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DiploNews – Issue 270 – 16 February 2015

May 2015 online diplomacy courses

Starting in May 2015 we offer courses on diplomacy topics both classic and contemporary:

Apply by 2 March 2015 for University of Malta accredited courses and by 30 March 2015 for Diplo certificate courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses webpage. Register now to reserve your place.

Sign up for our courses mailing list to be informed about upcoming courses.

Just-in-time course on Internet governance for Geneva-based diplomats

In the framework of the Geneva Internet Platform, Diplo is offering a 'just-in-time' course on Internet governance for diplomats based at permanent missions to the UN and international organisations in Geneva. The course will start on 20 April 2015. More information is available on the course leaflet.

Join us: Internet governance in February briefing

February is an important month for Net Neutrality, as the FCC prepares to vote for new proposals. Cybersecurity is also at the forefront, as banks are once again a target for hackers, while new proposals for government and private sector cooperation unfold in the USA. What impact will these developments – any many others – have on the global digital policy process? What are the updates from the IG Barometer, and what can we expect in March? Join us on Friday, 27th February, at 12:00 UTC (13:00 CET), for a 'zoomed-out' update of the major global IG and digital policies developments. The briefing is delivered live from Geneva. To join us online or in situ (WMO, 7 bis Avenue de la Paix), read more and register.

Upcoming event: Open Innovation in the Proprietary World… join us in Geneva or online!

Diplo and its partners within the MAPPING consortium are holding a round table on Open Innovation in the Proprietary World. The aim is to reflect on the impact of the current EU IPR protection regime on innovation and economic growth and the future of Open Innovation in the proprietary world. The event will take place on Thursday, 19th March, 2015, at DiploFoundation, WMO Building, 7bis, Avenue de la Paix, Geneva. Remote/online participation will be available during the event. Online participants are encouraged to register and participate in the discussions. You can read more about the event, including agenda, and speakers' bios, and register for online or in situ participation.

March lectures of Diplo's Director Jovan Kurbalija in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta

Diplo's Director Jovan Kurbalija will be heading to Asia for a lecture tour in March 2015. This tour is organised in connection with the training workshop for ASEM country diplomats delivered by Diplo and its partners as part of the Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy Training Initiative. More details will be available soon on the Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy page.

You can also hear from Dr Kurbalija on his new guest blog channel, established at the Huffington Post. His first blog post, In the Internet We Trust: Is There a Need for an Internet Social Contract replies to a blog post by the Acting Director of the UN Office in Geneva, Michael Moller.

Diplo joins Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers

Diplo has joined the Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers as an affiliated participant. The Network of Centers (NoC) is a collaborative initiative among academic institutions with a focus on interdisciplinary research on the development, social impact, policy implications, and legal issues concerning the Internet. This collective aims to increase interoperability between participating centers in order to stimulate the creation of new cross-national, cross-disciplinary conversation, debate, teaching, learning, and engagement regarding the most pressing questions around new technologies, social change, and related policy and regulatory developments. Read more on Diplo's blog.

What's happening in Diplo's blogosphere?

The Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy 2015 workshop ended last week. The workshop welcomed participants from Bermuda, Indonesia, Kingdom of Swaziland, Malta, Paraguay, and the Philippines, who are currently following the Diplo/University of Malta Master/PGD in Contemporary Diplomacy. Read about the students’ visit to the University of Malta’s Faculty of Arts library and more,  including the Digital Diplomacy Day, on Diplo's event page.

Meanwhile, in an update on Diplo’s recent webinar on Promotion Methods in Foreign Ministries, Ambassador Kishan S. Rana summarised the main themes that were discussed, including assessing merit, academic qualifications, research on MFA practices, and balanced career pyramids in diplomatic services. The summary is intended to spark further conversation. You can read the full text, and watch the recording:

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Non-state entities have acquired considerable international stature and have a brand name and a constituency of their own. Taken together and assisted by the advance of information and communication technologies, they are a real force in international relations, says Ambassador Dr Petru Dumitriu, lecturer on Multilateral Diplomacy, in Part IV of a series of posts on Understanding United Nations Reform. Read about the importance of new partnerships in Dr Dumitriu's latest post.

Watch Diplo’s blog roll for more posts; comments are welcome. Let us know if you’d like to be a guest blogger.

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