DiploNews – Issue 479 – 15 November 2023

Diplo Academy upcoming courses and programmes

🆕 Special assistance fund for LDCs! 2024 MA in Contemporary Diplomacy (with internet governance specialisation)

We are pleased to announce a special assistance fund for applicants from least developed countries (LDCs). Through this fund, eligible applicants can receive financial support of up to 75% of the postgraduate fee. The fund is supported by the Government of Malta through the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade (MFET).

The programme starts on 29 January 2024, and is run in cooperation with the Department of International Relations, University of Malta.

During 16 to 20 months of online study, the programme guides working diplomats, international relations professionals, and internet policymakers through the theoretical and practical building blocks of diplomacy, with a focus on contemporary issues and challenges.

❗ Financial assistance available:

• Diplo alumni are entitled to a 20% reduction in tuition fees.
• Applicants from developing countries can be awarded a limited number of partial scholarships.
• Maltese applicants can benefit from up to 70% off the fee in tax credits as part of the Get Qualified scheme.

For further information and to apply, please visit the MA/PGD in Contemporary Diplomacy web page.

❄️ Applications open! Winter 2024 online courses

Reserve your place in our popular winter course!

• Artificial Intelligence
• Diplomatic Theory and Practice
• Humanitarian Diplomacy
• Introduction to Internet Governance
• Multilateral Diplomacy
• Public Diplomacy

👉🏼 Application deadlines for certificates issued by Diplo: 15 January 2024

For further information and to apply, click the course titles above or visit Diplo’s course catalogue.

Need financial assistance? Scholarships available!

Thanks to the support from the government of Malta, partial scholarships are available for applicants from developing countries to attend upcoming Diplo online courses. These scholarships cover 30%–60% of course fees and can be applied to most online courses in 2024. Browse our course catalogue and contact us at admissions@diplomacy.edu for further information.

Diplo at UNCTAD eWeek

Get ready for UNCTAD eWeek 2023, which will be held in Geneva 4–8 December! This year’s theme is: Shaping the Future of the Digital Economy.

What should you expect from Diplo and the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP)?

• Just-in-time reporting by the GIP Digital Watch Observatory
• ‘Scenario of the Future With the Youth’ session by Diplo, UNCTAD, and FES
• ‘Digital Economy Agreements and the Future of Digital Trade Rulemaking’ session by Diplo and CUTS
• ‘Bottom-up AI and the Right to be Humanly Imperfect’ session by Diplo

You can find more information and related articles on our UNCTAD eWeek 2023 page.

Upcoming events

◆ Cyber Norms in Action: How to Translate Diplomatic Agreements into Real Security for Us All? + Launch of the Geneva Manual (7 Dec.)

Vulnerabilities in digital products and networks, leading to cyber threats, raise security concerns from individual users to international security and peace.

Join us on 7 December (10:00–16:00 CET) for the launch of the Geneva Manual, a comprehensive guide on non-state actors’ contributions to the implementation of cyber norms, developed by the Geneva Dialogue on Responsible Behaviour in Cyberspace. Read more.

Blogs and publications

◆ How can we deal with AI risks?

In his latest blog post, Jovan Kurbalija argues for a comprehensive approach to AI governance, addressing all types of AI risks: immediate, mid-term, and long-term. The post emphasises the importance of using a full spectrum of regulatory tools and making agile trade-offs to ensure AI serves humanity, rather than dominating it. Read it here.

◆ Jua Kali AI: Bottom-up algorithms for bottom-up economy

In this blog post, Jovan Kurbalija highlights the potential of ‘bottom-up AI’ in Kenya, advocating for AI development rooted in community-driven data and knowledge. Kenya, with its innovative economic strategies and technological breakthroughs, can be an AI pioneer by leveraging open-source platforms and high-quality datasets, thus making AI more accessible, sustainable, and inclusive. Read it here.

◆ From life insurance to earthquakes: Applying the precautionary principle

Explore how individuals and societies navigate threats as Aldo Mateucci delves into risk management strategies with compelling examples such as the Big Kantō earthquake’s aftermath, intricacies of life insurance, and nuclear safety protocols. Read it here.

◆ The curse of ‘best practice’

In his post, Aldo Matteucci critiques the concept of ‘best practice’, arguing that it leads to monotony and stifles creativity, and can be dangerously rigid, as shown in religious practices and economic policies. Read it here.

◆ Digital Watch newsletter – Issue 84 – November 2023

In November’s Digital Watch monthly newsletter, you can read:

• What’s making waves in digital policy: Geopolitics | AI governance | Security | Infrastructure | Internet economy | Digital rights | Content policy | Development
• Shaping the global AI landscape: Biden’s executive order on AI | G7’s guiding principles | China’s Global AI Governance Initiative (GAIGI) | AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park | UN’s High-Level Advisory Body on AI | OECD’s updated AI definition
• Misinformation crowding out the truth in the Middle East
• IGF 2023
• The talk of the town: Geneva

Read issue #84 of the Digital Watch monthly newsletter.

◆ DW Weekly

• Weekly 135: AI safety-by-design agreement reached by UK, USA, EU, and others | Big Tech exaggerating AI risks to eliminate competition | Third internet blackout in Gaza | Facebook, Instagram banned from running behavioural ads in EU
• Weekly 136: More pressure to curb fake news, hate speech | OECD defines ‘AI systems’ | OpenAI hit by cyberattack | Meta tells Europeans: Pay or okay

Latest videos

◆ Byte-sized Insights #5: Layers of AI governance

Diplo’s Dr Jovan Kurbalija explains the layers of AI governance, which include hardware, data, algorithms, and apps. Join the journey towards a trustworthy and equitable AI future with Diplo’s Byte-sized Insights series. Watch the video below!

◆ AI Shorts #3: ‘AI-enhanced Google Maps: Meet the new Immersive View‘

Diplo’s Yung-Hsuan walks us through the latest from AI:

• New Google Maps AI-enabled features: ‘Immersive View’ and an advanced image-recognition algorithm
• Photo-editing software that removes unwanted items from your images

Watch the video below!

Don’t miss…

◆ 2023 Global Cybersecurity Forum

The GIP Digital Watch observatory provided session reports from this year’s Global Cybersecurity Forum, which was held 1–2 November 2023. Read the session reports.

Among these, Dr Jovan Kurbalija (Executive Director, Diplo; Head, GIP) actively contributed to the session The State of Cyber Diplomacy: Momentum, Inertia, or Something Else Altogether?, in which he proposed a set of inspiring ideas for the future of cyber diplomacy and digital cooperation.

◆ Discussion: New Metaverse Frontiers for National Governments (6 Dec.)

Diplo’s Director for Digital Policy, Dr Stephanie Borg Psaila, will participate in the discussion New Metaverse Frontiers for National Governments. The event is part of The Metaverse Spectrum Business Conference & Expo, and will be held online on Wednesday, 6 December 2023, at 10:00 EST (15:00 UTC). Read more.

Subscribe to our newsletters to stay up to date!