The EU's mediation role in Sub-Saharan Africa and the relationship between China and Russia in the Middle East mark the 4th edition of 'Programa Talent Global'

This year, the Banco Sabadell Foundation and CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs) continued to support young research talent with the fourth edition of the 'Programa Talent Global', a joint initiative that aims to promote quality research by young researchers.

The programme aims to stimulate excellence and promote dissemination, training and research activities in international relations, as well as to encourage and support young talent. To do so, the 'Programa Talent Global' promotes a paid research stay and two prizes for applied research.

The 4th edition of the Global Talent Award recognises the work of Antoni Sastre Bel and Giorgia Piovesan on the EU's mediation role in Sub-Saharan Africa and the relationship between China and Russia in the Middle East 

Antoni Sastre Bel has won the first prize in the 4th edition of the Global Talent Award for his work Is the EU a suitable peace-maker? Exploring the EU polyhedral mediation in Sub-Saharan Africa, focused on the EU's role as mediator and peace-maker in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in the conflicts in Tigray (Ethiopia) and Sudan, identifying the challenges to lead these processes effectively. Antoni Sastre Bel, graduate in Global Studies from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Master in Transnational Governance from the School of Transnational Governance in Florence, currently works as a research assistant at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, where he researches the work of peace facilitation organisations in countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

The second prize was awarded to Giorgia Piovesan for her work Sino-Russian relationship. Insights from the Middle East, which focuses on Sino-Russian relations in the Middle East and the interactions and mutual perceptions of the two actors in the Syrian civil war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Giorgia Piovesan, programme coordinator at the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin, holds a degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Università degli Studi di Roma 3 and an MA in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies from Dublin City University, the University of Glasgow and Charles University.

This year, due to the high quality of the works received, the jury decided to award a runner-up prize to Adrià Sedó i Sabater for his work Potències mitjanes i ciberseguretat: El cas de la cooperació entre la UE i el Japó en l'àmbit digital (2014-2023).

Sofía Rodríguez, Chief Economist at Banco Sabadell; Patricia Garcia-Durán, Associate Professor in the Department of Economic History, Institutions and World Economy at the University of Barcelona; Rafael Grasa, Lecturer in International Relations at UAB; and Blanca Garcés, Senior Researcher and Research Coordinator at CIDOB, were part of the jury for this prize, chaired by Pol Morillas, Director of CIDOB.

The winners of the Global Talent Award, as well as the researcher selected for the Junior Visiting Fellowship, will have the opportunity to present and discuss their research with CIDOB’s research team within the framework of the CIDOB-Banco Sabadell Dialogues. The works awarded the first and second Global Talent Award may be published within the framework of CIDOB's editorial lines. 

The 4th Junior Visiting Fellowship will focus on the role of India in the international system 

The researcher Patrizia Cogo has been selected within the framework of the 'Programa Talent Global' 4th Junior Visiting Fellowship for her proposal The Rise of India in a Changing Global Order: What Does it Mean for the West?. Patrizia Cogo joined CIDOB’s research team last September and will be spending six months conducting her research on India's role in the current international system, accompanied by CIDOB’s team and participating in the institution's research activities.

The ‘Junior Visiting Fellowship’ aims to contribute to the training of young talent by offering the opportunity to researchers under 30 to join CIDOB’s research team for a period of six months through a paid research stay. This year, 128 young people applied for the 4th Junior Visiting Fellowship, making it the year with the highest number of participants since the programme began.