КУЛТУРНАТА ДИПЛОМАТИЈА И АЦО ШОПОВ / CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AND ACO ŠOPOV

Abstract

Cultural diplomacy is considered as one of the newer diplomatic disciplines that has
its particularly important application in international relations, in the past and the present
century. The instruments and means of culture are the basis of this diplomatic skill and
discipline, and its main goal is to create opportunities for recognition, rapprochement,
mutual respect and attraction between states and people who fail in those intentions
through the other means of traditional diplomatic practice. In the world’s best diplomatic
traditions, it was a good practice to send prominent people from one culture and science
on a diplomatic mission, and such practice was adopted by our former community, SFRY,
even in its earliest years of creation. A particularly responsible diplomatic mission in
Africa, during the Yugoslav diplomacy, was given to the famous Macedonian poet Aco
Šopov. Šopov’s cultural and diplomatic activities were not only related to his diplomatic
stay in Senegal. He had been actively working on the promotion of Macedonian culture
for many years before, both within the then community of Yugoslav peoples and on a
wider international level. Throughout his personal and working life, Aco Šopov had
culture as his most important determinant and his work was woven into the roots not
only of contemporary Macedonian culture but also into the foundations of modern
cultural diplomacy.