Recognising a growing need for strengthening the capacity of small and developing states to  participate in climate change policy processes, in early 2008 DiploFoundation initiated a series of  climate change related activities. The first was an international conference on Climate Change Diplomacy (Malta, February, 2008), followed by a Climate Change Diplomacy Event at the United Nations (New York, July 2008). Throughout 2008, Diplo conceptualised and created materials for an online course on climate change diplomacy; the first session was run at the end of 2008. With partnership and funding from the Maltese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the course offered scholarship opportunities for diplomats, civil servants and academics from small and developing states involved in climate change policy processes and negotiations to develop their knowledge and skills in this area.

Since then, Diplo has offered the course two times per year, with the continuing support of the Maltese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The high level of interaction in the online courses led Diplo to support the establishment of an online community to foster the exchange of contacts, ideas, and information among course alumni and other interested individuals. Further, in the run-up to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December 2009, Diplo developed the “Climate Change Building” illustration, depicting the complex issue of climate change in a comprehensive, yet enjoyable way. The illustration is available for free and can be used for publications or training purposes under the creative commons license.

The Internet Governance programme is organised by Diplo with support from partner institutions and individuals with expertise in Internet Governance-related issues. The programme aims to raise awareness about IG related issues through the development of a toolkit of text and visual resources, to train policy makers through seminars, workshops and training programmes, to promote research on issues of special concern to developing countries and to build a community of experts in developing countries who can contribute to the regional and global debate on Internet Governance. The project’s flagship training programme, the Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme (IGCBP), aims to assist young professionals involved in IG issues from countries with limited financial and human resources to develop the skills and knowledge required to participate meaningfully in the global debate on IG. This is an innovative project, which offers a full scholarship for online training, research and fellowships to participants from developing countries. By the end of its third year of operation in 2007, the programme will have trained 264 young professionals from 90 countries and built a community of experts of nearly 300 people around the world.

In 2008, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) invited Diplo to establish an online capacity building programme on the Universal Legal Regime against Terrorism. UNODC and Diplo staff members worked together throughout 2008, and in autumn 2008 the first online course, entitled “Global Norms against Terrorism at Work: Getting International Law in Motion,” was offered to a group of 25 criminal justice officials, most of them from developing countries worldwide. In 2009, UNODC and Diplo again cooperated to offer the course to further participants. Materials were translated to French and the course was offered one time in English and once in French. A new project was also initiated in 2009 with the involvement of the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL. Together, the three organisations developed and ran a new online course on international cooperation as a key tool in the fight against terrorism. From October 2009, the first session of this course was offered in French to 50 criminal justice officials from all around the world (with a focus on developing countries). For more information on current or upcoming courses please visit the UNODC website.

Diplomacy Island is the next step in over a decade of research and development in the field of Virtual Diplomacy. Through Second Life, Diplo has begun to explore new possibilities for diplomatic representation and negotiation. Diplomacy Island will be another channel for Diplo’s main mission to assist small and developing countries to participate meaningfully in international relations. The Island includes a Diplomatic Quarter where Virtual Embassies are located, a Virtual Diplomatic Academy which offers sessions and panels related to modern diplomacy; the Virtual Diplomatic Museum and the Internet Governance Village, which hosts panels, round table discussions and conferences on IG-related issues.