Diplo Academy upcoming courses and programmes
🤖 The new AI Apprenticeship online course equips professionals with the skills to design their own AI assistant for diplomacy and governance. Through hands-on experience with generative AI, participants will enhance decision-making, drive innovation, and shape the future of AI in governance!
⭐ Negotiation Skills online course: Applications open!
Applications are now open for our Negotiation Skills online course. We negotiate all the time in both personal and professional capacities. To improve outcomes and achieve our goals, it is vital to reflect on the process of negotiation and develop appropriate negotiation skills.
👉🏼 Applications close on 25 August 2025. Course starts on 15 September 2025. Enrol now to secure your place!
🍂 Applications open! Diplo’s 2025 autumn online courses
Register now to reserve your place in our specialised autumn courses!
👉🏼 Application deadlines for certificates issued by Diplo: 8 September 2025
For further information and to apply, click the course titles above or visit Diplo’s course catalogue.
◆ Need financial assistance? Scholarships are available!
Thanks to 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 2025 online courses. Browse our course catalogue and contact us at admissions@diplomacy.edu for further information.
Upcoming events
◆ Webinar: African priorities for the Global Digital Compact (3 Sept)
Join us for a dynamic webinar exploring Africa’s response to the UN’s Global Digital Compact – a bold vision for a secure, inclusive digital future. With emerging technologies like AI and IoT reshaping the continent, leading African voices will examine the urgent priorities needed to unlock innovation, bridge digital divides, and protect rights in a rapidly evolving digital world. Register now!
Main takeaways from our recent events
◆ Five years on: Achievements, failures, and the future of the UN Cyber Dialogue
The expert discussion explored the OEWG’s achievements in advancing common understandings among states on responsible behaviour in cyberspace, the challenges encountered in bridging diverse national positions and operationalising agreed norms, and provided an overall view of the process since 2021.
Watch the recording below, and stay tuned for the second part, where we will explore the future process!
Blogs and publications
◆ The open-source gambit: How America plans to outpace AI rivals by democratising tech
On 23 July, the USA unveiled an AI Action Plan featuring 103 recommendations focused on winning the AI race against China. Key themes include promoting open-source AI to establish global standards, reducing regulations to support tech firms, and emphasising national security. The plan addresses labour displacement, AI biases, and cybersecurity threats, advocating for reskilling workers and maintaining technological leadership through private sector flexibility. Additionally, it aims to align US allies within an AI framework while expressing scepticism towards multilateral regulations. Overall, the plan positions open-source AI as a strategic asset amid geopolitical competition. Read the blog post!
◆ Testing the limits of peace: What the DRC–Rwanda deal reveals about mediation today
The DRC–Rwanda peace accord of June 2025 marks a rare moment of successful peace diplomacy, aiming to end decades of conflict in the Great Lakes region through troop withdrawals, security coordination, and economic cooperation. While the agreement’s long-term success remains uncertain, it highlights the renewed importance of hybrid mediation models, high-profile diplomacy, and inclusive implementation in resolving modern conflicts. Read the blog post!
◆ The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a test case for 21st-century energy diplomacy
When a dam is built on a river that crosses borders, what kind of diplomacy is needed to balance the water rights of one nation with the energy needs of another? The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydroelectric project on the Blue Nile, highlights the tensions and opportunities of 21st‑century energy diplomacy – balancing Ethiopia’s development ambitions with regional cooperation and the water‑security concerns of downstream nations such as Egypt and Sudan. Read the blog post!
◆ Do diplomats have personal rights to protection under the VCDR that they can enforce?
Do diplomats have personal rights under international law, or are all rights held by the sending state? The blog post examines why diplomatic immunity often leaves individuals with ‘a right without a remedy’. Read the blog post!
◆ Beyond Earth: Why space diplomacy needs diverse voices
Space is growing dangerously congested, with over 27,000 pieces of debris and outdated, voluntary rules. A handful of powerful states still shape the agenda, while inequality and fragmentation deepen. Can diplomacy step in before crisis strikes? Read the blog post!
◆ Are democracies drifting toward psephocracy and technocracy?
When politicians avoid hard choices, courts and experts step in to fill the gap. Power shifts away from voters to institutions that don’t answer to them. What does this mean for democracy’s future? Read the blog post!
◆ How are we being tracked online?
Tracking technologies shape our online experience in often invisible ways, yet profoundly impactful, raising important questions about transparency, control, and accountability in the digital age. Read the DW analysis!
◆ Not just bugs: What rogue chatbots reveal about the state of AI
When AI chatbots go rogue, the fallout reveals more about human choices than machine intent – or technical limits. Read the DW analysis!
◆ UN OEWG concludes, paving way for permanent cybersecurity mechanism
The OEWG on ICT security has adopted its Final Report after intense negotiations on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. We unpack the key takeaways, highlight major changes across the drafts, and explore how a narrow path to agreement finally emerged. Read the DW analysis!
◆ No judges, no appeals, no fairness: Wimbledon 2025 shows what happens when AI takes over
AI made the calls at Wimbledon – and sparked global debate. Read the DW analysis!
◆ ConfTech Digest #48, June/July
Discover the latest updates in the world of online meetings: seamless co-authoring, enhanced screen sharing control, improved secure collaboration, additional privacy protections, media connection insights, local automated captions, and more. Read ConfTech Digest #48!
◆ DW Weekly #222
In the latest issue of the DW Weekly newsletter:
- Trump signs the GENIUS Act
- EU–Japan Digital Partnership
- Meta refuses to endorse the EU’s Code of Practice
Latest videos
◆ Shifts in global order: Impact on cyber diplomacy and cybersecurity (Geneva Dialogue #7)
Watch the latest Geneva Dialogue podcast episode, featuring a discussion with Ambassador Asoke Mukerji on how shifts in global power and multipolarity impact cyberdiplomacy, UN cyber norms, and efforts to keep cyberspace secure. Watch it below!
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