Recalibrating Diplomacy: The Global Role of Cities
Virtual Briefing Series
Thursday, October 9th, 2025 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
The architecture of international engagement is shifting, and subnational diplomacy is taking center stage. As federal governments scale back traditional foreign policy and funded diplomacy, cities and states are emerging as more prominent actors on the global stage, forging direct international ties to address global issues such as climate change, migration, trade, and public health. As local leaders are increasingly shaping the frameworks of cooperation once reserved for national capitals, this trend raises important questions: How might cities and states recalibrate aid and international engagement to reflect their own priorities? What lessons can be drawn from U.S. cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta as they assert themselves on the global stage? This panel will examine what it means for New York and other cities to be more global in this changing landscape and will explore how public-private partnerships, business engagement, and city-level climate diplomacy are giving new contours to international engagement.
Join us on Thursday, October 9th, from 12:00 to 1:00 PM ET for a discussion with Pablo Fernández Marmissolle-Daguerre, Assistant Secretary-General for Partnerships at the United Cities and Local Governments; Kristen Edgreen Kaufman, Senior Vice President at the United States Council for International Business and former Deputy Commissioner in the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs and current, and Dr. Raffaele Marchetti, Professor in International Relations at the Department of Political Science and the School of Government of LUISS and the Director of the Center for International and Strategic Studies.
THIS SESSION IS OPEN TO EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD
SPEAKERS:
Pablo Fernández Marmissolle-Daguerre
Pablo Fernández Marmissolle-Daguerre the Assistant Secretary-General for Partnerships at United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), where he leads global alliances, including partnerships with the United Nations system and over 20 international organizations. He coordinates UCLG’s civil society consultation mechanism, oversees Urban20, and serves as the focal point for the Major Group of Local Authorities at the UN ECOSOC. He is an Advisory Council Member for the Sustainable City Guarantee Facility of the United Nations Capital Development Fund, member of the board of the Global Proximities Observatory (15-Minute City) and co-chair of the United Nations Habitat Assembly’s Stakeholder Forum. He is also a Substitute Member of the Cities Alliance Board and a member of the Advisory Board for the Building a Future-Ready City Initiative.
Prior to joining UCLG, he led the International Affairs Office of Mexico’s Ministry of Urban Development, served as Sherpa for the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Panel on the assessment of UN-Habitat after the adoption of the New Urban Agenda, and led Mexico’s negotiations and participation in Habitat III. He also served as Technical Secretary of the Assembly of Ministers and High Authorities of Housing and Urban Development of Latin America and the Caribbean.
He holds a master’s degree in Urban Design and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations, along with certifications in urban regeneration, housing, and regional development. He lives in Barcelona.
Kristen Edgreen Kaufman
Kristen Edgreen Kaufman is USCIB’s Senior Vice President, Global Impact Initiatives where she provides strategic direction for several policy issues of critical importance to US businesses, including Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs (CRLA), Environment, Health, and International Product Policy. She possesses a nuanced understanding of the nexus of strategic planning and commerce and a track record launching programs with global thought leaders to further efforts in various arenas that promote economic growth.
Kaufman is a contributor for Forbes, a trustee at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and Claremont McKenna College, and previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of Public Private Partnerships and Economic Development in the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, where she helmed the global exchange of best practices with other major cities around the world and served as the keynote speaker at diplomatic and international events, conferences, panels, podcasts, universities and international delegation visits. She also led all trade and investment initiatives with the Americas and Europe.
Kaufman began her career in the financial services industry with Merrill Lynch and Lazard Asset Management and was a managing director at Natixis Bleichroeder. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Her work has been published in Newsweek, Forbes, and Cities Speak.
Dr. Raffaele Marchetti
Dr. Raffaele Marchetti (Laurea, Rome-La Sapienza; PhD, London-LSE) is Professor in International Relations at the Department of Political Science and the School of Government of LUISS, where he is also the Director of the Center for International and Strategic Studies-CISS. His research interest concerns global politics and governance, hybrid and city diplomacy, transnational civil society, (cyber-)security and political risk, and democracy. He acts as external expert and consultant for public/private institutions on issues of global governance, public policies, and security. He is the editor of the Routledge series Innovations in International Affairs and the Luiss University Press series Radar. He is a columnist for the Berliner Zeitung.
Between 2018-2024 he was the Deputy Rector for Internationalization at Luiss. In 2015 he produced one of the first MOOCs on IR: From International Relations to Global Politics for Iversity. In the past, he was ISA’s United Nations-NGO Representative (2022-2024), director of the FP6 Strep project SHUR. Human Rights in Conflicts: The Role of Civil Society and held a Jean Monnet European Module on EU’s Engagement with Civil Society, both funded by the European Commission. He was visiting/adjunct professor at American University of Rome-AUR, China Foreign Affairs University-CFAU-Beijing, Freie Universit¤t Berlin, London School of Economics-LSE, MGIMO-Moscow, Sciences Po-Paris, Strathmore University-Nairobi, Università de Geneve, University of Naples Lâ Orientale, and Waseda-Tokyo. He was fellow at the European University Institute-EUI, Italian National Research Council-CNR, University of Exeter, the FP6 research project DEMOS. Democracy in Europe and the Mobilization of Society at the University of Urbino, the EU Network of Excellence GARNET. Global Governance, Regionalisation & Regulation: The Role of the EU, the US Dept. of State SUSI on US National Security Policy-Making at the University of Delaware, and the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin for Sozialforschung- WZB. He was research contractor for the DoC Research Institute, European Union Institute for Security Studies-EUISS, Istituto San Pio V, Istituto Affari Internazionali-IAI, and Finmeccanica. He was rapporteur for the European Commission on Civil Society in Global Governance, and received the Lawrence S. Finkelstein Award by the International Studies Association-ISA, Section on International Organization. He is member of the Academic Board of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA).
THIS SESSION IS OPEN TO EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD
Image creator: Pedro Lastra from Unsplash
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