Champlain Abroad Dublin Students Get the Diplomatic Treatment
In the COM 350 Conflict Management course on the Dublin campus students explore theoretical and practical examples of managing and resolving intractable conflict situations. In addition to theoretical readings in the communications and psychology field they are encouraged to get up close and personal with conflict practitioners such as trade union mediators, personal skills councilors, police officers, diplomats and even United Nations Peacekeeping Generals.
Croatian Ambassador to Ireland
On Wednesday 6 November the COM 350 class were delighted to receive Ambassador Jasna Ognjanovac, Ambassador of Croatia to Ireland whose guest lecture discussed Irish-Croatian relations, The role of the diplomat and conflict management and reflections from her experience as a Croatian and representing her country at international organizations. A distinguished international lawyer, she lectures at Croatia’s Diplomatic Academy and was previously head of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN Section and represented her country at the UN in New York and Vienna, and at the EU in Brussels.
Champlain College students were thrilled to hear of the ambassador’s experience and how diplomats get down to the bare bones of conflict management. As Ambassador Ognjanovac explained, when you are your country’s representative on a bi-lateral basis, or still more to an international organization like the UN or EU you really have to manage all the potential conflicts which arise. Our students were impressed to learn so much about the practical goals of diplomatic conflict prevention which will set them up for future studies in the area of conflict mitigation even if the terrain is the workaday world of office or inter-personal conflicts as opposed to dialogue at the EU in Brussels or the UN in New York.
Dr. Gavin Duffy – COM 350 Instructor