DiploNews – Issue 232 – 16 July 2013

Last chance to apply

New online course on Capacity Development

Capacity development has been emerging as a central approach within development for more than two decades. This approach has gradually shifted the focus of development practice from simple financial aid and technical cooperation towards a complex new paradigm that encourages and demands active involvement and ownership from the people and communities involved in aid programmes. To help you better understand and master this complex paradigm, this course introduces the key concepts, principles, and practical skills for implementing capacity development activities. The course was developed with the support of the SDC, UNDP, LenCD, and Learn4Dev. Visit the course webpage to read more about this unique new course, and apply online. The first session starts on 2 September 2013; please apply by 22 July 2013.

Humanitarian Diplomacy online diploma course

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and DiploFoundation will offer a new session of the Humanitarian Diplomacy online diploma course starting 2 September 2013. This 12-week course, led by Ambassador Christopher Lamb, will extend the knowledge base and develop practical skills of current and future practitioners in humanitarian diplomacy and policy. The application deadline is 22 July 2013. For more details and to apply, please visit the course webpage.
 

Upcoming study opportunities

Autumn 2013 online courses

Now is the right time to plan your professional development for the autumn. Diplo offers several stimulating online courses on important contemporary diplomacy topics:

• Consular and Diaspora Diplomacy
• Development Diplomacy
• Economic Diplomacy
• Language and Diplomacy
• Cybersecurity

Apply by 5 August for University of Malta accredited courses and by 2 September 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.

Applications open for 2014 Master in Contemporary Diplomacy

We are now accepting applications for the 2014 Master in Contemporary Diplomacy, and the Master in Contemporary Diplomacy with an Internet Governance specialisation. These unique postgraduate programmes, offered in cooperation with the University of Malta, include a 10-day residential workshop in Malta followed by 16–20 months of online learning. To learn more about what it's like to participate in this programme, you can read an interview with current programme participant Kevon Swift, or view a video with participant Lutine de Boer:

Please visit the Master in Contemporary Diplomacy webpage to read more and to apply. The programme starts at the end of January 2014 and the application deadline is 1 October 2013.

Sign up for our courses mailing list to be informed about upcoming courses!
 

What's been going on in Diplo's blogosphere

July got off to an interesting start with Petru Dumitriu’s two-part blog post on Killer Robots, aka Lethal Autonomous Robotics, vs International Humanitarian Law. Marília Maciel looks at Wikipedia and the battle of words over political events in Egypt, and how Wikipedia coverage has reflected unfolding political developments in the country. Katharina Höne explores a microphone in an embassy and a loss of ethics and asks whether a norm still a norm when you feel free to ignore it at will?

On the diplomacy channel, Mary Murphy wonders how social media has affected diplomatic reporting and how  the Internet has affected diplomatic reporting? She also explores the relationship between diplomats and diplomatic correspondents.

Aldo Matteucci considers the ultimate human right – the ‘right to a non-projected future’ while Mohamed Keramot Ali, Field Coordinator of the Community-based Development Initiatives (CDI) Program at the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, explains how he put the skills he developed during the Humanitarian Diplomacy online course into practice in  developing capacity for humanitarian diplomacy in Bangladesh.

Remember, you too can have your say by commenting on these or any of our blog posts. And, if you’d like to be a guest blogger, let us know.
  

Discussing Internet governance

As new reports on government surveillance programmes emerge, academic and former diplomat Nicholas Dynon reflects on the approaches of US and Chinese governments on surveillance. Read his two-part series: (part 1) ‘Differences’ on the issue of cybersecurity reading more like similarities, and (part 2) State capitalism through the Chinese dreamscape.

On Diplo’s IG community platform, Valerie Vlasenko talks about the European Commission’s plans to reinforce cybersecurity legislation. Read her blog post on New European legislation on network and information security.

Diplo’s Virginia (Ginger) Paque writes about an interview with Diplo tutor Fatima Cambronero, in which she discusses the topics that are of particular importance for the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, and will likely to be discussed during the upcoming 6th  LAC IGF meeting. The interview was published in the July issue of the LACNIC Internet Community Newsletter.

On a different note, many IG-related events are taking place in the coming weeks. Stay updated by following our community calendar here. If you are a member of our IG community, we invite you to add other IG-related events that you are involved in (the Help page is available here).

Follow more IG-related news and discussions on Diplo’s Internet governance channel, and on Diplo’s IG community blog roll.