Internet Governance Capacity Building Training Programme 2009

DiploFoundation, in cooperation with various partners, has started the fifth round of the annual online Internet Governance Capacity Building Training Programme - IGCBP2009.

This online programme is designed to improve Internet governance (IG) related knowledge and skills for participants mainly from developing countries and to facilitate community-building among individuals with different national, cultural, and professional backgrounds.

 

The Programme

The programme offers 120 places for young professionals from diverse stakeholder backgrounds in IG-related fields and is open to individuals from around the world. The first two phases of the programme are conducted entirely online.
The programme includes three phases, which take will place over eight months during 2009: 

I The online training phase consists of
    • a 11-week long Foundation Course, introducing IG policy, process, and actors, and covering 5 thematic baskets: Infrastructure and Standardisation Basket, Legal Basket, Economic Basket, Socio-Cultural Basket, Development Basket, and a section on the IG Process and Actors;
    • a 7-week long module of the Advanced Course, covering one advanced topics to be chosen by each participant from a pool of modules such as: Intellectual Property Rights, Infrastructure and Economic Models of Interconnectivity, Privacy, Security and others.
Learning activities take place in an online classroom and include the analysis of course materials, interactive group discussions using a variety of communication tools, assignments, and exams.
Successful participants will receive a certificate of completion of the programme.


II The online policy research phase is an optional 3-month period of supervised, collaborative online work focused on IG policy issues of highest relevance to developing countries, and is closely linked to training activities.

III The optional policy immersion phase includes capacity-building fellowships awarded to a number of successful participants in the programme, such as internships with partner organisations such as a fellowship with the IGF Secretariat in Geneva, and attendance at IG-related meetings, including the Internet Governance Forum later in the year.

 

Languages

Besides English-speaking groups, several bilingual groups are formed for the foundation course, having English as the primary language, and either Arabic, French or Portuguese as the secondary language for communication and interaction.

 

Target Audience

The training programme seeks applications from the following categories of individuals from both developed and developing countries: 

  • officials in government ministries and departments dealing with IG-related issues (e.g., telecommunications, education, foreign affairs, justice);
  • postgraduate students and researchers in the IG field (e.g., in telecommunications, electrical engineering, law, economics, development studies);
  • civil society activists in the IG field;
  • journalists covering IG issues;
  • individuals in Internet-business fields (e.g., ISPs, software developers).

 

Requirements

The applicants are required to have:

  • Basic awareness and interest in IG issues; 
  • Knowledge and/or experience of the multistakeholder approach in international affairs;
  • Fluency in English, as well as fluency in the second language for the applicants to any of bilingual groups;
  • Good writing skills, ability to summarize information and focus on details; 
  • Regular access to the Internet (dial-up connection is sufficient);
  • Minimum of 8 hours commitment per week during the programme. This is perhaps the single most important requirement and should be evaluated seriously by any potential applicants;
  • Participation in online consultations (once a week at specified times).

 

Timeline

  • 2 March-17 May 2009 – Foundation Course on Internet Governance
  • 25 May-17 July 2009 – Advanced Course on Internet Governance
  • 1 September- 8 November 2009 – Policy Research Phase (optional)
  • July 2009 through 2009 – Policy Immersion (fellowships)

 

Information 

The call for applications for the 2009 programme has been closed.
For more detailed information on the programme and topics please click here.

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For further information, please contact us at: ig@diplomacy.edu.