This week the world's diplomats are gathering once again in New York for the annual jamboree of statecraft, the UN General Assembly.
They do so against a challenging backdrop, as its critics ask: what role is left for diplomacy amid the rubble of Syria? Or when Russian agents face no penalty for leaving lethal traces of Novichok nerve agent around the English countryside? Or when the US president prefers the increasingly adversarial arena of Twitter to the back rooms of the UN?
Diplomats often ease the path for states to release their grip on those bits of their authority that need to be surrendered if we are to live, work and create better together as humans – not a popular role in a populist moment. And if states themselves are becoming victims of the widespread crisis of trust, who needs their representatives?
Despite being hosted in the city that never sleeps, the UN can feel pretty low-octane. The rooms have too little air and the speeches too much of it. But away from the podium, it is diplomatic speed-dating: plenaries, pull-asides and photo opportunities; bilateral summits and brush-bys; grins and grimaces.
The UN might not be perfect. Yet beyond the protocol and preening, the tedium and tantrums, what happens in those corridors really matters to all of us. No one has yet come up with a better idea for global co-existence and we have subcontracted to the UN many of the biggest challenges facing humanity.
This year the UN gathers, having buried two of the world’s most inspirational diplomats, senator John McCain and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. Their lives and decisions were not always perfect but their stories stood for something beyond narrow personal ambition or national interest.
Having experienced the horror of war, McCain was a huge advocate for an international system built with such patience and sacrifice that it would reduce the chances of future conflicts. Having suffered torture, he was its most compelling and articulate critic. Having helped make America great, he knew that responsibility to be more than a soundbite.
Annan was the architect of the sustainable development goals. But for me, his supreme diplomatic achievement was in the aftermath of the Kenyan elections in December 2007. He was patient, humble and – a much underrated diplomatic quality – stubborn in pursuing a political agreement that could stop violence. He was also tireless. I remember him calling at 5am on New Year’s Day when I was working for then British prime minister Gordon Brown.
In a digital age, it is easier to disrupt than to build. Like every other profession, diplomacy is being challenged by technology. And it has to fight its corner.
But what McCain and Annan reminded us all was that we could still build networks in a time of institutional failure; consensus in a time of arguments; and bridges in a time of walls. We can still strive for expertise, patience, perspective and judgment in a time of fake news, soundbites and echo chambers.
We can still aspire to be courageously calm, tolerant and honest in a time of outrage, intolerance and "post-truth" politics. We can be internationalist in a time of nationalism and open-minded in a time of closed minds. Above all, we must remain curious in a time of too much certainty.
So diplomacy doesn't die with diplomatic greats like McCain and Annan.
I saw that in preparations for tomorrow's Global Tech Panel in New York, where we are bringing together government and technology leaders to tackle the new frontiers of diplomacy, including how to create jobs and growth across the Middle East and how to update international rules to govern artificial intelligence, autonomous weapons and automation.
I saw it this month in the excitement and passion of new students at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, eager to learn and put the craft into statecraft.
And most of all, I heard it in the messages from my sons’ teachers at the start of the school year, as they spoke about the need to be curious, kind and brave in finding ways to live and work together. These are the essence of diplomacy. But much more importantly, they are the simple but vital life skills that will keep humanity moving forward.
What might McCain and Annan have told those young learners? Well, I keep a book of advice for my son from inspirational figures. Both men were kind enough to take the time to write in it.
Annan’s advice was to “study hard, travel widely, learn about other cultures, listen to people but find your own path”.
And McCain wrote his advice in Downing Street, during a visit when he was running for president: “Dear Charlie, there is no greater vocation than to serve. But there is no greater purpose than to love. Live a life that does both, and you’ll be truly happy.”
Don’t write off diplomacy just yet.
Tom Fletcher is a former UK ambassador and adviser to three prime ministers. He is an adviser at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, visiting professor at New York University Abu Dhabi and the author of The Naked Diplomat: Power and Politics in the Digital Age
Squads
Sri Lanka Tharanga (c), Mathews, Dickwella (wk), Gunathilaka, Mendis, Kapugedera, Siriwardana, Pushpakumara, Dananjaya, Sandakan, Perera, Hasaranga, Malinga, Chameera, Fernando.
India Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Rahane, Jadhav, Dhoni (wk), Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Thakur.
Company%20profile
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2a)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5