“In order to think outside the box, first you need to know what is in the box. Professionalism is knowing what’s inside the box – and knowing what’s inside is hard work.”
By ALAN ROSENBAUMRon Prosor, head of the Abba Eban Institute of International Diplomacy, speaks at The Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Addressing the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference, Ron Prosor, head of the Abba Eban Institute for International Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, said that diplomacy is going through great change and transformation, warning that “Diplomacy is an every-changing art, and those who will not transform, will perish.”Explaining his philosophy since moving to the world of academia, Prosor, one of Israel’s most seasoned diplomats who served as Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations (2011-2015), Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom (2007-2011), and director general of the Foreign Ministry (2004-2007), said, “In order to think outside the box, first you need to know what is in the box. Professionalism is knowing what’s inside the box – and knowing what’s inside is hard work.”It is for that reason, he said, that the Abba Eban Institute introduced the InnoDip Award, honoring innovation in diplomacy, which was be presented at The Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference.Prosor and Yaniv Cohen, executive director of the Abba Eban Institute, presented the InnoDip Award to three innovative organizations – HealthCare Israel, for its life-saving and cost-saving healthcare innovations that it provides to the world; Innovation:Africa, an American-Israeli organization that brings Israeli solar, water, and agricultural technologies to rural African villages, and to Tikkun Olam Makers, a global movement of communities that creates and disseminates affordable solutions to neglected challenges of people living with disabilities, the elderly and the poor.Diplomacy is no longer about closed-door international deals, said Prosor. “The Abba Eban Institute,” he said, “will focus on innovative diplomacy. The challenges are growing and becoming more complex. Diplomacy must innovate and now.”
