People

Dr Stephanie Borg Psaila is the Director for Digital Policy at DiploFoundation, and the Editor of the GIP Digital Watch observatory. In 2018-2019, she served as Diplo's Interim Director and Head of Geneva Internet Platform, replacing Founding Director Dr Jovan Kurbalija during his one-year position as co-Executive Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.  

Stephanie holds a Doctorate in Law (LL.D.), a Master's in Contemporary Diplomacy, and two law-related diplomas from the University of Malta, and her special areas of interest include legal issues in digital policy, human rights, and e-diplomacy. She holds a warrant to practice as a Notary Public in Malta, and is a former journalist with The Sunday Times of Malta.

Originally from the Czech Republic, Dr Tereza Horejsova is currently based in Washington DC. Joining Diplo in 2012, Tereza has had an international career in academia and the non-governmental sector in the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland. During her stay in Geneva (2012‒2016), she coordinated the activities of the Geneva Internet Platform. She holds an MA in International Area Studies and a PhD in European Studies, both from the Charles University in Prague.

Dr Jovan Kurbalija is the Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP). He was a member of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (2004‒2005), special advisor to the Chairman of the UN Internet Governance Forum (2006‒2010), and a member of the High Level Multistakeholder Committee for NETmundial (2013‒2014). In 2018-2019, he served as co-Executive Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations (UN) High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.

A former diplomat, Jovan has a professional and academic background in international law, diplomacy, and information technology. He has been a pioneer in the field of cyber diplomacy since 1992 when he established the Unit for Information Technology and Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta, and later, DiploFoundation.

Since 1997, Jovan’s research and articles on cyber diplomacy have shaped research and policy discussion on the impact of the Internet on diplomacy and international relations. His book, An Introduction to Internet Governance, has been translated into 9 languages and is used as a textbook for academic courses worldwide. He lectures on e-diplomacy and Internet governance in academic and training institutions in many countries, including Austria (Diplomatic Academy of Vienna), Belgium (College of Europe), Switzerland (University of St Gallen), Malta (University of Malta), and the United States (University of Southern California).

His publishes regular articles on DiploFoundation's blog, and the Huffington Post. 

Serbian-born Mr Vladimir (Vlada) Radunović is a lecturer in cybersecurity policy, Internet governance, and e-diplomacy on postgraduate and professional courses. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) and as an expert with the Geneva Internet Platform. He served as a member of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) from 2012 to 2014. Vlada has been a lecturer, speaker, and resource person on a number of educational and training programmes and events worldwide, including within the WSIS and IGF processes. His professional and research focus is on Internet governance, broadband policy and net neutrality, cybersecurity and cyber-diplomacy, e-diplomacy, and capacity development. He holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Belgrade and a Master’s in Contemporary Diplomacy from the University of Malta. He is currently working on his PhD in cybersecurity. Vlada is currently member of the Board of Directors of Diplo US.

Ms Hannah Slavik has been working with Diplo since 1999 and is currently responsible for designing learning methodologies, planning educational policy, developing cooperation with partner institutions, and working on online course development and implementation. Originally from western Canada, she is now based in Bucharest, Romania. Hannah has edited three Diplo publications: Language and Diplomacy, Intercultural Communication and Diplomacy, and Roma Diplomacy. With an academic background in linguistics, she has an MA from the University of Malta and a BA from the University of Victoria, Canada. Hannah also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Open and Distance Education from the Open University, UK.

Ambassador Saviour F. Borg has served in Malta’s Foreign Service from 1977 to 2012, having joined the Maltese Civil Service in 1965. He is currently serving as an Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion. He is also Malta’s Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, the Principality of Liechtenstein, and to Bosnia and Herzegovina. From August 2007 to January 2012, he served as the Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations in New York, also serving as the Rapporteur of the United Nations Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

From July 2003 to July 2007, Ambassador Borg served as the Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations Office, its Specialised Agencies and Other International Organisations with Headquarters in Geneva, including the World Trade Organisation, and Head of Malta’s Observer Delegation to the Conference on Disarmament, the Commission on Human Rights, and its successor, the United Nations Human Rights Council.

From April 1999 to April 2003, Ambassador Borg served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Malta to the People’s Republic of China, serving concurrently as Malta’s Ambassador to Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. From January 1997 to March 1999, Ambassador Borg served as Permanent Representative of Malta to the UNOV, UNIDO, IAEA, CTBTO, UNEP and OPCW.

Ambassador Borg was a Member of the Executive Staff in the Office of the President of the Forty-Fifth Session of the United Nations General Assembly when in 1990 it elected to the post the then Malta’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Guido de Marco.

From January 1983 to December 1984, Ambassador Borg served as Deputy Representative of Malta to the United Nations Security Council. In 1992 he was appointed as Director of the United Nations, International Organisations and Commonwealth Division and in February 1994 the first Director of the Multilateral Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Borg has represented Malta in several international conferences and meetings. He is the author of various publications and articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Ambassador Victor Camilleri has served for almost 50 years in diplomacy. He has occupied a number of senior administrative and diplomatic posts, including that of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malta. His latest assignment was as Executive Director within the Ministry for European Affairs, with special responsibility for Malta's presidency of the EU Council in January–June 2017. His latest posting abroad was as Malta’s Ambassador to Libya in 2011–2013. As Ambassador in Brussels he formed part of the Maltese team which negotiated Malta’s membership of the EU. Ambasssador Camilleri was chef de cabinet to Maltese Foreign Minister Professor G. de Marco during his Presidency of the 45th Session of the UN General Assembly. He has extensive experience in multilateral affairs. He is actively interested in the promotion of IT as a tool of diplomacy and for some years served as Chairman of the Working Group on Informatics at the UN in New York. Ambassador Camilleri is President of Diplo's Board of Administrators.

Professor Dietrich Kappeler served as Director of the Diplomatic Studies Programme of the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva from 1993 to 1998. He was the founding director of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies at the University of Malta, 1990–1993. Professor Kappeler has extensive experience in diplomacy and international relations, and lectures and writes on international law, diplomatic and consular law, law of international institutions, human rights and humanitarian law, diplomacy, and constitutional and administrative law of Switzerland.

Born on 6 March 1933 in Berne, Switzerland, he was educated in Berne and in Beirut, Lebanon. He received a Bachelor’s degree in French Law in 1953 from the Faculty of Law, Université St Joseph, Beirut. In 1955, he was licenced in Public Law by the Faculty of Law at the University of Berne, and recieved his doctorate in Public Law from the same institution in 1957. 

Kappeler served in the Swiss diplomatic service from 1957 to 1965, with postings in The Hague and Algiers, as well with the Legal Department at headquarters. From 1965 to 1973, he was a personal assistant to Professor Paul Guggenheim and a consultant with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace working on the training of third world diplomats. He was involved in the creation of the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC) in 1971 and the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies of the University of Nairobi in 1973. During the 1970s and 80s he was a research fellow and lecturer at the University of Geneva and a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. From the Graduate Institute, he was seconded as a lecturer to the University of Tehran and the University of Nairobi.

Dr Jovan Kurbalija is the Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP). He was a member of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (2004‒2005), special advisor to the Chairman of the UN Internet Governance Forum (2006‒2010), and a member of the High Level Multistakeholder Committee for NETmundial (2013‒2014). In 2018-2019, he served as co-Executive Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations (UN) High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.

A former diplomat, Jovan has a professional and academic background in international law, diplomacy, and information technology. He has been a pioneer in the field of cyber diplomacy since 1992 when he established the Unit for Information Technology and Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta, and later, DiploFoundation.

Since 1997, Jovan’s research and articles on cyber diplomacy have shaped research and policy discussion on the impact of the Internet on diplomacy and international relations. His book, An Introduction to Internet Governance, has been translated into 9 languages and is used as a textbook for academic courses worldwide. He lectures on e-diplomacy and Internet governance in academic and training institutions in many countries, including Austria (Diplomatic Academy of Vienna), Belgium (College of Europe), Switzerland (University of St Gallen), Malta (University of Malta), and the United States (University of Southern California).

His publishes regular articles on DiploFoundation's blog, and the Huffington Post. 

Dr Isabelle Ragonesi is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of International Relations, within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Malta.She completed her doctoral dissertation on The Role of External Players in Democratization in Southern Europe: The Cases of Malta and Cyprusunder the supervision of Dr Robert Leonardi from the European Unit at the London School of Economics. Her research interests include the study of democratization, Southern Europe and North African studies, EU policy, and small state studies.

Sources: 

• https://www.um.edu.mt/profile/isabellecalleja
• http://www.educ.um.edu.mt/mesce/keynotes.html

Ambassador Maud Vuyelwa Dlomo was appointed as South Africa’s ambassador to Madagascar in 2016. Prior to this position, she was appointed as Deputy Director-General, Diplomatic Training, Research and Development at South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in August 2008. Among her qualifications are Master’s degrees in Arts and Diplomatic Studies from Wits University and the University of Pretoria respectively. She also holds degrees in Arts and Development together with a post-graduate diploma in education development. She has served on a number of committees during her professional career, among other things as the assistant coordinator for the Defence Sub-Committee of the Transitional Executive Committee in 1994, and as assistant coordinator to the National Economic Development and Labour Council in 1995. Prior to joining the DIRCO, Ms Dlomo was director: Forestry Restructuring in the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry; chief director: Human Resources Planning in the Department of Education; and chief director: Foreign Service Institute at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Sources: 

• https://www.gcis.gov.za/sms/international.html
• https://en.indian-ocean-times.com/New-South-African-Ambassador-in-Madagascar_a6141.html

Ambassador Valentin Zellweger is Head of the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office and to the other international organizations in Geneva. Until the summer of 2016, he was Head of the Directorate of International Law and Legal Adviser to the Swiss Foreign Ministry.  Zellweger started his professional career as a research assistant in international law at the University of Basel where he also submitted his doctoral thesis. Joining the Swiss Foreign Ministry in 1991, he has served as a diplomat in Kenya and as a legal adviser to the Swiss Mission to the United Nations in New York. He has represented Switzerland in different treaty negotiations and was a member of the Swiss delegation to the Rome Conference on the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Between 2003 and 2007, Zellweger served as Chef de Cabinet of the first President of the ICC in The Hague during the setting-up of the newly established Court.

Professor GR Berridge is Emeritus Professor of International Politics at the University of Leicester, where he was the founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Diplomacy. For many years, he was General Editor of the Macmillan series, Studies in Diplomacy, and Associate Editor (with responsibility for twentieth century diplomatists) of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He is the author of numerous books on diplomacy, including the best-selling textbook, Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, which has been translated into numerous languages, including Chinese. His most recent books include Embassies in Armed Conflict, the third edition (with L. Lloyd) of The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Diplomacy, and A Diplomatic Whistleblower in the Victorian Era. Professor Berridge has been an external examiner at various British universities, including Birmingham, Durham, and London (School of Oriental and African Studies). A fuller biography – and much more – can be found on his personal website.

Dr Petru Dumitriu has been a member of the Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations system since 1 January 2016. Previously, he was Ambassador and Permanent Observer of the Council of Europe to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva (2011-2014), Representative of Romania in the Executive Board of UNESCO (2010–2011), national coordinator of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (2008–2011), and Director General for Multilateral Affairs and Director General for Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania  (2006-2010). Prior to this appointment he served in the Permanent Mission of Romania to the United Nations in Geneva (2001–2005) and New York (1994-1998). He has also been a member of the International Advisory Board of New or Restored Democracies (2006 to 2009), an elected member of the UN Committee on Contributions (2001–2009), rapporteur of the Geneva phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (2002), and Secretary-General of the Third International Conference of New and Restored Democracies (1997). He was also vice-president of the UNICEF Executive Board (1995), the UN Commission on Disarmament (1997), and the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (1997). His flagship books are The United Nations System in the Context of Globalization: The Reform as Will and Representation (in Romanian) and Diversité dans l’unité: La capacité de négociation de l’Union Européenne au sein de la Commission des droits de l’homme des Nations unies. See Dr Dumitriu's CV for a full professional background and complete list of publications.  

Mrs Liz Galvez was a senior diplomat with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, taking early retirement in 2006 with the rank of Counsellor. During her 33 year career, she served in a wide range of diplomatic jobs in London and several overseas postings, including Finland, Central America and Romania, and 12 years in multilateral diplomacy: UN Geneva, OSCE Vienna (1989-1993) and UN New York (2003-6). She was seconded to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001-2002 as adviser to the Foreign Minister on OSCE Chairmanship and NATO accession issues, institutional reform, and diplomatic training. She returned to Romania in 2006 to set up and manage the Aspen Institute Romania until 2009.

She has been a course lecturer with DiploFoundation since 2009, providing training in public diplomacy and multilateral negotiating skills, including a programme for the Asia-Europe Foundation for diplomats from European and Asian countries, and a dissertation supervisor for DiploFoundation/University of Malta Master in Contemporary Diplomacy students. She has run workshops on public diplomacy for the Foreign Ministry of Bahrain; the Foreign Ministry and Parliamentary staffers in South Africa; and the Diplomatic Academy of Armenia. In addition, she has co-facilitated a workshop on Conflict Resolution in Bahrain for Diplomatic Heads of Mission and given a short training programme in Geneva on Diplomatic Reporting in the Internet Era for diplomatic officers from several states. She has run training programmes on negotiating skills for the Foreign Ministry of Bahrain, and at the Italian School of National Administration for Italian new entrant diplomats, and on Diplomatic English writing and speaking skills for the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Moldova. She speaks operational Spanish, Romanian, and French. She has a BA from the University of London in Latin and Spanish and an MSc degree from the University of London in Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict, and has recently completed the DiploFoundation course on Internet Governance.

Mr Lee Hibbard is a Senior Fellow at DiploFoundation. He is also an administrator in the Bioethics Unit of the Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France. For the last ten years, Lee has been responsible for developing European human rights norms on the challenges posed by the Internet, in particular regarding freedom of expression, the public service value of the Internet, children’s right to be forgotten, responsibilities of Internet companies, privacy, and other areas. Lee has also coordinated the Council of Europe’s policy on Internet governance. This included the preparation of the organisation’s Internet Governance Strategies for 2016-2019, 2012-2015, and developing partnerships with Internet companies.

Professor Dietrich Kappeler served as Director of the Diplomatic Studies Programme of the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva from 1993 to 1998. He was the founding director of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies at the University of Malta, 1990–1993. Professor Kappeler has extensive experience in diplomacy and international relations, and lectures and writes on international law, diplomatic and consular law, law of international institutions, human rights and humanitarian law, diplomacy, and constitutional and administrative law of Switzerland.

Born on 6 March 1933 in Berne, Switzerland, he was educated in Berne and in Beirut, Lebanon. He received a Bachelor’s degree in French Law in 1953 from the Faculty of Law, Université St Joseph, Beirut. In 1955, he was licenced in Public Law by the Faculty of Law at the University of Berne, and recieved his doctorate in Public Law from the same institution in 1957. 

Kappeler served in the Swiss diplomatic service from 1957 to 1965, with postings in The Hague and Algiers, as well with the Legal Department at headquarters. From 1965 to 1973, he was a personal assistant to Professor Paul Guggenheim and a consultant with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace working on the training of third world diplomats. He was involved in the creation of the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC) in 1971 and the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies of the University of Nairobi in 1973. During the 1970s and 80s he was a research fellow and lecturer at the University of Geneva and a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. From the Graduate Institute, he was seconded as a lecturer to the University of Tehran and the University of Nairobi.

Christopher Lamb is a former Australian Ambassador and is now Special Adviser to the Australian Red Cross and the IFRC. He also has advisory responsibilities with many RCRC National Societies, business groups and universities. He is president of the Australia Myanmar Institute and holds positions with several NGOs and foundations. As Special Adviser on International Relations for the IFRC until his retirement in June 2010, he was responsible for the diplomatic positioning of the IFRC and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the international intergovernmental and non-governmental communities. He coordinated the development of IFRC positions in various humanitarian and political fields, supporting the work of National Societies in these respects through the development of the IFRC’s policy on humanitarian diplomacy. Before joining IFRC in 2000, he was an Australian diplomat and Ambassador to Myanmar, Serbia, Romania, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, after serving in several multilateral and bilateral posts and as foreign ministry legal adviser.

Mr Aldo Matteucci graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) in Agriculture, and from Berkeley in Agricultural Economics. He spent three years in East Africa doing research on land use, then in Maryland, working on rural development. In 1977 he joined the Swiss Federal Office of Economic Affairs. He was deputy director of the EUREKA Secretariat in Brussels, and from 1994 to 2000, deputy secretary general of EFTA. He obtained early retirement upon leaving EFTA.

He remains a committed contrarian.

Laurence E. (‘Larry’) Pope was educated at Bowdoin College, Maine, one of America’s leading liberal arts colleges; he spent his junior year in France and graduated in 1967. Following two years as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in order to avoid being drafted to Vietnam, in late 1969 he joined the Foreign Service – and before long was serving his first overseas posting as a consular officer at the embassy in Saigon. Thereafter, he studied Arabic, and devoted the greater part of the rest of his long diplomatic career to posts dealing with the Middle East and North Africa, whether in the Department of State, at missions abroad, or on attachment to the military. After about 15 years in the diplomatic trenches, these posts included deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires in Bahrain, 1985-7; director for Northern Gulf Affairs (Iran and Iraq), State Dept., 1987-90; associate director for Counter-Terrorism, State Dept., 1991-3; ambassador to Chad, 1993-6; and political advisor to Gen. Anthony Zinni, C-in-C US Central Command (Tampa, Florida), 1997-2000. He is a recipient of the highest award given by the Defense Department to a civilian, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service.

Larry had originally assumed that his post with CENTCOM would be his final tour. For many years it was, although in 2000 it looked as if he would go as ambassador to Kuwait until his presidential nomination was blocked by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chiefly because of his loyalty to General Zinni, who had publicly ridiculed a plan for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein strongly supported by its powerful chairman. Even refused a hearing by the committee, on 2 October 2000 Larry was led by this treatment to retire from the Foreign Service. His account of this unsavoury episode is to be found in a short article in Foreign Service Journal (pp. 17-19).

But ‘retirement’ is one thing; giving up work is another, and Larry was not idle for long. Following the Middle East Peace Summit at Sharm el-Sheikh later in October, he accepted an invitation – prompted by the State Department – to act as staff director in Jerusalem for the International Fact-Finding Commission, chaired by Senator George Mitchell, which the heads of state had agreed to establish. This reported in April 2001, although Larry had felt obliged to resign before this because he had been made a special target of Israeli attacks. His account of this episode can be read in the transcript of this interview.

Following the notorious 9/11 attacks in 2001, he became a senior advisor for Arab affairs at the US Mission to the United Nations in New York, a consultant to the Defense Department and other national security agencies, and a Senior Fellow at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. He also lectured widely on what, in an op-ed piece in the New York Times, he called the ‘Second Arab Awakening’.

It was in 2012 that a tragic event brought him briefly out of formal retirement. This was the murder on 11 September of Christopher Stevens, US ambassador to Libya, during an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. Larry offered to go out as chargé d’affaires until a new ambassador could be installed and this was accepted. Such an appointment did not require Senate approval, and he arrived at the embassy in Tripoli – where he had served as political officer much earlier in his career – a month later; he remained until early January 2013.

In recent years, Larry Pope has devoted much of his time to historical research, with a special interest in ancien régime France and its most famous diplomat-writer, François de Callières. In 2004 he published Letters (1694-1700) of François de Callières to the Marquise d’Huxelles (Edwin Mellen Press); and in 2010 the first serious biography of Callières: François de Callières. A Political Life (Republic of Letters). In 2011 he brought out an edited narrative produced by the US Marine Corps History Division: Among Heroes – With a Marine Corps Rifle Company on Peleliu (Marine Corps University Press), and he was a consultant editor on the third edition of the Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Diplomacy(2012). His most recent publication is The Demilitarization of American Diplomacy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). He is currently working on a biography of Col. Nathaniel Hooke (1664-1738), an Irish-born Jacobite, soldier of fortune, and special envoy, who entered the service of Louis XIV at the end of the seventeenth century.

Larry Pope became a Senior Fellow of DiploFoundation in June 2014.

Ambassador Kishan S. Rana is Professor Emeritus, and a Senior Fellow at DiploFoundation. He was awarded a BA (Hon) and MA in economics, St Stephens College Delhi. He was in the Indian Foreign Service (1960-95); and worked in China (1963-65, 1970-72). He was Ambassador and High Commissioner for Algeria, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, Mauritius, and Germany; and consul general in San Francisco. He served on staff of PM Indira Gandhi (1981-82).

Amb. Rana is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi (book review editor, China Report); an Archives By-Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge; a Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington DC; guest faculty at the Diplomatic Academy, Vienna; and Commonwealth Adviser, Namibia Foreign Ministry, 2000-01. He has lectured in about 20 countries to diplomats at foreign ministry training institutions, and at ambassador conferences in several countries.

He is the author of Inside Diplomacy (2000); Managing Corporate Culture (co-author, 2000); Bilateral Diplomacy(2002); The 21st Century Ambassador (2004); Asian Diplomacy (2007); Diplomacy of the 21st Century (2011); India’s North-East States, the BCIM Forum and Regional Integration, (co-author, 2012); The Contemporary Embassy (2013); and Diplomacy at the Cutting Edge (2015). He is co-editor of Foreign Ministries (2007); and Economic Diplomacy(2011). The two books were translated into Chinese; some used as textbooks at several universities. He has written about 100 articles for academic journals and newspapers.

Dr Alex Sceberras Trigona currently serves as Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Malta. He is a Founder Member of DiploFoundation, and has been organising courses simulating international negotiations – bilateral and multilateral – at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, University of Malta, since 1991 as well as for the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, for the Commonwealth, and for the Commission of the European Union, amongst others. Dr Trigona served as Malta's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1981–1987. He negotiated Malta's Neutrality Agreements. He lobbied for, won, and managed Malta's first ever seat on the United Nations Security Council for 1983/1984. His law Doctorate was awarded on the basis of a seminal thesis Constitutional Change and the Maltese Constitution. Fundamental constitutional changes in 1974 followed this thesis in both manner and substance. He was elected Rhodes Scholar for Malta and read Politics, Economics, and Philosophy at Oriel College, Oxford University for his MA. He lectures on Diplomacy and Diplomatic Practice for International Relations students and on Private International Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Malta.

Dr Biljana Scott was trained as a linguist (BA in Chinese, M.Phil and D.Phil in Linguistics, University of Oxford). She is a Senior Lecturer in Language and Diplomacy at DiploFoundation and an associate of the Chinese Institute at Oxford University. She workshops internationally on political rhetoric, diplomatic language public speaking. Her current research is on implicit communication and the 'unsaid'. Read more on her Language and Diplomacy website. 

Mr Cedric Amon is a Project Assistant in Diplo's Geneva office and a Master's student in International Affairs at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID). He has a BA in International Relations and International Law from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in Canada. As part of his studies, Cedric is conducting a Capstone research project in Cyber Mediation: The Role of Private Technological Companies in Support of Mediation for the Prevention and Resolution of Violent Conflicts.

Ms Katarina Andjelković is a researcher at DiploFoundation currently based in Belgrade. Katarina joined Diplo’s Data Team in October 2018 where she conducts research on structured and unstructured data, artificial intelligence, and other digital-policy-related topics. Her research interests also include topics related to authoritarian practices in the digital sphere and the concept of virtual nationalism. 

Katarina holds a BA in International Politics from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Sciences and an MA in Southeast European Studies from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She was also a visiting student at the Institute of International Relations at the University of Warsaw.

Mr Robert Aquilina has been Diplo’s Finance Manager since 2015, dealing mainly with administrative and financial reporting both statutory and donor related. Based in Malta, Robert is Director of AQ Advisory Ltd, a Maltese company providing accountancy and business advisory services since 2000 He is also a member of the Malta Institute of Management and holds a Diploma from the Institute of Indirect Taxation, UK.

Mr Miodrag Badnjar joined Diplo in 2003 as office manager of Diplo Centar in Belgrade. Today, as Media Developer in the online education sector, his focus is on media content optimisation (Adobe Suite) and html formatting. Miodrag is also the official photographer for various events and activities organised in Belgrade. Apart from photography, his other hobbies are fishing and playing saxophone (blues and jazz).

Mr Patrick Borg has been working for Diplo in Malta for over 12 years. He has been involved in Diplo’s Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme, Diplo's MA programme, and our online courses. Patrick holds a BA (Hons) and a Master's in International Relations from the University of Malta, and a Master’s in European Studies from the Institute for European Studies, University of Malta.

Ms Jelena Dinčić was born in Belgrade, Serbia, and moved to Kenya with her family at the age of seven. After Kenya, Jelena lived in Malta, France, and Switzerland, finally making her way back to Belgrade in 2013, and later joining Diplo in 2016. Her tasks include editing, social media, web content creation and management, and course coordination.

Jelena holds a BA in Photography from the Ecole de Condé, Lyon, and a degree in film directing from the Ecole de Cinéma, Geneva. In addition to numerous photography projects, her previous work experience in Geneva includes co-director of several documentary films, assistant librarian, and personal assistant to the Ambassador of Montenegro.

Ms Andrijana Gavrilović is a digital policy programmes assistant at DiploFoundation. In her research, she focuses on Internet governance and cybersecurity. A curator at the Geneva Internet Platform Digital Watch observatory, she follows global developments regarding cybercrime, critical infrastructure and violent extremism online, as well as closely coordinating the work of curators within the Cybersecurity basket. She also assists the Editor of the GIP Digital Watch Observatory with coordinating the work of the DW team of experts. Andrijana is a Master’s student in International Security at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences. She holds a BA in International Relations at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences.

Dr Katharina (Kat) E Höne researches, writes, and teaches on a number of issues in the area of diplomacy, global governance, and the impact of technology on international relations. Over the last years, she has focused on research at the intersection of diplomacy and technology. She was part of a research project on Data Diplomacy: Updating diplomacy to the big data era and the lead researcher and author of Mapping the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence for the conduct of diplomacy report, both supported by the Ministry for Foreign of Affairs of Finland. In addition, she has more than 10 years of experience in teaching international relations at universities in the UK and Germany, and in delivering in-situ, blended, and online training to diplomatic practitioners. Kat holds an MA in Diplomatic Studies (University of Leicester, UK) and a PhD in International Politics (University of Aberystwyth, UK). In her work, she is driven by her aim to level the playing field at international negotiation tables through capacity development, and to provide out-of-the-box thinking and inspiration by drawing on her passion for science-fiction.

Ms Pavlina Ittelson joined Diplo in 2017 and currently serves as a Program Officer at Diplo US. She also monitors the topics of jurisdiction and alternative dispute resolution for the GIP Digital Watch Observatory. Prior to joining Diplo, Pavlina was a legal project manager in the fields of international business, science, and technology. She previously worked as an Attorney in Slovakia and the Czech Republic specialising in international business transactions. Pavlina received her degree in Law from Comenius University, Bratislava, and her LL.M. in International Business Law from Central European University, Budapest. A native of Slovakia, Pavlina now resides in the Washington, DC area.

Diplo’s web manager, Ms Jelena Jakovljević, works from Malta. One of the longest-serving members of the Diplo Team and a native of Serbia, Jelena made the transition from DiploProject at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies when it evolved into DiploFoundation in 2002. She began her career as a graphic and web designer and has designed and produced all Diplo's major websites since its inception. Today, she focuses on web development and the implementation of current and new technologies on the web.

An accomplished amateur photographer, Jelena's work has been exhibited several times in Malta, where she also dances and teaches Tango.

Mr Djordje Jančić is the Head of the Data Team at DiploFoundation. Djordje initially worked for Diplo as a consultant and became a full time team member in 2018. 

Djordje is an Internet marketing specialist, lecturer and owner of the Holistic Web Marketing agency, with more than 10 years of hands-on experience in Internet marketing (SEO, PPC advertising, content creation, social media management), data analysis and project management. Besides having a degree in Public Relations, Djordje is a certified Google Ads specialist and a regular lecturer at the Internet Academy in Belgrade.

His other skills include copy-writing, website development and data science, which has recently become his primary focus of activity.

In his free time, Djordje is passionate about origami, SF literature and hiking.

An expert in remote participation, Mr Arvin Kamberi heads up Diplo’s Webinar Team. Based in Belgrade, he has been working on webinars and other web-based remote participation since 2011. Arvin has been part of the remote participation team for many international forums, such as the IGF, EuroDIG, and local IGF events such as IGF Africa. From 2014 to 2015, he was a part of the IGF Working Group on Remote Participation (established in 2008), and involved in the elaboration of IGF remote participation guidelines.

Arvin has a keen interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain developments; first as an avid ‘miner’, then more in terms of regulation and consensus mechanisms surrounding the decentralised systems. His primary focus is on Bitcoin development, but he follows other cryptocurrency developments and the blockchain/distributed ledger technology, too. Vice President of Bitcoin Association of Serbia, Arvin writes extensively about Bitcoin and blockchains. He holds an MA in Film and Video Production from Belgrade University of Art.

Born in Pancevo, Serbia, Mr Rade Kotur joined Diplo in 2015 as an Online Education Programmes Assistant, based in the Belgrade office. He studied English at Newbolt University in Bracknell, UK in 2011 and took a one-year course as a PHP and WEB developer at ITAcademy in Belgrade in 2014.

Rade’s hobbies vary from aggressive rollerblading to skiing, from ice skating to boxing. An animal lover, he is engaged in dog socialisation in his spare time.

Belgrade-based Mr Nikola Krstić has been with Diplo since 2002 where he’s been involved in Diplo's software development as a senior developer and more recently as Chief Information Officer.

A graduate of the Faculty of Robotics at Belgrade University, Nikola’s involvement with computers and software development began back in 1983 after training as a mathematician/programmer. Nikola has managed and coordinated many completely different projects for Diplo, from software development and support on various platforms to complete web programming in many programming languages.

In his free time, Nikola enjoys MTB, hiking, skiing, diving, basketball, music, travel, and photography.

An online moderator for remote participation and coordinator for the Geneva-based courses, Mr Marco Lotti joined DiploFoundation in early 2017. As part of the Geneva office team, Marco organises activities and events such as the Geneva Digital Talks and the Data Talks. Acurator at the Geneva Internet Platform Digital Watch observatory, he follows global developments regarding Content Policy and Cultural Diversity online. Furthermore,he reports from Internet-related conferences in the city and contributes to the work of senior researchers on Internet governance and to the GIP Digital Watch newsletter.

Marco has a BA in Political and Social Sciences from the University of Bologna (Italy) and an MA in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva (Switzerland). Prior to joining Diplo, Marco was board member of the Junior Diplomat Initiative Switzerland (2016–2017) and conducted research for the Cold War History Research Center at the Corvinus University of Budapest and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) in Geneva.

Brazilian-born Ms Marília Maciel is currently based in Strasbourg, France. She is involved in several Internet- governance-related projects, notably on the fields of digital economy, e-commerce, and cybersecurity. She also curates the topics of e-commerce, Access and Digital Divide for the GIP Digital Watch Observatory and represents Diplo at various meetings.

Prior to joining Diplo, Ms Marília Maciel was a researcher and coordinator of the Center for Technology and Society of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (CTS/FGV) in Rio de Janeiro. She served as a councillor at ICANN´s Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) representing the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG). Marília is a former member of the Working Group on Improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (2011–2012), created under the auspices of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UN CSTD). She was also a member of the Multistakeholder Executive Committee of NETmundial and represented CTS/FGV in meetings of the Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). She served in the Consultative Chamber on Internet Security and Rights of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br).

Marília is a PhD candidate at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, on Information and Communication Sciences. She holds an MA in Latin American Integration from the Federal University of Santa Maria (2008) and a law degree from the Federal University of Pernambuco (2005), where she was awarded a research grant from the State of Pernambuco Research Foundation (FACEPE) to investigate issues related to taxation and electronic commerce.

Ms Dragana Markovski is based in Belgrade where she focuses on course development and coordination. Prior to joining Diplo in 2011, Dragana worked in translating/interpreting, office and PR management, international trade and logistics, and education.

She graduated with a BA in Chinese Language and Literature and an MA in Chinese Literature from Belgrade University’s Faculty of Philology, Department for Chinese Language and Literature.

Currently based in Belgrade, Serbia, Ms Darija Medić is a digital practitioner, artist, and researcher, working in the fields of media art and design, web development, critical writing, curating, and production. Since 2012, she has been a core member of Interkultivator, an organisation that focuses on the decentralisation of gender and cultural production in Serbia through creating experimental educational platforms with a focus on technology (such as Technology for beginHers). Since 2015. she has been a project manager at Napon – Institute of Flexible Cultures and Technologies.

Darija graduated in 2011 from the Networked Media department at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam, Netherlands with a Master’s in Design, and in 2009 from the New Media Department of the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Serbia, with a Bachelor’s in New Media Arts.

Serbian-born Mr Viktor Mijatović  joined Diplo’s Creative Lab in 2015 as a graphic designer, and puts his creative stamp on most of Diplo’s print and online publications. With 17 years of experience in graphic design and advertising, Viktor has worked for past 7 years in Saatchi & Saatchi’s Belgrade office, which has won many international creative awards in advertising (Cannes LIONS award in 2014, for the project Chronicles Of Threats).

Viktor graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade  in 2001. In 2005, he obtained a postgraduate diploma from the Graphic Department, where he is currently finalising his PhD studies. He has exhibited at international print exhibitions in Canada, the USA, Estonia, Italy, the UK, Austria, and China. In his free time, Viktor enjoys watching movies, printing unique t-shirts and graphic prints, and spending time outdoors with his family.

Ms Mina Mudrić joined Diplo in 2003 and is based in Belgrade where she supervises the work of in-house and external graphic designers, illustrators, and printers. Mina oversees all aspects of design and production, often working on multiple simultaneous publications, coordinating busy schedules and printing deadlines. In addition to her role as Publications Manager, Mina also manages the International Forum on Diplomatic Studies website.

Mr Aleksandar Nedeljkov is an experienced desktop publishing specialist working with Diplo in Belgrade on publications design since 2004. His works involves patient and detailed preparation, formatting, and graphic processing of Diplo’s publications, leaflets and reports, often until the wee hours. Aleksandar likes to spend free time on his boat on the River Sava.

Serbian-born Ms Tanja Nikolić has been working for Diplo in Malta since 2003 on different course-related and social media tasks. She has interacted at some stage with the vast majority of Diplo's 5700 alumni. Tanja graduated from the  Faculty of Political Science, Department for Social Work and Social Politics in Belgrade University with a BA (Hons) in Social Work. When not at work, she enjoys long walks, clocking up at least 10 km daily.

Born (and currently residing) in the United States, Ms Virginia (Ginger) Paque lived in Venezuela for more than 35 years. An educator and administrator by profession, she has 25 years’ experience in business and manufacturing systems consulting. As a board member of the United Nations Association of Venezuela, her work as the Venezuelan member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations Task Force on WSIS marked her entry to the world of Internet governance (IG) during the Geneva PrepComs. Active in Civil Society discussions on IG, Ginger served as IG Caucus co-coordinator for two years. She was a member of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) from 2015 to 2017. Having completed a Master in Contemporary Diplomacy with a thesis focusing on the importance of IG as a new diplomatic priority, Ginger currently lectures on IG for Diplo and curates human rights topics for the GIP Digital Watch observatory.

Ms Nataša Perućica is a researcher at DiploFoundation and is currently based in Belgrade. Nataša joined Diplo’s Data Team in June 2018. In her role, she conducts research on structured and unstructured data, artificial intelligence as well as other digital policy related topics. 

Nataša spent most of her life abroad, namely in Malta, Belgium and Poland where she had the opportunity to immerse herself in different cultures. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Master’s degree in International Relations - Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution from the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium. 

Prior to joining Diplo, Nataša worked as an analyst in AML and CTF at Thomson Reuters. She also conducted several internships in diplomatic representations and missions. 

In her free time, Nataša enjoys reading Persian poetry, music and travelling.

As the man responsible for Diplo's online presence, Mr Carmelo (Lino) Romano's  main role is to ensure the smooth operation of all Diplo's servers. His aim is to go unnoticed, as he works in the background providing Diplo with continuous server availability. Lino started his career in industrial electronics, quickly moving on to computers at the very early stages of their proliferation in Malta. Initially he worked in software development, providing technical support to early adopters of business computers. He was involved in the successful setting up of one of the early Internet service providers on the island. Lino also supported a satellite broadcasting station, provided service to the printing industry through desktop publishing, and lectured to BSc students while running IT-related businesses and doing research work for a top-100 university.

Lino has a Master's in Information Technology with a major in Information Security from the University of Liverpool. His dissertation dealt with the secure information flow between different levels of an enterprise. He also holds a Master's in Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship from the University of Malta. His second dissertation was an in-depth study of the tourism industry, including a business plan for a tourism- related portal. Lino also has certifications from both Microsoft and Cisco.

Originally from Setúbal and now based in Coimbra, Portugal, André Saramago is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Coimbra. He is also a researcher in the fields of international relations theory, international historical sociology and East Asia. André has been working with DiploFoundation since 2017, first as a research consultant, tutor, and course coordinator, and currently as Online Learning and Research Associate. He holds an MA in International Relations (University of Lisbon, Portugal) and a PhD in International Politics (University of Aberystwyth, UK).  

Belgrade-based Mr Andrej Škrinjarić was born in Karlovac, Croatia. He studied Chinese Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, graduating in 1999. In 2003, he obtained his Postgraduate Diploma in Diplomacy from the University of Malta with a dissertation entitled ‘Multilingualism and the Internet’. From 1999 to 2009, Andrej worked as a freelance interpreter/translator for Chinese-Serbian-English, and spent six years living in China.

Dr Vladimir Veljašević is a long-time member of Diplo’s Creative Team in Belgrade. Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, his work has been exhibited at many international print exhibitions in countries such as Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and the USA.

Mrs Milica Virijević Konstantinović has been with Diplo from its earliest days in 1999 when it was still called DiploProjects. Her main responsibilities at the time were taking care of publications and printing. After taking maternity leave, she came back to Diplo in 2007 as Travel and Workshops Coordinator assuming the role of Head of Operations in Belgrade in 2016.

Amb. Amr Aljowaily is Egypt’s Ambassador to Serbia. He is also visiting faculty at UNITAR’s Multilateral Diplomacy Program, adjunct faculty in International Security at the School of Global Public Affairs of the American University in Cairo, and a course lecturer on Multilateral Diplomacy at DiploFoundation. He has held leading positions in multilateral negotiations including Rapporteur of the United Nations’ Special Committee on Peacekeeping in 2015, Coordinator for Peacekeeping of the African Group Experts in NY in 2015, Coordinator for Disarmament of the Arab Group Experts in New York from 2011 to 2015, Vice Chair of the UN Disarmament Commission in 2013, Facilitator for the International Tracing Instrument for the Second Review Conference on the UN Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons in 2012, Vice Chair of the General Assembly's First Committee (on Disarmament and International Security) in 2011, Chair of WTO’s Committee on Information Technology Agreement in 2007, Chair of the Negotiating Group on Market Access the Global System of Trade Preferences in 2007, and was twice Coordinator of the African Group to UNCTAD and the ITU (2003-2005).

Amb. Aljowaily’s previous diplomatic postings are New York, Geneva, and Washington, DC. At the Foreign Ministry, he served as Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for United Nations Affairs, Egypt; Director of UN Affairs; member of the Cabinets of the Minister and First Undersecretary and the departments of multilateral political and economic issues. He was a member of the Egyptian delegations to summits and ministerial meetings of WSIS, the South Summit, the League of Arab States, the African Union, as well as UNCTADXI and the ITU Plenipotentiary 2006. He was Board Member of the Institute for Diplomatic Studies (1994–1996) and Coordinator of International Relations at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (2001–2003).

His career began in print and broadcast journalism, and in research centres. He published some of the earliest analytical works in Arabic on ICTs and International Relations, and continues to publish in the field of multilateral diplomacy, especially on issues related to international peace and security. His latest publication is the edited book Serbia in Egyptian Eyes: Diplomatic Memories and Cultural Memoirs, released 17 January 2018.

Amb. Aljowaily holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo (AUC), an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy from the University of Malta. He has participated in numerous executive training activities, including the select Missions Leaders’ Course of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Daniel Beaudoin is a consultant on humanitarian diplomacy and civil-military affairs, as well as a lecturer on humanitarian diplomacy and aid operations at Tel Aviv University. Daniel has served as the Principal Liaison Officer for the coordination and facilitation of international humanitarian aid operations and economic development programs in the Occupied Territories. This position entailed intensive humanitarian mediation with the UN, World Bank, International Committee of the Red Cross, the US Agency for International Development, European Union, international NGOs as well as embassies and consulates. Daniel also has extensive media relations experience, having headed the foreign correspondents desk for the Israeli Military Spokesperson’s office.  His current research interests include network theory and its relevance to the humanitarian industry, as well as questions relating to the humanitarian diplomatic strategies adopted by the various aid actors, and how these strategies influence their ability to implement their respective humanitarian policies in the field.

Professor GR Berridge is Emeritus Professor of International Politics at the University of Leicester, where he was the founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Diplomacy. For many years, he was General Editor of the Macmillan series, Studies in Diplomacy, and Associate Editor (with responsibility for twentieth century diplomatists) of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He is the author of numerous books on diplomacy, including the best-selling textbook, Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, which has been translated into numerous languages, including Chinese. His most recent books include Embassies in Armed Conflict, the third edition (with L. Lloyd) of The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Diplomacy, and A Diplomatic Whistleblower in the Victorian Era. Professor Berridge has been an external examiner at various British universities, including Birmingham, Durham, and London (School of Oriental and African Studies). A fuller biography – and much more – can be found on his personal website.

Dr Stephanie Borg Psaila is the Director for Digital Policy at DiploFoundation, and the Editor of the GIP Digital Watch observatory. In 2018-2019, she served as Diplo's Interim Director and Head of Geneva Internet Platform, replacing Founding Director Dr Jovan Kurbalija during his one-year position as co-Executive Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.  

Stephanie holds a Doctorate in Law (LL.D.), a Master's in Contemporary Diplomacy, and two law-related diplomas from the University of Malta, and her special areas of interest include legal issues in digital policy, human rights, and e-diplomacy. She holds a warrant to practice as a Notary Public in Malta, and is a former journalist with The Sunday Times of Malta.

Ambassador Victor Camilleri has served for almost 50 years in diplomacy. He has occupied a number of senior administrative and diplomatic posts, including that of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malta. His latest assignment was as Executive Director within the Ministry for European Affairs, with special responsibility for Malta's presidency of the EU Council in January–June 2017. His latest posting abroad was as Malta’s Ambassador to Libya in 2011–2013. As Ambassador in Brussels he formed part of the Maltese team which negotiated Malta’s membership of the EU. Ambasssador Camilleri was chef de cabinet to Maltese Foreign Minister Professor G. de Marco during his Presidency of the 45th Session of the UN General Assembly. He has extensive experience in multilateral affairs. He is actively interested in the promotion of IT as a tool of diplomacy and for some years served as Chairman of the Working Group on Informatics at the UN in New York. Ambassador Camilleri is President of Diplo's Board of Administrators.

Mr Bipul Chatterjee is an Indian economist with more than 20 years of experience on issues related to international trade and development, especially on political economy of trade and economic policy reforms, particularly pro-poor aspects of reforms. Currently, he is Executive Director of CUTS International, a Jaipur-based international non-governmental organisation working on several subjects of public interest. Bipul heads the CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics and Environment. Prior to joining CUTS International, he worked at several economic policy think tanks in New Delhi such as National Council for Applied Economic Research, and Institute for Economic Growth. He has participated and represented the organisation in more than 100 events on WTO issues, regional integration, and trade and development issues at national, regional and international level including WTO Ministerial Conferences. He has authored more than 20 papers including a collection of essays on India’s experience on economic diplomacy, co-edited with Ambassador Kishan Rana.

http://www.cuts-citee.org/pdf/BipulCV.pdf

Dr Petru Dumitriu has been a member of the Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations system since 1 January 2016. Previously, he was Ambassador and Permanent Observer of the Council of Europe to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva (2011-2014), Representative of Romania in the Executive Board of UNESCO (2010–2011), national coordinator of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (2008–2011), and Director General for Multilateral Affairs and Director General for Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania  (2006-2010). Prior to this appointment he served in the Permanent Mission of Romania to the United Nations in Geneva (2001–2005) and New York (1994-1998). He has also been a member of the International Advisory Board of New or Restored Democracies (2006 to 2009), an elected member of the UN Committee on Contributions (2001–2009), rapporteur of the Geneva phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (2002), and Secretary-General of the Third International Conference of New and Restored Democracies (1997). He was also vice-president of the UNICEF Executive Board (1995), the UN Commission on Disarmament (1997), and the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (1997). His flagship books are The United Nations System in the Context of Globalization: The Reform as Will and Representation (in Romanian) and Diversité dans l’unité: La capacité de négociation de l’Union Européenne au sein de la Commission des droits de l’homme des Nations unies. See Dr Dumitriu's CV for a full professional background and complete list of publications.  

Alan Franklin obtained an LLB and JD from the University of Toronto and an LLM in international law from the London School of Economics.  He is currently living in Vancouver, Canada, teaching courses on international legal business risk to MBA students at Athabasca University, international and constitutional law at Royal Roads University, as well as courses on international law for the University of London international LLM program. Alan created and chairs an association of former United Nations Ambassadors in the USA.

Mrs Liz Galvez was a senior diplomat with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, taking early retirement in 2006 with the rank of Counsellor. During her 33 year career, she served in a wide range of diplomatic jobs in London and several overseas postings, including Finland, Central America and Romania, and 12 years in multilateral diplomacy: UN Geneva, OSCE Vienna (1989-1993) and UN New York (2003-6). She was seconded to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001-2002 as adviser to the Foreign Minister on OSCE Chairmanship and NATO accession issues, institutional reform, and diplomatic training. She returned to Romania in 2006 to set up and manage the Aspen Institute Romania until 2009.

She has been a course lecturer with DiploFoundation since 2009, providing training in public diplomacy and multilateral negotiating skills, including a programme for the Asia-Europe Foundation for diplomats from European and Asian countries, and a dissertation supervisor for DiploFoundation/University of Malta Master in Contemporary Diplomacy students. She has run workshops on public diplomacy for the Foreign Ministry of Bahrain; the Foreign Ministry and Parliamentary staffers in South Africa; and the Diplomatic Academy of Armenia. In addition, she has co-facilitated a workshop on Conflict Resolution in Bahrain for Diplomatic Heads of Mission and given a short training programme in Geneva on Diplomatic Reporting in the Internet Era for diplomatic officers from several states. She has run training programmes on negotiating skills for the Foreign Ministry of Bahrain, and at the Italian School of National Administration for Italian new entrant diplomats, and on Diplomatic English writing and speaking skills for the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Moldova. She speaks operational Spanish, Romanian, and French. She has a BA from the University of London in Latin and Spanish and an MSc degree from the University of London in Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict, and has recently completed the DiploFoundation course on Internet Governance.

Mr Tracy Hackshaw is an ICT and Digital Economy Strategist possessing close to twenty-five (25) years' experience spanning work in the public and private sectors both locally and internationally, including representing Trinidad & Tobago in various international forums. Included in his portfolio are engagements on the Executive Management Committee of the Commonwealth Cybercrime Initiative, a two-year term as Vice Chair of ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee, Small Island Developing States annual workshop coordination at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum, Academic Teaching and Research work at the DiploFoundation/University of Malta and at The University of the West Indies, as well as professional leadership roles in the Ministries of Science & Technology, Public Administration and Planning & Development, iGovTT, ttconnect, and Star.tt among several other entities and organisations.

He is a Director of the Trinidad & Tobago Multistakeholder Advisory Group, which convened the inaugural Trinidad & Tobago Internet Governance Forum in January 2017. Tracy is the founding Vice Chair of the Internet Society Trinidad & Tobago Chapter and was elected its Chair in 2017. More about Tracy.

Ms Dominique Hempel Rodas is a Swiss lawyer with more than 20 years experience on issues related to international law, development and private-public partnerships. After several years in private industry where she held different senior positions, including directing a consultancy services firm specialized in international legal and commercial fields, she joined the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992. First as a legal counsel and programme and country officer for eastern countries, she then headed the Legal Division of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) from 1994 to 2000. She was further seconded by the SDC to international organisations and projects (WHO/The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, UNDP/GAIN, and UNDP/Interpeace) where she occupied diverse leading functions both at the legal level as a senior legal counsel, and the operational level a programme advisor with a focus on Latin America. She returned to the SDC headquarters in 2008 in charge of training programmes, and then became responsible for the topic of capacity development within the SDC and its partners. She is the author of various publications on development cooperation, notably on the right to development. In addition, she has conducted different face-to-face courses and seminars both in Switzerland and overseas on such subjects as democracy, human rights, and rule of law, as well as instruments of development cooperation. Dominique has supported Diplo’s activities since 2002, and participated in its creation as a foundation. She is pleased to join Diplo’s faculty as a lecturer on Development Diplomacy.

Mr Lee Hibbard is a Senior Fellow at DiploFoundation. He is also an administrator in the Bioethics Unit of the Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France. For the last ten years, Lee has been responsible for developing European human rights norms on the challenges posed by the Internet, in particular regarding freedom of expression, the public service value of the Internet, children’s right to be forgotten, responsibilities of Internet companies, privacy, and other areas. Lee has also coordinated the Council of Europe’s policy on Internet governance. This included the preparation of the organisation’s Internet Governance Strategies for 2016-2019, 2012-2015, and developing partnerships with Internet companies.

Dr Katharina (Kat) E Höne researches, writes, and teaches on a number of issues in the area of diplomacy, global governance, and the impact of technology on international relations. Over the last years, she has focused on research at the intersection of diplomacy and technology. She was part of a research project on Data Diplomacy: Updating diplomacy to the big data era and the lead researcher and author of Mapping the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence for the conduct of diplomacy report, both supported by the Ministry for Foreign of Affairs of Finland. In addition, she has more than 10 years of experience in teaching international relations at universities in the UK and Germany, and in delivering in-situ, blended, and online training to diplomatic practitioners. Kat holds an MA in Diplomatic Studies (University of Leicester, UK) and a PhD in International Politics (University of Aberystwyth, UK). In her work, she is driven by her aim to level the playing field at international negotiation tables through capacity development, and to provide out-of-the-box thinking and inspiration by drawing on her passion for science-fiction.

Originally from the Czech Republic, Dr Tereza Horejsova is currently based in Washington DC. Joining Diplo in 2012, Tereza has had an international career in academia and the non-governmental sector in the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland. During her stay in Geneva (2012‒2016), she coordinated the activities of the Geneva Internet Platform. She holds an MA in International Area Studies and a PhD in European Studies, both from the Charles University in Prague. As of 2019, Tereza is the Executive Director of Diplo US and heads activities in the United States.

Ms Pavlina Ittelson joined Diplo in 2017 and currently serves as a Program Officer at Diplo US. She also monitors the topics of jurisdiction and alternative dispute resolution for the GIP Digital Watch Observatory. Prior to joining Diplo, Pavlina was a legal project manager in the fields of international business, science, and technology. She previously worked as an Attorney in Slovakia and the Czech Republic specialising in international business transactions. Pavlina received her degree in Law from Comenius University, Bratislava, and her LL.M. in International Business Law from Central European University, Budapest. A native of Slovakia, Pavlina now resides in the Washington, DC area.

Dr Milan Jazbec was appointed Ambassador of Slovenia to North Macedonia in September 2016; he is also a Professor of diplomacy at the University of Ljubljana and teaches diplomacy at the Faculty of Government and European Studies at the New University in Kranj. He was Slovene Ambassador to Turkey (2010-2015), accredited also to Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, served as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Slovene Embassy in Stockholm (1996-2000, diplomatic coverage of five Nordic and three Baltic states), and the last Yugoslav Consul in Klagenfurt (1991) as well as the first Slovene one (1992-1995). He was State Secretary at the Slovene Ministry of Defense (2000-2004) and Policy Planning and Research Director at the Slovene Foreign Ministry (2006-2010). He has published (author, co-author, editor, co-editor, reprints and translations) 48 books in 9 languages (one third of them on diplomacy) and more than 100 articles on diplomacy, security, and defense issues. He gained his PhD at the University of Klagenfurt (2000), finished Diplomatic School in Belgrade (1988), and graduated from journalism (1981) and defense studies (1983) at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana. He has had a long and distinguished career covering diplomacy, business, journalism, and politics. He has lectured at various universities including Columbia, New York, the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, and Bilkent, METU, and Ankara Universities in Turkey. For the time being he is also a visiting professor at the South East European University in Tetovo, North Macedonia. He is a member of the Slovene Association of International Relations, the Slovene Association of Political Sciences and Slovene PEN as well as the editor of the international journal European Perspectives. He holds a high Austrian state decoration, The Grand Golden Decoration of Honour with Star for Merit of the Republic of Austria.

An expert in remote participation, Mr Arvin Kamberi heads up Diplo’s Webinar Team. Based in Belgrade, he has been working on webinars and other web-based remote participation since 2011. Arvin has been part of the remote participation team for many international forums, such as the IGF, EuroDIG, and local IGF events such as IGF Africa. From 2014 to 2015, he was a part of the IGF Working Group on Remote Participation (established in 2008), and involved in the elaboration of IGF remote participation guidelines.

Arvin has a keen interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain developments; first as an avid ‘miner’, then more in terms of regulation and consensus mechanisms surrounding the decentralised systems. His primary focus is on Bitcoin development, but he follows other cryptocurrency developments and the blockchain/distributed ledger technology, too. Vice President of Bitcoin Association of Serbia, Arvin writes extensively about Bitcoin and blockchains. He holds an MA in Film and Video Production from Belgrade University of Art.

Ms Carol Kiangura is an alumna of the 2013 Capacity Development course. She has a Masters Degree in Organisational Development from the United States International University (USIU) in Kenya. She has about fifteen year’s progressive experience gained from working in the civil society sector in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean regions. Ms Kiangura’s niche is in developing and implementing capacity development programmes at a national and international level for various stakeholders, especially for civil society organisations, including movements, networks, and coalitions. She is skilled in managing learning processes for adult learners and in managing multiple and complex partnerships. Ms Kiangura currently works as a the Senior Program Officer, Sub-Saharan Africa, Training, Technical Assistance and Networking Team, at the International Budget Partnership.

Dr Jovan Kurbalija is the Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP). He was a member of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (2004‒2005), special advisor to the Chairman of the UN Internet Governance Forum (2006‒2010), and a member of the High Level Multistakeholder Committee for NETmundial (2013‒2014). In 2018-2019, he served as co-Executive Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations (UN) High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.

A former diplomat, Jovan has a professional and academic background in international law, diplomacy, and information technology. He has been a pioneer in the field of cyber diplomacy since 1992 when he established the Unit for Information Technology and Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta, and later, DiploFoundation.

Since 1997, Jovan’s research and articles on cyber diplomacy have shaped research and policy discussion on the impact of the Internet on diplomacy and international relations. His book, An Introduction to Internet Governance, has been translated into 9 languages and is used as a textbook for academic courses worldwide. He lectures on e-diplomacy and Internet governance in academic and training institutions in many countries, including Austria (Diplomatic Academy of Vienna), Belgium (College of Europe), Switzerland (University of St Gallen), Malta (University of Malta), and the United States (University of Southern California).

His publishes regular articles on DiploFoundation's blog, and the Huffington Post. 

Christopher Lamb is a former Australian Ambassador and is now Special Adviser to the Australian Red Cross and the IFRC. He also has advisory responsibilities with many RCRC National Societies, business groups and universities. He is president of the Australia Myanmar Institute and holds positions with several NGOs and foundations. As Special Adviser on International Relations for the IFRC until his retirement in June 2010, he was responsible for the diplomatic positioning of the IFRC and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the international intergovernmental and non-governmental communities. He coordinated the development of IFRC positions in various humanitarian and political fields, supporting the work of National Societies in these respects through the development of the IFRC’s policy on humanitarian diplomacy. Before joining IFRC in 2000, he was an Australian diplomat and Ambassador to Myanmar, Serbia, Romania, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, after serving in several multilateral and bilateral posts and as foreign ministry legal adviser.

Dr Anthony Land is a freelance consultant based in Botswana specialising in capacity development and change management. He works extensively in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region designing and evaluating programmes on decentralisation, public sector management, and governance. He has co-designed and applied various capacity diagnostic tools including the ‘5 Capabilities’ tool amongst others, which have been used to design and monitor organisational/ institutional strengthening interventions. As a Programme Associate of the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) he has contributed to thinking on the theory and practice of capacity development in international cooperation. He was the founder of Capacity.Org, an online knowledge portal on capacity development, and has authored/co-edited various publications including Hauck, Land, Ubels, and Grein [eds] (2015) Capacity Development Beyond Aid (SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and ECDPM); and Land, Hauck, and Baser (2009) Capacity Development: Between Planned Interventions and Emergent Processes – Implications for Development Cooperation (ECDPM Policy Management Brief No. 22).

Brazilian-born Ms Marília Maciel is currently based in Strasbourg, France. She is involved in several Internet- governance-related projects, notably on the fields of digital economy, e-commerce, and cybersecurity. She also curates the topics of e-commerce, Access and Digital Divide for the GIP Digital Watch Observatory and represents Diplo at various meetings.

Prior to joining Diplo, Ms Marília Maciel was a researcher and coordinator of the Center for Technology and Society of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (CTS/FGV) in Rio de Janeiro. She served as a councillor at ICANN´s Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) representing the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG). Marília is a former member of the Working Group on Improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (2011–2012), created under the auspices of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UN CSTD). She was also a member of the Multistakeholder Executive Committee of NETmundial and represented CTS/FGV in meetings of the Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). She served in the Consultative Chamber on Internet Security and Rights of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br).

Marília is a PhD candidate at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, on Information and Communication Sciences. She holds an MA in Latin American Integration from the Federal University of Santa Maria (2008) and a law degree from the Federal University of Pernambuco (2005), where she was awarded a research grant from the State of Pernambuco Research Foundation (FACEPE) to investigate issues related to taxation and electronic commerce.

Solange Mike (nee Cross), a national of both the United Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago, holds degrees in the field of International Relations from the University of the West Indies, the University of Malta, and the University of Reading. Solange has worked on a number of research consultancies in the Caribbean region for various clients ranging from government agencies, international organisations, and multi-national corporations. She has also served as a facilitator in many diplomatic training programmes. Her areas of research interest include small state diplomacy, information and communication technologies in international relations, and geopolitics and energy diplomacy. She has lectured in the area of diplomacy at the Institute of International Relations, the University of the West Indies St. Augustine campus on Trinidad and Tobago, and currently is an associate faculty member in DiploFoundation’s academic programmes through the University of Malta.

Ms Phoebe Farag Mikhail is a consultant in international education, development, and human rights. She currently consults with the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) to help develop the concept of education diplomacy, and has also worked with the Global Partnership for Education, Plan International, and Amnesty International. She has worked with non-governmental organizations in Egypt to develop and implement a girls’ education program that reached thousands of girls and young women. She holds a Master’s in International Education from the George Washington University in Washington, DC and also teaches academic writing at Fairleigh Dickenson University in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Jean-Michel Monod, a Swiss citizen, worked for 37 years with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the field (Head of Delegations in the Middle East, Asia and North Africa) and at headquarters as Delegate General (Director) for Asia and the Pacific. As Delegate General for Asia and the Pacific, his responsibilities included negotiating the acceptability of ICRC’s services in sensitive situations (Myanmar, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, East Timor, India inter alia). As Head of the Regional Delegation for North Africa (2010-2013), he successfully negotiated the opening of an ICRC Delegation in Tripoli (Libya) in April 2011. Jean-Michel retired in October 2013 and lives in Tunis.

Ambassador Asoke Mukerji’s diplomatic career spans 37 years, from 1978-2015. As India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (2013-2015) he oversaw India’s negotiations on Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development, focusing on prioritising the use of technology for achieving the SDGs. He represented India in the inter-governmental negotiations that recommended a text-based outcome for UN Security Council Reforms in September 2015. He led India’s successful initiative in the UN General Assembly in 2014 for adopting a resolution to declare 21 June every year as the International Day of Yoga.

Ambassador Mukerji was India’s Delegate to the World Trade Organization in Geneva (1995-1998). He was Deputy High Commissioner of India in the UK (2007-2010); India’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan (2005-2007); Deputy Chief of India’s Mission in the Russian Federation (2001-2005); and India’s first resident Charge d’affaires in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He headed India’s largest consular post in Dubai (UAE) as Consul General from 1998-2001 and was India’s last Consul General to Soviet Central Asia.

As Special Secretary in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, he oversaw Indian foreign policy planning and review, India’s policies in international organizations, and led Indian delegations participating in joint working groups on countering terrorism. He initiated India’s first international cyber dialogues with the USA, the UK, the Russian Federation, Japan, and the EU. He worked as Chef de Cabinet of India’s Minister of State for External Affairs (1993-95) and as Private Secretary to India’s Minister of External Affairs (1985-86).

Ambassador Mukerji chaired a multi-stakeholder working group under India’s National Security Council Secretariat to recommend cyber norms for India (2017-2018). He has addressed audiences at seminars and conferences in India and abroad, including the Global Conferences on Cyber Space at London (2011) and New Delhi (2017). He lectures regularly on multilateral issues to Indian and foreign diplomats at India’s Foreign Service Institute.

Ambassador Mukerji has published articles and book chapters in Indian and foreign publications on India’s foreign policy, as well as several books. He obtained a BA (Honours) and MA degree from St Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. In July 2018, he was awarded a Doctor of Civil Law (honoris causa) degree by the University of East Anglia (UK) for his contributions to diplomacy.    

Born (and currently residing) in the United States, Ms Virginia (Ginger) Paque lived in Venezuela for more than 35 years. An educator and administrator by profession, she has 25 years’ experience in business and manufacturing systems consulting. As a board member of the United Nations Association of Venezuela, her work as the Venezuelan member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations Task Force on WSIS marked her entry to the world of Internet governance (IG) during the Geneva PrepComs. Active in Civil Society discussions on IG, Ginger served as IG Caucus co-coordinator for two years. She was a member of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) from 2015 to 2017. Having completed a Master in Contemporary Diplomacy with a thesis focusing on the importance of IG as a new diplomatic priority, Ginger currently lectures on IG for Diplo and curates human rights topics for the GIP Digital Watch observatory.

Ms Jenny Pearson has lived and worked in Cambodia since 1995. She has qualifications in social work and management and worked in the public sector in England before going to Cambodia. She founded and directed VBNK, Cambodia's leading learning and capacity development institution, until 2008. She has played a leading role in developing the capacity of the not-for-profit sector in Cambodia, introducing creative approaches to capacity development and serving on the boards of several prominent development organisations. In 2007 she was a visiting fellow at the Institute of Development Studies in the UK. Jenny now spends her time consulting and writing about capacity development, drawing on her years of experience to contribute the voice of practice to the international discourse on capacity development. She is the author of Creative Capacity Development: learning to adapt in development practice, and the OECD Work Paper Training and Beyond: Seeking better practices for capacity development.

Serbian-born Mr Vladimir (Vlada) Radunović is a lecturer in cybersecurity policy, Internet governance, and e-diplomacy on postgraduate and professional courses. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) and as an expert with the Geneva Internet Platform. He served as a member of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) from 2012 to 2014. Vlada has been a lecturer, speaker, and resource person on a number of educational and training programmes and events worldwide, including within the WSIS and IGF processes. His professional and research focus is on Internet governance, broadband policy and net neutrality, cybersecurity and cyber-diplomacy, e-diplomacy, and capacity development. He holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Belgrade and a Master’s in Contemporary Diplomacy from the University of Malta. He is currently working on his PhD in cybersecurity. Vlada is currently member of the Board of Directors of Diplo US.

Ambassador Kishan S. Rana is Professor Emeritus, and a Senior Fellow at DiploFoundation. He was awarded a BA (Hon) and MA in economics, St Stephens College Delhi. He was in the Indian Foreign Service (1960-95); and worked in China (1963-65, 1970-72). He was Ambassador and High Commissioner for Algeria, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, Mauritius, and Germany; and consul general in San Francisco. He served on staff of PM Indira Gandhi (1981-82).

Amb. Rana is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi (book review editor, China Report); an Archives By-Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge; a Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington DC; guest faculty at the Diplomatic Academy, Vienna; and Commonwealth Adviser, Namibia Foreign Ministry, 2000-01. He has lectured in about 20 countries to diplomats at foreign ministry training institutions, and at ambassador conferences in several countries.

He is the author of Inside Diplomacy (2000); Managing Corporate Culture (co-author, 2000); Bilateral Diplomacy(2002); The 21st Century Ambassador (2004); Asian Diplomacy (2007); Diplomacy of the 21st Century (2011); India’s North-East States, the BCIM Forum and Regional Integration, (co-author, 2012); The Contemporary Embassy (2013); and Diplomacy at the Cutting Edge (2015). He is co-editor of Foreign Ministries (2007); and Economic Diplomacy(2011). The two books were translated into Chinese; some used as textbooks at several universities. He has written about 100 articles for academic journals and newspapers.

Mr Martin Rauchbauer is the Austrian Consul in San Francisco and Co-Director at Open Austria. Founded in 2016, Open Austria is the official Austrian government representation in Silicon Valley and helps entrepreneurs, innovators, academics, policy makers, and creative minds from this country to connect with the Bay Area. Recently, Open Austria has also engaged in tech diplomacy between Europe and Silicon Valley and has become an advocate for smart tech regulation across the globe. In 2018 Martin served as the local chair of the European Union in San Francisco. Before coming to San Francisco, Martin was Deputy Director of the Business Support Service and Head of the UNESCO unit at the Austrian Foreign Ministry in Vienna. Martin received his M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University in Bologna, Italy and Washington D.C.

Originally from Setúbal and now based in Coimbra, Portugal, André Saramago is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Coimbra. He is also a researcher in the fields of international relations theory, international historical sociology and East Asia. André has been working with DiploFoundation since 2017, first as a research consultant, tutor, and course coordinator, and currently as Online Learning and Research Associate. He holds an MA in International Relations (University of Lisbon, Portugal) and a PhD in International Politics (University of Aberystwyth, UK).  

Dr Biljana Scott was trained as a linguist (BA in Chinese, M.Phil and D.Phil in Linguistics, University of Oxford). She is a Senior Lecturer in Language and Diplomacy at DiploFoundation and an associate of the Chinese Institute at Oxford University. She workshops internationally on political rhetoric, diplomatic language public speaking. Her current research is on implicit communication and the 'unsaid'. Read more on her Language and Diplomacy website. 

Belgrade-based Mr Andrej Škrinjarić was born in Karlovac, Croatia. He studied Chinese Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, graduating in 1999. In 2003, he obtained his Postgraduate Diploma in Diplomacy from the University of Malta with a dissertation entitled ‘Multilingualism and the Internet’. From 1999 to 2009, Andrej worked as a freelance interpreter/translator for Chinese-Serbian-English, and spent six years living in China.

Ms Hannah Slavik has been working with Diplo since 1999 and is currently responsible for designing learning methodologies, planning educational policy, developing cooperation with partner institutions, and working on online course development and implementation. Originally from western Canada, she is now based in Bucharest, Romania. Hannah has edited three Diplo publications: Language and Diplomacy, Intercultural Communication and Diplomacy, and Roma Diplomacy. With an academic background in linguistics, she has an MA from the University of Malta and a BA from the University of Victoria, Canada. Hannah also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Open and Distance Education from the Open University, UK.

Mr Tore Svenning joined the Norwegian Red Cross in 1985, following some years of volunteering, and has been posted in Sudan, Geneva, Jordan, Cyprus, Kuwait, Israel, Moscow and Budapest. From an operational track, he shifted to humanitarian diplomacy just after the Federation obtained observer status in the United Nations General Assembly in 1994. He worked in external relations in the Secretariat, supporting the New York Office and developing relations with institutions like the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and Geneva based UN agencies as well as the local diplomatic community. His training was in theoretical economics and history.

Ms Sorina Teleanu is an independent consultant with expertise in Internet governance and digital policy. She currently serves as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the South Eastern European Dialogue on Internet Governance (SEEDIG), a sub-regional initiative launched in 2015. She is also a member of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) which provides advice to the UN Secretary-General on the programme and schedule of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meetings. Sorina previously worked with DiploFoundation as Digital Policy Senior Researcher, and with the Romanian Parliament, as advisor dealing with ICT-related legislation and policies. Between 2011 and 2016, she served as the alternate representative of the Romanian Government to ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee. She has been a long-time volunteer to the IGF Secretariat and EuroDIG, and also worked as a fellow and consultant at the IGF Secretariat. Sorina is an alumna of DiploFoundation’s Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme, ICANN’s Fellowship Programme, the Internet Society’s Next Generation Leadership programme, and the European Summer School on Internet Governance. Her educational background is in international relations and European studies, having received a bachelor and a master's degree from the Lucian Blaga University in Sibiu, Romania.

Ambassador Olaph Terribile is currently Malta's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva. He has served as the personal secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta and as Director of Protocol and Consular Services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malta for a number of years. In his 30-year diplomatic career, he served at various missions overseas including Beijing (the People's Republic of China), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and London (United Kingdom). Since 2004, Mr Terribile has been a regular lecturer at Diplo where he lectures on protocol procedures including practical exercises on etiquette. He is also a visiting academic member of staff at the University of Malta where he gives lectures in diplomacy. Mr Terribile holds an MA in Chinese literature from the University of Hebei in the People’s Republic of China.

Ms Michaela Told is currently Executive Director of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. Prior to moving into academia, she has been working more than 10 years with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement at local, regional and international level in all continents, most recently heading the Principles and Values Department of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva. She then was also involved in negotiations and policy-making within the statutory bodies of the RCRC Movement. Earlier in her career, she worked with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Division of Development Cooperation and later served as Secretary General of an international women’s human rights NGO based in Geneva.

In her current position as Executive Director of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute she is responsible for the successful implementation of all activities of the Global Health Centre. In her research and teaching she focuses on Global Health Diplomacy, among others, she directs the online courses in global health diplomacy. She holds a MSW (School of Social Work, Vienna), a MCom (Development Economics, University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna), and a MA in Development Studies (Women & Development, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague), as well as a PhD (School of Law and Social Sciences, University of East London, UK).

Mr Ibrahim Uvais is Ambassador of Maldives to Japan. His training spans finance, management, and diplomacy. He holds a B. Comm. in Finance (Flinders University), an MBA (Western Sydney University), a PGDip in Business and Commerce (Monash University Malaysia), and a Master’s in Contemporary Diplomacy (University of Malta). He has experience in the civil and foreign services of the Maldives, working in various areas in fiscal policy research and in foreign policy administration. He also has worked in the private sector as consultant on organisation development. Uvais has coordinated and taught in several of Diplo’s courses and has a research interest in the diplomacy of small and low-power actors.

Ambassador Stefano Baldi is a career diplomat in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Since 2016, he has been the Ambassador of Italy to Bulgaria. Previously, he was the Director of the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy (2011-2016). He has served at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the European Union in Brussels, at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the International Organizations in Geneva, and at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations in New York. He was the first head of the Statistical Office of the Ministry from 2000 to 2002. Amb. Baldi has lectured in many Italian universities, holding seminars and courses in international affairs and in soft skills applied to international careers. His most recent research focuses on diplomatic management, social media for international affairs, and books written by diplomats. He is the author of more than 15 books. From 2013 to 2016 he produced and presented a weekly radio programme on diplomats at the webradio Radio LUISS.

Mr Pete Cranston is a knowledge management, communication and social media specialist, with long experience as a facilitator and trainer. For the past 14 years he has worked in the 3rd sector, mainly in international development, for a wide range of government, international NGO, research and UK civil society organisations. A significant part of his work in the past 10 years has been with telecentres and local content exchange while his most recent research has been into global social media trends, with special reference to health communications, and the impact of convergent mobile technologies in rural development. Pete has his roots in Community Education. He believes facilitation is about enabling learning, collaboration, synthesis, and perhaps the emergence of new ideas and groupings. So while he favours participative approaches to events and process he is not bound to any specific methodology. An independent consultant since 2001, Pete has been working regularly with Diplo since 2007 on communications and online collaboration projects. He teaches eDiplomacy and social media skills for diplomats at Diplo workshops and online courses.

Mr Dejan Dinčić is a digital transformation and online learning specialist, based in Geneva. Formerly technical director of DiploFoundation, he now teaches and provides strategic advice for Diplo. Since 2016 he has also worked as a consultant for international organisations, development NGOs, and UN agencies. He is a sought-after trainer and facilitator who brings topic knowledge, technical expertise, and effective training methodologies to events and workshops.

With professional and academic background in online and distance education, and information technologies, Dejan has more than twenty years of experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, and in academia. His major research interests include digital transformation and knowledge management.

Mrs Liz Galvez was a senior diplomat with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, taking early retirement in 2006 with the rank of Counsellor. During her 33 year career, she served in a wide range of diplomatic jobs in London and several overseas postings, including Finland, Central America and Romania, and 12 years in multilateral diplomacy: UN Geneva, OSCE Vienna (1989-1993) and UN New York (2003-6). She was seconded to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001-2002 as adviser to the Foreign Minister on OSCE Chairmanship and NATO accession issues, institutional reform, and diplomatic training. She returned to Romania in 2006 to set up and manage the Aspen Institute Romania until 2009.

She has been a course lecturer with DiploFoundation since 2009, providing training in public diplomacy and multilateral negotiating skills, including a programme for the Asia-Europe Foundation for diplomats from European and Asian countries, and a dissertation supervisor for DiploFoundation/University of Malta Master in Contemporary Diplomacy students. She has run workshops on public diplomacy for the Foreign Ministry of Bahrain; the Foreign Ministry and Parliamentary staffers in South Africa; and the Diplomatic Academy of Armenia. In addition, she has co-facilitated a workshop on Conflict Resolution in Bahrain for Diplomatic Heads of Mission and given a short training programme in Geneva on Diplomatic Reporting in the Internet Era for diplomatic officers from several states. She has run training programmes on negotiating skills for the Foreign Ministry of Bahrain, and at the Italian School of National Administration for Italian new entrant diplomats, and on Diplomatic English writing and speaking skills for the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Moldova. She speaks operational Spanish, Romanian, and French. She has a BA from the University of London in Latin and Spanish and an MSc degree from the University of London in Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict, and has recently completed the DiploFoundation course on Internet Governance.

Originally from the Czech Republic, Dr Tereza Horejsova is currently based in Washington DC. Joining Diplo in 2012, Tereza has had an international career in academia and the non-governmental sector in the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland. During her stay in Geneva (2012‒2016), she coordinated the activities of the Geneva Internet Platform. She holds an MA in International Area Studies and a PhD in European Studies, both from the Charles University in Prague.

Ms Mary Murphy is a communications trainer and publishing consultant based in Budapest. She specialises in communication bootcamps for non-native-English speakers, one-to-one and group coaching in public speaking, and English-language writing assessments and training. A weekly columnist with the Budapest Times, Ms Murphy is also an active blogger. She holds an MA in International Publishing from Oxford Brookes University, UK, and a Master of Contemporary Diplomacy from the University of Malta.

Mr Valeriu Nicolae is a human rights activist and communications trainer with extensive experience in Europe and worldwide. From 2015, he worked for the Romanian government as State Counsellor at the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, and as State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Protection and Elderly. From autumn 2016 to mid-2017 he worked at the Council of Europe as Special Representative of the Secretary General. His work includes social policy and social services, national programmes for children rights, social inclusion, and poverty policies.

He founded and served as president of the Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, a Bucharest-based think tank; he also co-founded the European Roma Policy Coalition, which includes some of the most active NGOs in the field of human rights. Prior to engagement with the Romanian government, he worked with World Vision Romania, as a senior consultant for the Open Society Institute and European institutions, and as director and advocacy director for a network of European Roma NGOs (ERGO).

Valeriu holds a Master in Contemporary Diplomacy from the University of Malta. He has written and published extensively on Roma issues and human rights. He regularly presents papers at international conferences and conducts training seminars on human rights, advocacy and communication skills, including for Aspen Institute Romania and World Vision. He is a regularly invited lecturer for Amnesty International and many universities and intergovernmental institutions. In recent years Valeriu has dedicated a good part of his time to working with schoolchildren in Bucharest’s worst ghetto (educational and sports activities), together with a growing team of volunteers.

Ambassador Kishan S. Rana is Professor Emeritus, and a Senior Fellow at DiploFoundation. He was awarded a BA (Hon) and MA in economics, St Stephens College Delhi. He was in the Indian Foreign Service (1960-95); and worked in China (1963-65, 1970-72). He was Ambassador and High Commissioner for Algeria, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, Mauritius, and Germany; and consul general in San Francisco. He served on staff of PM Indira Gandhi (1981-82).

Amb. Rana is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi (book review editor, China Report); an Archives By-Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge; a Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington DC; guest faculty at the Diplomatic Academy, Vienna; and Commonwealth Adviser, Namibia Foreign Ministry, 2000-01. He has lectured in about 20 countries to diplomats at foreign ministry training institutions, and at ambassador conferences in several countries.

He is the author of Inside Diplomacy (2000); Managing Corporate Culture (co-author, 2000); Bilateral Diplomacy(2002); The 21st Century Ambassador (2004); Asian Diplomacy (2007); Diplomacy of the 21st Century (2011); India’s North-East States, the BCIM Forum and Regional Integration, (co-author, 2012); The Contemporary Embassy (2013); and Diplomacy at the Cutting Edge (2015). He is co-editor of Foreign Ministries (2007); and Economic Diplomacy(2011). The two books were translated into Chinese; some used as textbooks at several universities. He has written about 100 articles for academic journals and newspapers.

Dr Alex Sceberras Trigona currently serves as Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Malta. He is a Founder Member of DiploFoundation, and has been organising courses simulating international negotiations – bilateral and multilateral – at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, University of Malta, since 1991 as well as for the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, for the Commonwealth, and for the Commission of the European Union, amongst others. Dr Trigona served as Malta's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1981–1987. He negotiated Malta's Neutrality Agreements. He lobbied for, won, and managed Malta's first ever seat on the United Nations Security Council for 1983/1984. His law Doctorate was awarded on the basis of a seminal thesis Constitutional Change and the Maltese Constitution. Fundamental constitutional changes in 1974 followed this thesis in both manner and substance. He was elected Rhodes Scholar for Malta and read Politics, Economics, and Philosophy at Oriel College, Oxford University for his MA. He lectures on Diplomacy and Diplomatic Practice for International Relations students and on Private International Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Malta.

Dr Biljana Scott was trained as a linguist (BA in Chinese, M.Phil and D.Phil in Linguistics, University of Oxford). She is a Senior Lecturer in Language and Diplomacy at DiploFoundation and an associate of the Chinese Institute at Oxford University. She workshops internationally on political rhetoric, diplomatic language public speaking. Her current research is on implicit communication and the 'unsaid'. Read more on her Language and Diplomacy website. 

Ambassador Olaph Terribile is currently Malta's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva. He has served as the personal secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta and as Director of Protocol and Consular Services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malta for a number of years. In his 30-year diplomatic career, he served at various missions overseas including Beijing (the People's Republic of China), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and London (United Kingdom). Since 2004, Mr Terribile has been a regular lecturer at Diplo where he lectures on protocol procedures including practical exercises on etiquette. He is also a visiting academic member of staff at the University of Malta where he gives lectures in diplomacy. Mr Terribile holds an MA in Chinese literature from the University of Hebei in the People’s Republic of China.

Mr Patrick Borg has been working for Diplo in Malta for over 12 years. He has been involved in Diplo’s Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme, Diplo's MA programme, and our online courses. Patrick holds a BA (Hons) and a Master's in International Relations from the University of Malta, and a Master’s in European Studies from the Institute for European Studies, University of Malta.

Ms Priyanthi Daluwatte has been a course coordinator at Diplo since 2015. She joined Diplo as a tutor in 2007 after completing the Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme. With a BSc in Biological Sciences, an MSc in Computer Science, and an MPhil in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Colombo, Priyanthi has over ten years work experience in university administration. A speaker at the launch of telecentre.org during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Tunis (2005) and an active participant in the annual IGF, her interests also include higher education policy, Internet governance, e-learning, and research on ICT4D.

Ms Jelena Dinčić was born in Belgrade, Serbia, and moved to Kenya with her family at the age of seven. After Kenya, Jelena lived in Malta, France, and Switzerland, finally making her way back to Belgrade in 2013, and later joining Diplo in 2016. Her tasks include editing, social media, web content creation and management, and course coordination.

Jelena holds a BA in Photography from the Ecole de Condé, Lyon, and a degree in film directing from the Ecole de Cinéma, Geneva. In addition to numerous photography projects, her previous work experience in Geneva includes co-director of several documentary films, assistant librarian, and personal assistant to the Ambassador of Montenegro.

Ms Dragana Markovski is based in Belgrade where she focuses on course development and coordination. Prior to joining Diplo in 2011, Dragana worked in translating/interpreting, office and PR management, international trade and logistics, and education.

She graduated with a BA in Chinese Language and Literature and an MA in Chinese Literature from Belgrade University’s Faculty of Philology, Department for Chinese Language and Literature.

UK-based Ms Morgan Mead has worked with the British Red Cross since 2011. She currently manages the short-term casework team within the Refugee Services Department in Scotland, which primarily supports and advocates for asylum seekers experiencing destitution. Morgan spent several years working in emergency response and pre-hospital care for both the Red Cross and other smaller NGOs, including time in Greece as part of search and rescue operations in the Aegean. With a BA in Anthropology with a focus on Human Rights, and a Diploma in Humanitarian Diplomacy, Morgan has worked with Diplo since 2015 as a research tutor, and more recently as a course coordinator.

Solange Mike (nee Cross), a national of both the United Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago, holds degrees in the field of International Relations from the University of the West Indies, the University of Malta, and the University of Reading. Solange has worked on a number of research consultancies in the Caribbean region for various clients ranging from government agencies, international organisations, and multi-national corporations. She has also served as a facilitator in many diplomatic training programmes. Her areas of research interest include small state diplomacy, information and communication technologies in international relations, and geopolitics and energy diplomacy. She has lectured in the area of diplomacy at the Institute of International Relations, the University of the West Indies St. Augustine campus on Trinidad and Tobago, and currently is an associate faculty member in DiploFoundation’s academic programmes through the University of Malta.

Originally from Setúbal and now based in Coimbra, Portugal, André Saramago is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Coimbra. He is also a researcher in the fields of international relations theory, international historical sociology and East Asia. André has been working with DiploFoundation since 2017, first as a research consultant, tutor, and course coordinator, and currently as Online Learning and Research Associate. He holds an MA in International Relations (University of Lisbon, Portugal) and a PhD in International Politics (University of Aberystwyth, UK).  

Belgrade-based Mr Andrej Škrinjarić was born in Karlovac, Croatia. He studied Chinese Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, graduating in 1999. In 2003, he obtained his Postgraduate Diploma in Diplomacy from the University of Malta with a dissertation entitled ‘Multilingualism and the Internet’. From 1999 to 2009, Andrej worked as a freelance interpreter/translator for Chinese-Serbian-English, and spent six years living in China.