Welcome!
Xconomy is prototyping a dinner speaker series to do what we normally don’t do—connect our best friends to people outside the tech-business community: artists, philosophers, architects, scientists, and the like, even crazy and innovative diplomats!

We are starting by inviting a few select guests to a dinner featuring Carne Ross, the dynamic founder of Independent Diplomat.

As Independent Diplomat (ID) describes itself: "ID is an innovative venture in the world of international relations, diplomacy and conflict prevention. The organization aims to resolve or prevent conflict by enabling government leadership, officials and negotiators disadvantaged by lack of capacity, access and/or technical expertise to engage more effectively in diplomatic processes. By enabling better participation, ID’s work strengthens the agreements and policies that arise from diplomatic negotiations, thereby reducing the risk of conflict and making the world’s diplomatic system more effective and legitimate.

"Many groups and governments are at a profound disadvantage in international diplomacy. Due to a combination of inexperience and lack of resources, they are unable to put their views across effectively in bilateral and multilateral negotiations, and as a result, are routinely denied their legitimate voice. This is not only unfair, but too often produces unsustainable agreements that, by failing to take everyone’s interests into account, contribute to instability and violent conflict.

Independent Diplomat was founded in 2004 by former British diplomat Carne Ross to remedy this “diplomatic deficit” and to open the closed doors of an international diplomatic system that has historically favored the powerful and influential."

Carne’s Bio
Carne Ross is the Executive Director of Independent Diplomat. He is a former British diplomat who resigned in protest over the Iraq war after giving secret evidence to an official inquiry into the use of intelligence on WMD. After his resignation, he founded Independent Diplomat. As a member of the British Foreign Office, Carne worked on the Middle East peace process, terrorism, Afghanistan, the global environment and Iraq.  He has served as principal speechwriter to the British Foreign Secretary, Strategy Coordinator for the UN Mission in Kosovo and the UK’s Middle East and Iraq expert on the UN Security Council, where his work included the negotiation of several key resolutions on weapons inspections and sanctions.