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    Michal Kaplan

    diplomacy is not a zero-sum game

  • biography

    a few words about me

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    diplomacy, development & discovery

     

    I am a diplomat and leader in sustainable development who believes that international co-operation is not a zero-sum game.

     

    Currently, I serve as Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York. I am particularly in charge of trade promotion, scientific cooperation and public diplomacy between Czechia and Northeastern United States.

     

    I contributed to the coordination and strategic communication of the EU Council Presidency 2022 in the area of external relations during my tenure as Deputy Director of the Czech Presidency Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Presidency was successful in keeping EU’s unity and support to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s agression.

     

    As Deputy Permanent Representative at the the Czech Mission to United Nations in Geneva (2017-2021), I was in charge of global health, human rights, humanitarian affairs and international trade. I contributed to the World Health Organisation response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2017, I participated in the field mission to refugee camps in Bangladesh organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

     

    Between 2013-2017, I was appointed as Director-General of the Czech Agency for International Development (CzechAid). I exercised strategic leadership over the USD 20 million programme and coordinated development co-operation with a dozen of partner countries in the Balkans, Middle East, Asia and Subsaharan Africa. I built viable multi-stakeholder partnerships across governments, civil society and the private sector. In 2017, I helped to launch Czech SDGs Awards, an advocacy campaign for Sustainable Development Goals.

     

    I took an active part in the Czech Presidency of the European Union in 2009. During my posting to Brussels (2009-2013), I served as Deputy Ambassador to the EU Political and Security Committee. Earlier in my diplomatic career, I represented Czech Republic at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris (2002-2006) and participated as examiner in the peer review of foreign aid of Portugal.

     

    I have frequently published on diplomacy and sustainable development. I write a popular blog about global issues called “Diplomacy is not a zero-sum game”. I play tennis, soccer and practice cross-country skiing. I like travelling and discovering other countries and cultures.

  • profile

    created by Czech Television

    HydePark ČT24

    22 June 2017

  • career

    previous jobs and studies

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    Consulate General of Czechia in New York

    August 2023 -

    Deputy Consul General

    The key role of the Consulate is to promote economic, cultural and people-to-people relations between Czechia and the Northeastern United States. I am particularly in charge of trade promotion, scientific cooperation, and public diplomacy.

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    Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

    September 2021 - July 2023

    Deputy Director of of the Czech Presidency Department

    I was resposible for the strategic coordination and communication of the Czech EU Presidency 2022 in the area of external relations.

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    Czech Mission to United Nations in Geneva

    September 2017 - August 2021

    Deputy Permanent Representative

    I dealt with global health (World Health Organisation), human rights, disarmament, humanitarian affairs, international trade. I am also responsible for the Mission's internal management.

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    Czech Agency for International Development

    September 2013 - August 2017

    Director-General

    I was appointed as Head of CzechAid. This involved leadership and strategic guidance over the bilateral development cooperation of the Czech Republic that totalled 25 million USD annually.

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    Czech Representation to the European Union in Brussels

    August 2009 - August 2013

    Deputy Ambassador to the EU Political and Security Committee

    I was responsible for EU external relations, including the enlargement and the neighborhood policy, transatlantic cooperation and EU relations with emerging powers (China, Russia, Japan, India, Brazil).

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    Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

    February 2000 - August 2009

    Head of Multilateral Development Cooperation Unit

    I focused mainly on international economic relations. I took an active part in the Czech EU Presidency in 2009. I drafted the Bill on Foreign Aid adopted by the Czech Parliament in 2010

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    Czech Mission to OECD in Paris

    May 2002 - August 2006

    Counsellor

    I served as national delegate to the OECD Budget Committee, Public Affairs and Communications Committee, Science and Technology Committee, and Development Assistance Commitee (DAC).

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    University of Economics Prague

    September 1994 - June 1999

    Master Degree Diploma

    I studies following subjects: international relations, economics and trade, business administration, commercial law. My Graduate Thesis focused on Development co-operation as part of EU External Relations in 1990s.

  • values

    quotes that guide my endeavours

    1

    diplomacy

    "never negotiate out of fear, but never fear to negotiate"

    2

    development

    "we are the first generation that can end poverty, and the last that can save the planet"

    3

    discovery

    "the greatest loss in life is not death, but what dies inside us while we still live"

  • projects

    partnerships and accomplishments

    sdg awards

    In 2017, I helped to launch the initiative by the Association of Social Responsibility to reward projects that contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Czechia and abroad.

     

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    refugees in bangladesh

    In December 2017, I participated in the International Red Cross field mission to Bangladesh. We learned about ICRC activities in Bangladesh and visited refugee camps hosting the Rohingya people who fled Myanmar.

    covid19 pandemic

    I delivered a statement on behalf of the Czechia at the 74th World Health Assembly in May 2021. I highlighted the need for international cooperation and the sharing of information in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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    support to ukraine

    As Deputy Director of the Czech Presidency Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I contributed to the coordination and strategic communication of the Czech EU Presidency 2022 in the area of external relations. The Presidency was particularly successful in keeping EU’s unity and support to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s agression.

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    czechaid strategy

    "From the Caucasus to the Gobi Desert and from the Dead Sea to the Zambezi River, we have assisted the fight against poverty. CzechAid is recognized as a competent and emphatic donor by our peers and partners". The report summarizes results of CzechAid between 2013 and 2017.

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    review of portugal

    In 2015, I was a member of an international team that visited São Tomé and Príncipe as part of the OECD review of Portuguese development cooperation. It doesn't look so, but it was a serious job.

    audit of czechaid

    CzechAid is a member of Practioners Network, bringing together foreign aid agencies from EU countries. Under my leadership, CzechAid was succesfully accredited by PwC for EU delegated cooperation.

    development day

    More than 3,000 visitors attended the festival Czech Development Day, held in September 2015 in Prague. I launched the event in the presence of the Foreign Minister and the Head of European Commission Office in Prague.

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    foreign aid bill

    I drafted the much needed and appreciated Act on Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid that was adopted by the Parliament of the Czech Republic in 2010.

    czechoslovakia at 100

    Concert by Martinů Strings Prague on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia on 30 October 2018 in Geneva. The event was jointly organised by the Czech and Slovak Missions to UN in Geneva in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

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    partnership with israel

    CzechAid and MASHAV (the Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The ceremony took place during the Intergovernmental Consultations in May 2016 in Jerusalem.

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    european presidency

    I coordinated the Czech Presidency in the EU Council in the area of development cooperation. In January 2009, we organised an informal meeting of EU development ministers in Prague.

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    cz+sk gala dinner

    I was member of the core team together with Jagello2000 and Globsec that organised the gala dinner on the occasion of the 30 years of Czechia and Slovakia independence. Ten heads of state and government attended the dinner which took place in the Bohemian National Hall in New York.

  • contact

    email, social media and my blog

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    email

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    linkedin

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    instagram

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    youtube

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    twitter

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    new blog

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    old blog