DiploNews – Issue 218 – 17 December 2012

Greetings from everyone at DiploFoundation. How ever you celebrate it, wherever you might be, we wish you a happy and peaceful holiday season. 

 
Upcoming study opportunities

Humanitarian Diplomacy online course

Diplo is pleased to cooperate with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to offer the Humanitarian Diplomacy online course. This 12-week course, led by Ambassador Christopher Lamb and other experienced practitioners, will extend the knowledge base and develop practical skills of current and future practitioners in humanitarian diplomacy and policy. In a supportive international online environment, the class will familiarise participants with basic definitions, concepts, actors and institutions in the field of humanitarian diplomacy, introduce international humanitarian law, hone advocacy and negotiation skills, develop participants’ research skills, and increase their understanding of national and regional humanitarian diplomacy activities. The course starts on 11 February 2013; the application deadline is 7 January 2013. For more details and to apply, see the course website.

Extended call for applications: Introduction to Internet Governance

Diplo has extended the call for applications for the online course Introduction to Internet Governance until 14 January 2013. Professionals working in specialised ICT-related areas often need to supplement their knowledge and training by learning about other areas which affect or can have an impact on their area of specialization. Just as the Internet brings down geographical boundaries, it also creates several overlaps and intersections between the many issues and areas of Internet governance and ICT policy. The course helps bridge the gaps by covering topics such as broadband policy, management of domain names and IP addresses, network neutrality, jurisdiction, intellectual property rights, open source and piracy, cybersecurity and child protection, human rights, content management, digital signatures and emerging issues. The next course starts on 18 February 2013. Read more about the course, including methodology, course requirements, and how to apply, on the course page.

2013 online courses

Start your year with online learning. The following courses all start in mid-February 2013:

• Diplomatic Theory and Practice
• Public Diplomacy
• Language and Diplomacy
• Diplomatic Protocol and Etiquette
• Multilateral Diplomacy II: Current Issues in the United Nations

Courses start the week of 18 February 2013. Apply by 17 December 2012 for University of Malta accredited courses and by 14 January 2013 for Diplo Certificate Courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses website. Register now to reserve your place.

Discussing Internet governance

The World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai has just come to an end, without consensus. In WCIT failure: Future of digital Tower of Babel endangered?, Vladimir Radunovic shares a new illustration of ‘The digital Tower of Babel’ created by Diplo, and asks whether we’re bringing it down due to the absence of global coordination on Internet matters. In another blog post, Vlada reflects on the apparent battle of ‘governments vs governance’, and asks whether it is the traditional governance model that need changing, or whether authoritarian governments should simply be kept away. In her blog post ITU Secretary General to civil society representatives: WCIT is not about taking control of the internet, Grace Githaiga reports on the meeting held with civil society, and the message conveyed by both sides.

On a separate note, Kadian Davis talks about the opportunities, compelling arguments in favour, and challenges for IPv6 adoption in Jamaica and the Caribbean, while Deirdre Williams discusses the right to disagree, with reference to debates on the recent customer outreach campaign by Facebook. Can we no longer afford the luxury of diversity, or should we continue to claim our rights? Deirdre also draws an analogy between a story by Rudyard Kipling and running the Internet, and wonders whether ‘humility’ – the moral of the story – features at all in IGF discussions on the Internet.

To read more IG-related blog posts, subscribe to Diplo’s IG blog, and follow blog posts shared by members of Diplo’s IG community.

December IG webinar on developments and outcomes of WCIT12

The most anticipated meeting of the year has come to an end without consensus. Our December webinar will focus on the outcomes of the WCIT negotiations, and on what happens next. Special guest Samantha Dickinson (@sgdickinson), Internet governance analyst, has been following the meeting very closely, and will brief us on what has been going on in Dubai. Some of the questions that will be discussed include:

• What have governments agreed on, especially with regards to payment and economic models?
• What is the possible impact of these developments on areas such as network neutrality, openness, and diversity of services?
• What place do the negotiations have within the larger landscape of international politics?
• What happens next with issues that have not been resolved at WCIT? What can we expect in 2013?

The webinar will take place tomorrow, Tuesday 18th December, at 10:00 GMT. To participate, visit the webinar page and fill in the registration form. Attendance is free of charge; registration is required.

If you missed last month’s webinar on Cloud Computing, read the digest and download the podcast here, and read a related blog post, by Thomas Kizito Mayengo, on the perspective of the developing world on cloud computing.

What's happening in Diplo's blogosphere?

As the end of the year (and possibly the end of life as we know it) draws to a close, our bloggers have been as active as ever.  On the Looking Sideways channel, Aldo Matteucci  looks at how to prosecute a mentality and in his 200th post, looks at measuring reality in Once upon a change in mentality… Over on E-diplomacy, Pete Cranston looks at  e-diplomacy Geneva – increasing inclusiveness, engaging publics, working smarter.  In Nothing begets success like failure,  Pete  also introduces a short video clip by Richard Boly of the US State Department, one of the most consistent and successful innovators in eDiplomacy in which he describes the origins of the program and shares what he sees as some of the reasons for its success. Andreas Sandre starts his post –   social media diplomacy: the rules of engagement – with an excellent quotation from John Marshall writing in the 1800s: ‘To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well.’  Katharina Höne is active on the Climate Change channel where she reflects on Climate Change negotiations: Loss and Damage – Accepting Diplomatic Failure?

Why not have your say and join the discussion? Check us out.

5th Workshop on Modern Diplomacy for Small States