The course is being coordinated by Professor Víctor Pou and is aimed at people who carry out
their professional activity in an international setting (consular staff,
officials of international organizations, company directors, heads of trade
associations and NGOs, etc.) and wish to gain more in-depth knowledge about
international relations, especially in the consular and diplomatic fields. So
far, the consuls of Albania, Finland, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Malawi
and Burkina Faso have confirmed their attendance on the course.
The teaching staff is made up of academics who specialize in
international law, community law and consular law. In addition to the academic
sessions, the course will include special sessions with well-known figures such
as Roser Clavell, the Director of Patronat Catalunya Món (a government body created to promote
the internationalization of Catalonia); Josep Maria
Lloveras, a senior official at the European Commission and a former
ambassador of the European Union in Bangui and Belgrade; Joan Prat Coll, an ambassador and the Delegate of the government of
Catalonia to the European Union; Carlos Pérez
Desoy,
a diplomat and professor of Diplomatic Law at the Universitat de València; Joaquim Llimona, the Director of International Relations at Barcelona City
Council; and Lluís Maria de Puig, the
President of the Catalan Council of the European Movement and a former president
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
The diplomat and ambassador Senén Florensa gave the main lecture, which was titled “The Union for the
Mediterranean: A Future Project for a Troubled Region”. In the diplomatic arena, Florensa has served as
Ambassador of Spain to Tunisia (2000-2004), Spanish Consul General in Berlin
(1992-1996) and First Secretary of the Spanish Embassy at UNESCO (1986).
He has
also been General Director of the Institute for Cooperation with the Arab
World, the Mediterranean and Developing Countries (ICMAMPD) of the Spanish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (1996-2000), and Spanish Secretary
of the Spanish-Moroccan Averroes Committee (1996-2000). Within the government
of Catalonia, he has been Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade, Consumer
Affairs and Tourism (1986-1989) and of the Ministry of Territorial Policy and
Public Works (1989-1992).
