Georgetown’s Annual Diplomatic Ball: A Tradition of Community Engagement

The black tie was optional, but the opportunity to network and socialize was guaranteed at the recently concluded Georgetown social event of the year. Providing a unique venue for the diplomatic community of Qatar to interact with Georgetown students, faculty, and staff, this year’s Diplomatic Ball proved an elegant and sumptuous capstone to a year of hard work on campus.

With a venue change to the newly built Hilton Hotel, recently added to the West Bay coastline of development in Doha, the highly anticipated event represents a longstanding Georgetown history of bringing together the students of foreign affairs, and the leaders in the field

“It is our pleasure to continue a tradition begun on our main campus in Washington D.C.,” said Dr. Brendan Hill, Dean of Students, in his welcome address to a guest list that included representatives from 21 different country embassies. “ We see this event as a valuable opportunity to introduce members of the diplomatic community to our current students, many of whom aspire to be members of the foreign service one day as well.”

The event is organized by the Student Affairs Office, but students play a leading role in both the organization and logistics, as well as serving as integral hosts to the esteemed ambassadorial guests. Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Daniel Stoll, said, “for many of the students, this function is often the first interaction they will have with a diplomat or official representative of another country. Since many of our students will one day serve in the diplomatic corps of their own country, this interaction leaves a lasting impression on our students”.

This year, diplomatic guests represented the countries of Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Greece, Macedonia, India, Italy, Iran, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Poland, Romania, Russia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the diplomatic mission for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cypru