On Thursday, 23 October 2025, in Gorizia/Nova Gorica, as part of ‘GO! 2025’, a conference entitled ‘From the Helsinki Final Act to Go! 2025 Nova Gorica/Gorizia European Capital of Culture’ will take place.

PROGRAMME:

Morning session (9.30am – 12.30pm)
Sala Verdi, Palazzo De Bassa – Passaggio Edling 2, Gorizia

‘The 1975 Helsinki Final Act and its impact on East-West relations’

Institutional greetings:
Antonio PAOLETTI, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Crafts of Venezia Giulia
Giusandrea MOCHI ONORY, President of the National Association of Retired Diplomats – Costantino Nigra
Mauro TRETIACH, Vice-Rector of the University of Trieste
Rodolfo ZIBERNA, Mayor of Gorizia
Matjaž LONGAR, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Italy
Claudia COLLA, Head of the Regional Representation of the European Commission in Italy
Georg MEYR, Director of the Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Trieste - Gorizia Campus

Moderator: Alberto FLORES d' ARCAIS, Journalist, Co-director of the Master's Degree in Journalism at LUISS

Speakers:
Francesco BASCONE, former Head of the Permanent Representation of Italy to the OSCE
Božo CERAR, former Ambassador of Slovenia to the United States of America
Raoul PUPO, Historian, former Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Trieste
Andrej GRASSELLI, former Ambassador of Slovenia to Bosnia and Herzegovina

Testimonials:
Massimo SPINETTI, former Italian Ambassador to Slovenia
Bogdan BENKO, former Slovenian Ambassador to Italy
Francesca ZILIO, Ph.D. in History of International Relations

Interaction with the audience

Conclusions: Alberto FLORES d'ARCAIS 

Afternoon session (2pm – 5pm)
EPIC, Kolodvorska 10, Nova Gorica

“The situation in Europe and Italian-Slovenian relations today and in the future”

Institutional greetings:
Ivo VAJGL, President of the Slovenian Ambassadors' Club (retired)
Neva GRAŠIČ, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia
Samo TUREL, Mayor of Nova Gorica
Giuseppe CAVAGNA, Italian Ambassador to Slovenia
Jerneja JUG JERŠE, Director of the European Commission Representation in Slovenia

Moderator: Božo CERAR, former Ambassador of Slovenia to the United States of America

Speakers:
Roman KIRN, former Ambassador of Slovenia to the United States of America
Gianfranco VARVESI, former Permanent Representative of Italy to the OSCE
Jania HOJNIK, Professor of European Union Law at the University of Maribor
Moreno ZAGO, Professor of Cross-Border Relations and Local Development at the University of Trieste, Department of Political and Social Sciences

Testimonials:
Dragoljuba BENČINA, former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia
Daniele VERGA, former Italian Ambassador to Slovenia
Iztok SIMONITI, former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia

Interaction with the audience  

Conclusions: Božo CERAR