Simulation of the G20 Leaders’ summit

September 2021

Workshop syllabus

The workshop organized by IAI aims at providing in depth analysis of the multilateral economic and political instruments that can be implemented by the G20 members to face new challenges represented by Covid-19 pandemic and to understand the negotiation and the diplomatic mechanisms. The workshop will be structured into two days: firstly, seminars and briefings will be delivered by expert speakers, focusing on geopolitical and economic issues on multilateralism and on the main issues addressed in the G20 summit. During the second day, a role-play simulation will be conducted to apply theories, concepts and scenario analysis debated during the seminars and briefings of the first day. The simulation’s goal will be the composition of a document, agreed by all the Member States in the summit. A background guide and detailed studies will be distributed to the students before the simulation, in order to prepare them for the workshop activities.

Instructors' bio profiles

• Fabrizio Botti is Senior Fellow in the field of economics and finance at Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and Intesa Sanpaolo Fellow. He is also Research Fellow at Guglielmo Marconi University where he teaches Economics and Economics of Real Estate Markets. He is core member of “Minerva - Laboratory on Gender Diversity and Gender Inequality” at the Department of Statistics of Sapienza University of Rome. Previously he was Marie Curie Fellow at the Faculty of Economics and Politics of University of Cambridge and Visiting Fellow at the Centre for African Studies of Florida University.

• Alessia Chiriatti is Head of the IAI’s Educational programme and researcher at the Institute for the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa Programme. She is a member of the Editorial Committee of “The International Spectator” and COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). She is also mentor for GEM-Diamond (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network Joint Doctorate). She collaborates with the University of Padua on the Ex-POST ID project (Experts and Politicians in Science and Technology in Italy for a preventive multilateral diplomacy). Former professor of International Relations and Global Politics at the University of Perugia, she is teaching assistant of Contemporary History at LUISS Guido Carli. She obtained her PhD in 2014 with a thesis on Turkish foreign policy at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, where she was also a research fellow in Political Science and International Relations. Her research interests include: Turkish foreign policy, diplomacy, negotiation techniques and active learning in international relations.

• Ettore Greco is Executive Vice President of the IAI and also Head of the Multilateralism and Global Governance programme of the institute. He was also Director of the IAI from 2008 to 2017. He worked as visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution from January 2006 to July 2007. He taught at the universities of Parma and Bologna. From 2000 to 2006 he worked as correspondent for the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 1993 to 2000 he directed the IAI's programme on Central and Eastern Europe. He was also Deputy Director of the IAI from 1997 to 2008. From 2000 to 2006 he was Editor of The International Spectator. He is the author of a number of publications on the EU's institutions and foreign policy, transatlantic relations and the Balkans. He has been a free-lance journalist since 1988.

IAI

The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) was founded in 1965 on the initiative of Altiero Spinelli, and is currently among the most influential think thanks in Italy and Europe. The Institute's main objective is to promote an understanding of the problems of international politics through studies, research, meetings and publications. The Institute participates in major research networks and develops research activities on very many topics: EU, politics and institutions, Eastern Europe and Eurasia, Security, Defence, and Space,  Global Actors, Mediteranean and Middle East, Multilateralism and global governance, Energy, climate and resources, Italy's Foreign Policy. The Institute coordinates and participates in several research projects, organizes series of conferences in Italy and abroad, and publishes working papers, journals, and newsletters (such as The International Spectator, OrizzonteCina, and AffarInternazionali). The Istitute overviews students' internship programmes.
SIS and IAI signed a Partnership Agreement: the agreement aims at fostering the collaboration between the respective researchers, develop common projects and research programs, cooperate in teaching and dissemination activities, increase the educational opportunities of the SIS students.

Inclusive policies: A means to foster the cohesiveness of societies and prevent crises and conflicts

September 2021

Workshop syllabus

In diverse societies, minority-related issues have, if not supported by balanced and inclusive policies, the potential to ignite crisis and conflict. Drawing on the experience of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), this WS will demonstrate how States can use policies in a number of sectorial areas – from education to language and participation –to unite, rather than divide, societies. Practical examples from the OSCE space will be provided, notwithstanding the confidentiality principle enshrined in the High Commissioner’s mandate. After a theoretical overview of the High Commissioner’s work and mandate, the instructors will guide the students to conduct a simulation of some real-life cases. As part of that, the students will be confronted with the challenges that policy-makers face in the management of diversity and be encouraged to identify solutions that advance social integration, which is key to preserving peace and security.

Instructors' bio profiles

• Eleonora Lotti is Senior Advisor to OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. Before joining the OSCE, she worked in both Lebanon and Palestine, including, among others, as an associate political affair officier at the United Nations Office of the Special Coordinator for Lebanon (2016- 2018) and monitoring and evaluation manager at AVSI Foundation (2014-2016). She has experience in analysis and reporting concerning humanitarian crises and in managing relief and assistance programs.

• Alessandro Rotta is senior advisor at OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. He has also served as senior advisor on political affairs at EURS/EU in Kosovo (since 2013) and, previously, as political advisor for EULEX Mission in Kosovo (2011-2013). He has extensive knowledge and experience in political analysis, reporting and advising, especially with reference to South Eastern Europe countries.

OSCE

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the largest regional security organization in the world. Its priority is to overcome differences and build mutual trust. The OSCE is committed to ensuring peace, democracy and stability for over one billion people. In the area of ​​security, which he defines globally, it operates in three "dimensions".

• Politico-military dimension: the politico-military dimension is active in various areas: reforms of defense and police apparatuses, border protection, fight against cross-border threats such as terrorism, conflict prevention and management, arms control, safe storage and destruction of small arms and small caliber and fight against cybercrime.
• Economic and environmental dimension: the promotion of economic development and environmental protection is part of the tasks of the environmental and economic dimension, which also includes the fight against corruption, initiatives for the sustainable use of natural resources and eco-compatible waste management and resource management. water.
• Human dimension: the human dimension is designed to promote respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, consolidating democratic structures. It also deals with promoting tolerance and non-discrimination, media freedom, minority rights and the rule of law.

Humanitarian intervention in complex crisis: A frontliner humanitarian organization’s experience

September 2021

Workshop Syllabus

The WS’s goal is to give the students an in depth understanding of strategies, approaches and standard procedures, as well as best practices coming out from INTERSOS experience, about intervention in emergency in complex humanitarian crises. Beyond the classification of humanitarian emergencies and the theory of humanitarian aid, the practical experience of the only “single mandate” Italian NGO will help the students understand not only the general context and the main elements for a good response strategy but also the tools for implementation. The simulation based on real experience (Venezuelan crisis) and working groups (Indonesia, Syria) will facilitate the analysis of different methods and approaches in the field of humanitarian intervention.

Instructors' bio profiles

• Marcelo Enrique Garcia Dalla Costa is the Head of INTERSOS’ Emergency Unit. He has over 15 years of humanitarian and development program management experience, particularly in complex emergencies and fragile states, managing large-scale multi-sector and multi-millions relief and development programs, personnel, and assets. Before becoming head of INTERSOS’ Emergency Unit he served as Regional Director & Overseas Emergency Focal Point (2014-2016), Africa Regional Director - Nairobi, Kenya (2010-2013) and Country Director in different locations - Sudan, North Korea, Eritrea, DRC, Perú (2003-2010).

• Davide Berruti is a Personnel Development Coordinator at INTERSOS.

INTERSOS

Founded in 1992, INTERSOS is an independent humanitarian organization, which enjoys consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council. INTERSOS is the Italian humanitarian organization in the forefront of humanitarian emergencies and helps people victims of wars, violence and natural disasters, with particular attention to the most vulnerable groups, such as women and children.
Since its foundation in 1992, INTERSOS has implemented humanitarian aid projects in 42 countries and four continents. INTERSOS takes its first steps in Somalia, supporting the Jowhar regional hospital, where it has remained uninterrupted until today. In the following years it was present in the main humanitarian crises, from the war in the former Yugoslavia to the genocide in Rwanda, the conflicts in Angola, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan up to the Syrian crisis and Libya, with a constant commitment to bring help to the populations in danger and, in particular, to the most disadvantaged. In natural disasters, such as El Niño in Central America, the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal, typhoon Hayan in the Philippines, INTERSOS intervened in the first emergency response, with more than 30 cargo airplanes helping people in need.
The sectors of intervention concern the distribution of essential goods for survival and emergency shelters; health and nutrition, ensuring access to vital, primary and secondary medical services, and treating malnutrition through nutritional therapies and intervening to ensure clean water and sanitation and to educate them to their proper use; migration, bringing relief to people fleeing their countries in search of security and dignity; protection, engaging in the physical and psychological protection of the most fragile sections of the population; Education, promoting the right to education and building schools, training teachers and promoting educational activities. INTERSOS has also developed specific programs for brides-girls and child soldiers and managed reclamation programs for anti-personnel mines.
The School of International Studies (SSI) signed a partnership agreement with the humanitarian organization INTERSOS, to promote knowledge in the field of international cooperation and in particular in the field of humanitarian and emergency assistance. The agreement provides for a series of common activities in the field of training, research and dissemination as well as the possibility for students of the University of Trento to carry out training periods at the headquarters of the organization in Rome, in assistance projects that INTERSOS has in 17 countries, especially in the African and Middle Eastern context.

Open-Source Intelligence Techniques & Digital Evidence

September 2021

Workshop syllabus

This workshop offers an introduction to the most innovative Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) techniques and outlines how digital data can be sourced, verified, and presented to court as evidence. The workshop covers the basic skills any open-source investigator should have in their toolkit, including advanced inquiry methods for online search engines; manipulate social media search engines for investigation (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, Linkedin); use satellite image providers for geolocation (Google Earth, Sentinel Hub, Planet et al.); use flight and maritime trackers search engines (Flightradar24, RadarBox, Vesseltracker, MarineTraffic, VesselFinder); preserve opens source information effectively and maintain anonymity (WayBackMachine, VPN, Veracrypt). The participants will learn to approach online open-source information with a critical eye and employ systematic methods of inquiry to ensure that it can be relied upon in legal proceedings. To do so, the workshop explains how open sources information can be used to meet evidentiary thresholds in a broad array of jurisdictions, including the International Criminal Court, and outlines the most innovative guidelines provided by the recently adopted Berkeley Protocol.

Instructors' bio profiles

• Leone Hadavi is an open-source investigator, analyst and trainer, with a background in security studies and law. He is a senior investigator for Lighthouse Reports’ EUArms project, where he has led a number of investigations, and a Bellingcat collaborator. He specializes in the arms trade and the use of weapons in theaters of war: he is an expert in the analysis and identification of small arms, weapon systems and vehicles, and an experienced military analyst, focusing from the identification of soldiers’ ranks, patches and insignias to order of battles, military capabilities and infrastructure. He has tracked suspicious vessels and aircraft, and traced extremist right-wing networks through social media.

• Stefano Trevisan, LL.M, is a qualified lawyer, open-source investigator, and lecturer specialized in human rights, international law, and arms trade. Stefano works as legal consultant at Lighthouse Reports where he has led important OSINT projects, such as the enquiry on the naval blockade against Yemen. Together with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, he has been working on the criminal case brought against RWM Italy for illegal arms exports. In 2020, in collaboration with the Global Legal Action Network he led a research project on post-sale services in the arms industry. He authored a number of publications on the probative value of OSINT in judicial proceedings.

Writing a Successful PhD Research Proposal

February 2022

Workshop syllabus

What type of work goes into writing a successful PhD research proposal? We are three MEIS alumni, class of 2012, are we will draw on our experience as successful applicants to explain which elements should be taken into account before applying, outline the nuts and bolts of the application process and share some practical tips.

The workshop is divided into two parts.

In the first part, we will address three questions that any prospective applicant should consider: Why do a PhD? How to do a PhD? Where to do a PhD? In addition, there will be a Q&A session with other SIS alumni who went on to pursue a PhD.

In the second part, participants will undertake various exercises and activities aimed at developing a proper research question, doing a literature review, and identifying suitable research methods. By the end of the workshop, students will have a clearer view of how to write a high-quality PhD research proposal, the key component of any successful PhD application.

Instructors' bio profiles

• Tommaso Milani earned his PhD in International History from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in late 2017. He taught at Balliol College, University of Oxford, King’s College London, and at the LSE before moving to the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) in 2019. Currently, he is a Visiting Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute (EUI) and Associate Fellow at the Bologna Institute for Policy Research Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe. His first monograph, on Hendrik de Man and the transformation of interwar social democracy, was published in 2020.

• Lorenzo Piccoli holds a PhD degree in Social and Political Sciences from the European University Institute (2018). Currently, he leads the work of the Migration Policy Centre on teaching and training together with the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute. He has previously acted as the Scientific Coordinator of the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research for Migration and Mobility Studies (2019 - 2021) and as Research Associate at the Global Citizenship Observatory (2018 - 2021). His research focuses on the politics of inclusion and exclusion of mobile individuals from basic rights, such as healthcare and voting.

• Matia Vannoni did his PhD at UCL and holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in political science from the University of Trento and an MRes from the LSE. He works as Lecturer in Public Policy at the Department of Political Economy, King's College London, where he isthe programme director of the Master of Arts in Public Policy. He works as Field Editor (European Public Policy) for the Journal of Public Policy (Cambridge University Press). He is also an Institutional Grammar Research Initiative (IGRI) Affiliate and Political Economics of Reforms, Institutional Complexity and Legislative Evaluation Studies (PERICLES) Fellow. He has been for two years a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research (IGIER), Bocconi University, where he worked on a project which uses advanced text analysis (based on computational linguistics) to study delegation, legislative complexity and economic growth.

The UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya and the Quest for Accountability

February 2022

Workshop syllabus

Since the fall of Muammar Gadhafi’s regime in 2011, Libya has experienced continued political instability and multiple armed conflicts. Since 2014, rival authorities exist in the West and East of the country and, despite the creation of a Government of National Unity in 2021, to date Libya remains deeply divided. Meanwhile, State actors and non-State armed groups continue to commit serious human rights violations in a widespread manner, with total impunity. The inability of the Libyan justice system to ensure accountability has led the UN Human Rights Council to establish in June 2020 an Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya (Libya FFM), tasked with investigating human rights violations and war crimes. The aim of the workshop is to discuss with students the role of the Libya FFM in the fight against impunity in Libya. The first part of the workshop will offer an historical and political introduction to the situation in Libya, as well as an overview of the UN practice of establishing international fact-finding mechanisms and the work of the Libya FFM. In the second part of the workshop, students will engage in a real-case example of factfinding. Based on the Libya FFM’s first report, they will be asked to identify human rights issues that require further investigation, elaborate a plan for conducting fact-finding and addressing practical challenges, and formulate recommendations to the international community for pursuing accountability.

Instructor's bio profile

Vito Todeschini is a Legal Adviser at the Middle East and North Africa Programme of the International Commission of Jurists, where he focuses on Libya and Palestine/Israel. His expertise includes international humanitarian law, human rights law and the law on the use of force. Vito received a PhD from Aarhus University (Denmark), a Law Degree from the University of Ferrara, and an E.MA in Human Rights and Democratization from the Global Campus of Human Rights (Venice). Before joining the ICJ, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Trento, a Visiting Researcher at the Swedish Defence University (Stockholm), and a Visiting Fellow at the Amsterdam Centre for International Law.

Transforming conflict relations – practical skills and strategies

February 2022

Workshop syllabus

One of the distinctive contributions that conflict transformation makes, is to recognise conflict for what it is: an everyday phenomenon of life wherever humans interact. This approach does not in any way deny the harm that conflict can do but suggest that conflict often reveals underlying problems that need to be addressed to keep the system of relationships dynamic and strong. It suggests that conflict is often an essential mechanism for change and growth. It is possible to work with conflict in a way that enables people to address the causes, and to repair relationships that have been weakened by anger, fear or even hatred generated by conflict. The way you respond to conflict makes the difference between it becoming a force for destruction or catalyst for constructive change.

The range of option for intervention is huge, but whatever vantage point you are coming from, it is likely that dialogue, negotiation, mediation, or a combination of these, will be your approach of choice. We will explore some of the challenges of transformative approaches to dialogue and mediation, practice some skills, develop strategies, and will reflect on their potential and limitation in conflict transformation. The highlight of the workshop will be summing up of the learnings into a practical application in a simulation exercise.

The scenario and roles will be based on the real examples from Alert’s practice, and you will have an opportunity to play a role, weather a party in the conflict, a government representative, an aid worker, or a mediator. Learning from experience will give you more in-depth understanding of the perspectives of parties in the conflict, and skills and approaches needed to reach an agreement.

Instructor's bio profile

Vesna Matović is Head of Peacebuilding Training & Learning at International Alert. Vesna is an experienced peacebuilding and conflict transformation specialist with more than 20 years’ experience as a consultant, facilitator, mediator, analyst and trainer on conflict and peace issues. Previous to International Alert she worked with Responding to Conflict and Nansen Dialogue network. Vesna holds a doctorate in Psychology and worked as a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and educator on issues of trauma and stress in conflict contexts.