People
Virginia (Ginger) Paque
Internet Governance & E-diplomacy Coordinator, Diplo
Born (and currently residing) in the United States, Ms Virginia (Ginger) Paque lived in Venezuela for more than 35 years. An educator and administrator by profession, she has 25 years’ experience in business and manufacturing systems consulting. As a board member of the United Nations Association of Venezuela, her work as the Venezuelan member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations Task Force on WSIS marked her entry to the world of Internet governance (IG) during the Geneva PrepComs. Active in Civil Society discussions on IG, Ginger served as IG Caucus co-coordinator for two years. She was a member of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) from 2015 to 2017, with a specific focus on moving online ‘observation’ to online ‘participation’ for greater inclusion. Having completed a Master in Contemporary Diplomacy with a thesis focusing on the importance of IG as a new diplomatic priority, Ginger currently lectures on IG for Diplo and curates human rights topics for the GIP Digital Watch observatory. Accessibility to support inclusion is a high priority, particularly through support for persons with disabilities and multilingual approaches.
Related events
E-Diplomacy day at Malta workshop
Participants at the Malta Master/PGD Workshop on Contemporary Diplomacy are learning about the applications and implications of e-diplomacy tools. Today, guided by Diplo staff members Stephanie Borg Psaila, Mary Mu...
Vienna Launch of E-diplomacy Initiative
The launch of E-diplomacy Initiative of DiploFoundation was organised in cooperation with Vienna Diplomatic Academy. The May 25th 2010 launch was held at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy. Ambassador Hans Winkler, dire...
Geneva Launch of E-diplomacy Initiative
In front of a beautiful panoramic view of Geneva, the DiploFoundation E-diplomacy Initiative was launched at the World Meteorological Organization Building with over 60 diplomats from UN missions and other participant...
[Webinar] Our March IG webinar: Outcomes of ICANN 43
Several issues emerged during the 43rd meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), concluded last week in Costa Rica. We invite you to join us for our March webinar to discuss these iss...
IG Workshop at IDLELO 5 Abuja, Nigeria
IDLELO 5 Diplo IGCBP programme coordinator Ginger Paque gives a 3-day workshop overview of Internet governance for the FOSSFA/OSFAM IDLELO5 conference in Abuja, Nigeria See https://openhealthnews.com/hotnews/afric...
ICANN43 Costa Rica
ICANN 43 in Costa Rica Diplo IG Coordinator speaks to GAC meeting ICANN 43 in Costa Rica...
Workshop: IG training workshop and scholarship award in Abuja, Nigeria
Diplo delivered a three-day training workshop on Internet governance as part of the 5th African Conference on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and the Digital Commons, also known as IDLELO 5. The Internet gover...
[Webinar] Remote participation: from principles to practice
With constant innovation, remote participation (RP) – which facilitates the inclusion of those who are unable to be physically present, by creating a virtual link with those who are meeting in situ – ...
E-participation Day: towards a more open UN?
The E-participation Day was part of the Geneva E-diplomacy Platform and built on the first Geneva E-diplomacy Day (16 November 2012) and the Online Learning Day (17 April 2013). The event was held at the WMO, Gen...
[WebDebate]: Exploring digital diplomacy as a ‘new diplomacy’ - key lessons and skills
Our monthly WebDebates focus on so-called ‘new diplomacies’. We explore the emergence of new actors, new tools, and new processes in international relations. As these new diplomacies gain traction, it is importa...
[Briefing for diplomats] An inclusive internet: Lowering the barriers for access
Online briefing for diplomats on inclusive internet: Thursday, 2nd December 2021, 9–10.30 EST / 15–16.30 CET Closing the digital divide is one of the main priorities for governments worldwide. The 2030 Agend...
Towards a more diverse international standardisation landscape - Motivations and actions for stakeholders in the ARIN region
Event date: 15 March 2022 | 15:00–15:45 UTC, online This event is addressed to stakeholders in the ARIN service region (national and regional standard development organisations, governmental entities, industry, the...
Related blogs
Two easy ways to find information on Twitter
Twitter was a focus of interest at the Malta International E-diplomacy Conference at the beginning of June, and the discussions pushed me to explore more about Twitter possibilities before bringing the topic up here. ...
E-participation means participate!
If we could do just one thing that would make a difference to our communication problems, to our understanding of the world, to the conflict we live in – what should it be? We could bridge the digital divide – ded...
Do we need diplomats more or less than in the past?
'Do we need diplomats more or less than in the past?' This is the first question Georgie Day asked Geoff Berridge in an interview at Five Books. Berridge's answer was very interesting: 'We need them more than in ...
Is 'digital' changing 'diplomacy'?
A recent article in the New York Times, Digital Diplomacy details the digital diplomacy of 'Jared Cohen, the youngest member of the State Department’s policy planning staff, and Alec Ross, the first senior adviser f...
What if the cloud gets hit by lightning?
If there are clouds, there might be rain--And it is raining, it is pouring... I know there are a lot of scary stories out there--you probably have a favorite one yourself (mine is the Pixar debacle where the award-wi...
IGCBP Call for Applications Closes 7 February
DiploFoundation is currently accepting applications for course participants for the 2012 Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme (IGCBP12). This online programme is designed to improve Internet policy and IG-...
E-voting as e-participation: a process
E-voting and Internet voting are of course two different things: Internet voting is one form of e-voting. But even more important for e-participation is the point made in a previous comment by Uvais: Internet voting t...
Moving towards a more inclusive Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) selection: Lessons being learned How to foster inclusive and effective diplomacy is a question that we, at Diplo, try to answer in our training and research. The global push for ...
P2P and open source knowledge sharing at IDLELO 5
I unpacked my souvenirs from Abuja, and realised my best memories were not of Nigeria and Africa, but of Nigerians and Africans. I had just arrived, exhausted and jet-lagged from the IDLELO 5's Free and Open Source Fo...
Rodney Taylor: Diplo Fellow and Acting CTU SG in the News
Diplo's alumni and emerging leaders are often in the news. Rodney Taylor, Acting Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), a Diplo Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme 2008 ...
IGF Azerbaijan dates (it's not 6-9 November in Baku)
No matter what you may have heard or read, the 2012 Internet Governance Forum will not be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in November this year. The IGF12 has already started, and it ends in Baku, on 9 November. Don't kid y...
It's a big week for ISOC
ISOC (the Internet Society) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in Geneva at the Global INET Conference. Yesterday, discussions centered on Imagining the Future Internet: Collaborative Leadership Exchange highlightin...
Congratulations to all IGers on the Renewed MAG
The United Nations has issued a press release anouncing the renewal of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) for the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). All of us at DiploFoundation join the IG community in congratul...
Internet governance joins diplomacy in the real world news
Have you ever doubted the importance of Internet governance? Probably not, because you realize that how the Internet is managed affects us today, and will shape our future. But Internet governance is taking a place on...
LACIGF: Regional IGF success, RP success
Who were the biggest winners at the recent Latin America and Caribbean IGF preparatory meeting? Well, all Internet users, especially from LAC, I suppose. But from my point of view, remote participants (or local partic...
What is a wickitee?
You are involved in human rights online, but wickitee (WCIT) sounds like something used to play cricket, ETNO sounds like the name of a robot, and Baku like an exotic vacation spot. Or you know what SOPA/PIPA refers t...
Online-offline-inside-outside learn where you can!
Someone asked me whether we need a classroom (either physical or virtual) to learn. I had a very unprofessional reaction -- all I could think was: what a silly question! This is not even a matter of artificial or real...
The best of e-participation is ...
E-participation is a buzzword right now, on everybody's mind and agenda, it seems. Those who know me will not be surprised to read the following statement: Remote participation embodies the best of e-participation, an...
Jet lag and the IGF 2013 in Bali: Whom will it hit hardest? Are we prepared?
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2013 is almost upon us. Pre-events start before the actual meeting 22-26 October. Reservations have been made, and last-minute hotel arrangements are rushing across the Internet, ...
Will tweeting kill Schrödinger’s Cat and other questions
Will tweeting kill Schrödinger’s Cat[1] ? Does tweeting a meeting or a conference change the meeting? Closed captioning of meetings changed them: a searchable verbatim transcript became available, and speakers b...
Remote is far, far away: Online is inclusive collaboration
[crossword] How to improve inclusion in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) process through online resources, tools, and facilitation was one of the points of discussion at the IGF 2015 Open Consultations and Multist...
Online or in situ - which came first?
It doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out. Of course in situ gatherings, including both meetings and kids’ games, came first, probably around campsites and campfires. Interesting to note, then, that the 2015...
E-learning: different methods for different skill sets
E-learning is not just "like learning"... it is learning... and so its tools must be appropriate to the knowledge process and knowledge objective. Web 2.0 Twitter, mobile classes and learnlets are wonderful for incide...
US Presidential Elections - and the candidates’ stance on digital policy
With contributions from Curators of the GIP Digital Watch observatory The United States presidential campaign has polarised positions around many issues. For the most part, many of them make sense in the US political...
The best of the newest and the oldest
Diplo keeps up with latest developments in online learning and e-diplomacy, but fortunately, we don’t throw out traditional tools if they are still the best option, even if they are lacking the shiny new bells and w...
E-participation as an agent of change?
E-participation does not replace in-person participation, nor diminish its importance. As a matter of fact, comments made by IG Thematic Amb. Bertrand de la Chappelle at the Geneva launch of the E-diplomacy Initiative...
E-participation is not just remote observation
Thousands of groups meet online or by tele-conference daily, saving not only time and Euros but carbon footprint impact as well. However, my experience shows that public entities often have more difficulty in organisi...
Twitter Report of NY E-diplomacy Launch
The UN was the setting for the NY launch of the DiploFoundation E-diplomacy Initiative with core partners Malta, Switzerland and AT&T. Our Twitter followers participated online with this tweet report: eDi...
Twitter blog of Washington DC Launch
Where better to post a 'Twitter Blog' of the Washington DC E-diplomacy Initiative Launch than in e-participation? Read the tweets, make your comments, continue the discussion! eDiplomat: About to start Wash DC Launch...
Brussels launch up close, from a distance
I was not even in Europe, but I attended the Brussels launch of the e-diplomacy initiative. Not only that, I shared the step-by-step process with our eDiplomat Twitter followers! E-participation and remote participat...
Guest Blogger Tim Hood: Vietnamese National Assembly engages citizens online
Digital engagement – with both domestic and overseas audiences- is very much a new frontier that is still being explored and mapped by governments all over the world. One such government is that of Vietnam, which i...
Alt text and inclusive communication: Is a picture really worth a thousand words?
Alt text – a text description of an image that can be read by a screen reader – gives visually impaired users auditory input to describe visual media, whether it be a logo, an infographic, or an emotional plea tra...
Related resources
Internet governance (IG) as a diplomatic priority
This dissertation demonstrates that IG is a significant, emerging diplomatic process that should be studied and addressed seriously by diplomats to prepare them to manage the implications it has for future impact on g...
02 Aug, 2013
The network neutrality debate and development
This study focuses ont he Net Neutrality controversy. It aims to answer a number of questions including - If Net Neutrality deserves protection, the question is how? Should a political or legal solution be enacted at ...
10 Aug, 2007
Towards 'concrete, physical, and local'
'This is not an outside imposition of technology, but an enthusiastic acceptance of support... the ideal situation, where just a push, just a bit of help, can enable the local population to maximise use of resources u...
10 Aug, 2007
Diplo: Effective and inclusive diplomacy
Diplo is a non-profit foundation established by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. Diplo works to increase the role of small and developing states, and to improve global governance and international policy development.
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