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DiploNews – Issue 325 – 2 June 2017

Upcoming study and training opportunities

Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy Training Initiative 2017

The call for applications for this year’s Asia-Europe public diplomacy training initiative is now open. Please note that this call is open only to Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) member states, and that priority will be given to candidates nominated by their MFAs. This training initiative was established in 2013 by DiploFoundation, the Asia-Europe Foundation, and the National Centre for Research on Europe – University of Canterbury, to help to promote and facilitate skills training for diplomats and civil society actors. The aim of the initiative is to improve public diplomacy efforts among the countries who are part of the ASEM process.

This project brings together a panel of experts on public diplomacy and perceptions, who have developed training modules, sector specific course materials, and tool-kits. The materials form the foundation for an 8-week online course and a 3-day face-to-face training module designed for early career diplomats and civil society actors interested in improving Asia-Europe relations.  

New course: Negotiation Skills for Education Diplomacy

Education diplomacy uses diplomatic skills to build bridges across sectors, diverse actors, and borders to advance education. This practical, interactive online course equips participants with the skills to successfully prepare, undertake, and conclude negotiations in formal and informal settings with government and non-government actors alike. This new online course, starting 19 June 2017, is offered by the Center for Education Diplomacy (an initiative of the Association for Childhood Education International) in partnership with Diplo. Read more and apply by 5 May.

Summer courses on diplomacy and digital policy

Applications for our summer courses are now open. The following courses start on 31 July 2017:

Apply by 19 June for Diplo certificate courses. For further information or to apply, click on the title of the courses listed above, or visit our courses webpage. Register now to reserve your place.

Made possible by support from the Maltese government, partial scholarships are available for applicants from developing countries to attend upcoming Diplo online courses. These scholarships cover 30-70% of course fees and can be applied to most online courses in 2017.

For more information on any of our courses and on partial scholarships, contact admissions@diplomacy.edu. You can also sign up for our courses mailing list to be informed about upcoming courses.


Applications open for the 2018 Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy

Diplo is now accepting applications for the 2018 Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy, and the Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy with a specialisation in Internet governance. These unique postgraduate programmes, offered in co-operation with the University of Malta, include a 10-day residential workshop in Malta followed by 16-20 months of online learning. Visit the Master in Contemporary Diplomacy webpage to read more. Scholarships covering 20–50% of the Postgraduate Diploma fee are available for applicants from small and developing states. The programme starts on 5 February 2018. The application deadline is 15 October 2017 for international applicants and 15 November 2017 for Maltese applicants.

Diplo at EuroDIG

DiploFoundation is co-organising a pre-event workshop on policy watch activities, during this year’s EuroDIG. The workshop is organised by members of the MAPPING project. Over the last couple of years, there have been more and more initiatives (national, regional, and global) to map Internet policies and Internet governance developments. Building on the experience gained from participating in these types of mapping meetings, the 2017 MAPPING workshop will focus on best and worst experiences from the Internet observatories, in an effort to create a best practices document that will help not only the current projects, but especially the ones that will be developed in the next few years. In an open and interactive setting, the 2017 MAPPING workshop will engage the participants in discussions that will highlight the major lessons learned. If you are interested in attending the event, please register in advance. For more information, visit the workshop webpage.

Diplo team members will participate as invited speakers or rapporteurs in the following EuroDIG sessions:

  • 5 June 15:00-17:30 – Forced data localisation and barriers to cross-border data flows: toward a multistakeholder approach (Marilia Maciel – speaker)
  • 7 June 16:30-17:30 – International trade agreements and Internet governance (Marilia Maciel – speaker and session focal point; Sorina Teleanu – rapporteur)

Diplo will be represented by Ms Marilia Maciel, Ms Sorina Teleanu and Mr Arvin Kamberi.

Just-in-time reporting from WSIS Forum 2017

The Geneva Internet Platform and DiploFoundation will provide just-in-time reporting from the annual WSIS Forum, which will take place on 12-16 June in Geneva. Session reports, summary reports, and other updates will be provided on the GIP Digital Watch Observatory. The forum, organised by the ITU, UNESCO, the UNDP, and UNCTAD, in close collaboration with other actors, provides an opportunity for information exchange, knowledge creation, and sharing of best practices related to the WSIS Action Lines for advancing sustainable development.

[WebDebate] A new bilateralism in a changing world

Our June WebDebate will focus on questions surrounding bilateral diplomacy. It is easy to find examples of increased scepticism towards multilateral institutions and a growing tendency towards isolationism in the world today. This is why we should again turn our focus towards bilateral diplomacy. Are we witnessing a rising need for and use of bilateralism? What is the mission of bilateral diplomacy in a changing world in which key challenges such as climate change, refugees, and disarmament remain global in scope? How can we prepare the next generation of diplomats to be effective in bilateral diplomacy and address these challenges?

In this WebDebate, Professor Emeritus Ambassador Kishan Rana will join us and share his insights from 35 years of experience in the Indian Foreign Service and his multifaceted reflections on diplomacy.

Join us on Tuesday 6 June at 11:00 UTC (13:00 CEST). Register to reserve your place.

New issue of the Digital Watch newsletter

DWnewsletter21Published on 30 May 2017, Issue 21 of the Geneva Digital Watch newsletter provides the latest digital policy updates for May. The main highlights: An analysis of the top trends in May, including the increase in ransomware cyber-attacks; the opinion of the advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union stating that Uber is a transport company; the official proposal of the US Federal Communications Commission that could roll back US net neutrality rules; the growing number of bilateral settlements of tax disputes involving technology companies; the sanctions imposed on Facebook by data protection authorities over privacy breaches; an overview of the role of digital policy in campaigns and elections; a round-up of the main digital policy updates of the month, with security, e-commerce, net neutrality, and digital rights being among the prominent issues; and a crossword to test your knowledge of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. Download your issue.

Blog series: Reflections on data diplomacy

Continuing our blog series on data diplomacy, two blog posts by former Diplo intern Dane Burkholder sheds further light on big data in the context of economic decisions and business standards. In Big data’s tremendous potential for marketing, connectivity, and efficiency he explains how businesses and international organisations can benefit from big data and concludes that big data offer tremendous potential for meeting organisational goals more effectively. In Opportunity or destruction: Imagining the future of big data and artificial intelligence he argues that while there is great potential in big data, it cannot replace human decision-making in at least two areas: coming up with the right question and interpreting the results. He also suggests that our economic model might be about to change from ‘financial capitalism’ to ‘data capitalism’. Stephanie Borg Psaila, Diplo’s digital policy director, takes a much-needed look at the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will come into effect next year. She outlines to what and to whom the GDPR will apply and its implications for researchers, businesses, and international organisations handling personal data.

What’s been happening in Diplo’s blogosphere

Adding to the debate on new developments in the digital economy, Adriana Minović takes a closer look at the ruling of the advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding transportation network company Uber. The advocate general ruled that Uber is a transport company. And while Uber argues that this will not have a great impact on their business, as they already fulfil formal requirements of transport companies in some countries, the ruling might have implications for the future of the sharing economy. In Decrypting the WannaCry ransomware: Why is it happening and (how) is it going to end? Adrijana Gavrilovic reflects on Diplo’s analysis of the attack. Summarising the discussions, she looks at reactions to and reflections about the attack, damage assessment, and the potential role of a future Digital Geneva Convention. 

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