DiploNews – Issue 193 – 15 November 2011

Translate Climate – a new Diplo initiative

While the world meets in Durban for climate negotiations, some important questions come to mind:

• How can we understand the complexities of the climate change problem? Can illustrations help?
• Are we really speaking the same language when it comes to climate change?

Diplo is launching a new social media project called Translate Climate. We aim to illustrate the complexities of climate change, provide translations of key climate terminology, and offer our climate building illustration in various languages. On our Translate Climate webpage you will find our climate building illustration in ten different languages and translations of key climate terms in these languages – among them English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Indonesian. All translations and illustration are free. Have a look and share them with your communities.
In addition, we invite you to become a translator: you can comment on the translations or add your own new translations – there are many more languages to cover. We aim at producing more climate building illustrations based on your translations. Join us for Translate Climate.

Online study in the New Year

Start 2012 with one of our popular interactive online courses:

• Diplomatic Theory and Practice
• Public Diplomacy
• Multilateral Diplomacy II: Current Issues in the United Nations

Courses start the week of 20 February 2012. Apply by 19 December 2011 for University of Malta accredited courses or by 16 January 2012 for Diplo Certificate Courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses website. 
Register now to reserve your place.

Humanitarian aid, intervention in Libya, responsibility to protect, United Nations Security Council reform, drafting and analysis of UN documents … these are but a sample in the rich field of topical issues and practical applications through which Dr Petru Dumitriu and his knowledgeable team expertly guided Multilateral Diplomacy II.  I now evaluate world events with keener insight and have a wider appreciation of the gargantuan challenges in tackling global concerns.

Anna Durante, Crown Counsel, Government of the Virgin Islands

Participant in Multilateral Diplomacy II: Current Issues in the UN, February 2011

Humanitarian Diplomacy Certificate Programme

Diplo is pleased to cooperate with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to offer a new certificate programme in Humanitarian Diplomacy. This 12-week programme aims to enrich and empower current and future actors in the field of humanitarian diplomacy and policy. In a supportive international online class environment, the programme will familiarise participants with basic definitions, concepts, actors, and institutions in the field of humanitarian diplomacy; introduce international humanitarian law; hone advocacy and negotiation skills; develop participants’ research skills; and increase their understanding of national and regional humanitarian diplomacy activities. The programme starts on 6 February 2012; the application deadline is 7 December 2011. For more details and to apply, see the programme website.

Fourth workshop on Modern Diplomacy for Small States

Diplo is organising the 4th workshop on Modern Diplomacy for Small States 21–30 March 2012. The workshop, which will be held in Malta, will focus on the current diplomatic challenges and organisational needs of small states, engaging as speakers experienced diplomats who have first-hand knowledge of the challenges facing small states and how these challenges have been dealt with in Malta. Scholarships are available for professionals holding senior/middle management positions within a Commonwealth Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other departments dealing with the foreign affairs of small states. The workshop is sponsored by the Government of Malta and the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC). Visit the workshop website for more details and to apply.