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2 September 2025, Locarno, Switzerland – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) co-hosted Diplomacy Day at the 78th Locarno Film Festival together with the Wyss Academy for Nature and the City of Locarno, marking the centenary of the Locarno Treaties.
The event convened around 200 leaders from government, international organizations, civil society, and the arts to reflect on the intersection between peace, people, and planet, and to explore how cinema can serve as a catalyst for mutual understanding and sustainable peace.
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UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR, Ms. Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, delivered opening remarks highlighting the enduring importance of dialogue, trust, and cultural diplomacy in advancing peace and strengthening multilateralism.
As we celebrate the centenary of the Locarno Treaties this year, we are reminded of the enduring power of dialogue, trust, and the shared aspiration for peace, values that animated those historic accords, the ‘Spirit of Locarno’, and that remain just as vital today
she stated. She further noted,
Culture, and cinema in particular, can build bridges where politics cannot. We see cultural diplomacy not as a peripheral undertaking, but as a central tool for promoting mutual understanding and inclusive dialogue in a time where multilateralism is under strain.
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Ms. Amina Mohamed, Vice-Chair of UNITAR’s Board of Trustees and former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), joined a high-level panel on The Changing Prerequisites for Peace, contributing her insights on peacebuilding in today’s complex global landscape.
Diplomacy Day featured keynote addresses, panel discussions, interactive exchanges, and artistic interventions.
We are proud to partner with the Locarno Film Festival, the Wyss Academy for Nature, and the City of Locarno to build on this collaboration with UNITAR and continue harnessing the power of culture and the arts as tools of cultural diplomacy. Together, we look forward to shaping new projects that advance peace, mutual understanding, and sustainable development for a shared future.
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