Global Engagement

Under the leadership of Debora Tonelli, the Georgetown Representative Office supports academic collaborations and coordinates outreach to the Vatican and other institutions based in Rome and Italy. Key partners include the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, the Pontifical Academy for Life, and Gregorian University.

The office is located in the Villa Malta, home to the leading Jesuit journal, La Civiltà Cattolica, which is led by Fr. Antonio Spadaro, S.J. Georgetown co-hosts events at the Villa, including a seminar of the China Forum for Civilizational Dialogue (featuring Thomas Friedman) in December 2018 and a conference to mark the centennial of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in May 2019.

During the 2020-2021 academic year, Georgetown University and La Civiltà Cattolica are hosting a Questioni di Civiltà webinar series that brings together leading experts to discuss contemporary issues at the intersection of culture, society, politics, and the Church.

Dr. Debora Tonelli is the Georgetown University representative in Rome and permanent researcher at the Center for Religious Studies at the Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Trento. She also serves as a lecturer at Gregorian University and Pontifical Atheneum S. Anselmo. Tonelli's research and teaching address the interaction between politics and religion, particularly in the context of interreligious dialogue and religious violence.