multilateralism, emphasizing the value of diplomacy and the opportunities it offers in solving them.

- April 5, 4:00PM ET

NATO and the Future of the Trans-Atlantic Alliance: A Former Assistant Secretary General’s Perspective

The new and emerging threats and challenges testify to the need and continued relevance of the Alliance; however a revamped and modernized one. An Alliance fit for purpose, with increased cooperation with partners around the world in order to face asymmetric and hybrid threats and challenges, coming not only from within, but also from outside of its geographic area. The seminar will explore views on keeping the relevance of NATO, in light of the re-emergence of territorial threats, but also of the new growing threats such as cyber attacks, whether they can be considered attacks under Article 5 and whether NATO as a whole can find a way to respond to them. Topics such as the future of defense spending, the value of partnerships in particular in the post out-of-area operations phase, and restoring trust and confidence between the US and its partners, will be discussed. Guest speaker: Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, former Secretary General of NATO.

- April 12, 4:00PM ET

Challenges of Building Social Consensus: Education in Croatia - a Case Study

Modernizing curricula and teaching methods to bring out the full potential of the nation and its every individual, with the undercurrent battle of world views and values, having a perspective on future jobs and skills, is a mine field for any politician, but the necessary one to thread. The seminar will explore how issues of national and universal importance can quickly become ideological and political issues and create rifts within society. Working across a divided society, taking into account opposing views in order not to antagonize but build bridges and bring people together around the common goals, and overall modernization of societies, especially those resistant to change, will be explored in this seminar. The case study will be that of the Croatian Curricular Reform, in particular with the view of the new demographic trends and building upon the experience with on-line programs during the global pandemic. We need to re-think our educational methods and provide responses to contemporary challenges. Among other, questions will be posed at to how to create schools as places of modern and creative learning and training that encourage excellence, creativity, confidence and competition among students, but also educate responsible citizens, schools that will survive and resist the constant social and political turmoil, as well as domestic and global challenges and threats such as terrorism, migrations and pandemics. How to avoid “lost generations”? In this respect, the role of not just scientific, but social innovation is most important, as well as consensus based on the public interest and not on that of particular lobbies, parochial circles, ethnic groups or religion-based restrictions. Guest speaker: Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait, Human Rights Lawyer & Author.

- April 19, 4:00PM ET

The Path Forward 2021 and Beyond

Globalization vs. regionalization, universality vs. particularity, competing orders and rising actors, rising nationalism and extremism, the US-EU-Russia-China quadrangle of power interaction, confrontation and cooperation, emerging powers, the complexity of relations of multiple and diverse actors in international relations, are all topics to be discussed in the context of the reshaping world-order for the future. The position and role of the US, the challenges and opportunities for the new administration, will be explored, with a focus on restoring America’s image globally and regionally, restoring international alliances and re-engaging in multilateral organizations and institutions. The seminar will also explore the needs and ways of global promotion of universal human rights and values. Guest speaker: General John R. Allen, President of Brookings Institution.