DiploNews – Issue 256 – 15 July 2014

From Telegraph to Twitter. Is there a lesson to be learned in the Internet era from the telegraph and the outbreak of the First World War?

In 2014, we mark the 200th anniversary of the Congress of Vienna, one of the most successful events in diplomatic history, as well as the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, one of the greatest failures of diplomacy. Like the Internet today, the telegraph played a vital role in shaping geopolitics between these two major events. While the telegraph enabled faster communication among capitals, it also created confusion and misunderstanding. One of a few lessons that we have learned from the telegraph and the events of 1914, is that speed and immediacy do not always provide positive results. The Geneva Internet Platform organised an event on this topic – the recording is now available.
 

Training of diplomats from ASEM countries on Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy

With the support of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland and in co-operation with the Asia-Europe Foundation and the National Centre on Research on Europe of the University of Canterbury, Diplo organised a three-day training workhshop in Geneva in early July, with the aim of improving public diplomacy efforts and understanding between Asian and Europe. The training took place within the Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy Training Initiative. Soon, the call for applications for an online course will be published. For more information, consult the programme page.
 

Next Geneva Webinar briefing on IG – live from the IGF

You receive hundreds of pieces of information on digital politics. We receive them, too. We decode, contextualise, and analyse them. Then we summarise them for you. Register for the upcoming Geneva Webinar Briefing on Internet governance. The summary of June's Geneva Webinar briefing is available here.
 

New publication of CD Pacific

An updated version of a publication summarising the Capacity Development Programme in Multilateral Diplomacy for Pacific Island States (CD Pacific) is available at the programme page. We are busy preparing new editions of the programme – in 2015 for the Carribean region and in 2016 for the Pacific. Stay tuned to this space for more updates.
 

Upcoming study opportunities – application deadlines approach

Online Diploma Course in Humanitarian Diplomacy

The next session of the Humanitarian Diplomacy online diploma course, offered by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in cooperation with DiploFoundation, will start on 8 September 2014. 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. This course is currently offered in English, however participants who are more comfortable with French will have the option to write and submit some course assignments and their final research project in French. The application deadline is 28 July 2014. For more details and to apply, please visit the course webpage.

New online course: Global Health Diplomacy

The Global Health Programme at the Graduate Institute Geneva and Diplo are pleased to announce a new interactive online course on Global Health Diplomacy. As health moves beyond its purely technical realm to become an ever more critical element in foreign policy, security policy, and trade agreements, new skills are needed to negotiate global regimes, international agreements, and treaties, and to maintain relations with a wide range of stakeholders. This course focuses on health diplomacy as it relates to health issues that transcend national boundaries and are global in nature. It discusses the challenges facing health diplomacy and how they are being addressed by different groups and at different levels of governance. The first session starts on 15 September 2014. Read more about the course and apply online by 1 August.

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, the UNDP, LenCD, and Learn4Dev. Visit the course webpage to read more about this unique course, and apply online. The next session starts on 6 October; please apply by 1 September.

2015 Master in Contemporary Diplomacy

We are now accepting applications for the 2015 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. Please visit the Master in Contemporary Diplomacy webpage to read more and to apply. The programme starts on 2 February 2015. The deadline to apply for international applicants is 1 October 2014 and for Maltese applicants it is 15 November 2014.

Autumn online diplomacy courses

We have a rich and varied set of diplomacy courses coming up this autumn:

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

Apply by 4 August for University of Malta accredited courses and by 1 September for Diplo certificate courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses webpage. Register now to reserve your place.

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

Internet Governance highlights

Missing out on what’s been happening in Internet governance circles these past few weeks? Catch up with our Webinar digest: Geneva Briefing on Internet Governance (June 2014)
where Vladimir Radunovic summarises key developments and signposts what to watch for in the coming months. Vlada was also busy at the ICANN meeting in London. Catch what he has to say in his post All hands on deck as ICANN navigates high seas.
 

What's been happening in Diplo's blogosphere

The fifth session of the online Humanitarian Diplomacy diploma course, run by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and DiploFoundation, has just come to an end. In The humanitarian perspective empowers your advocacy, Richard Slade, Assistant/Project Officer for International Humanitarian Law and Movement Relations at the Australian Red Cross shares his experiences.

In Memoirs of UN Secretaries-General: Post-factum political incorrectness,  Petru Dumitriu explains that while there is no specific module on Secretaries-General when we speak about the institutional dimensions of the United Nations in Diplo’s course on multilateral diplomacy, discussions about them are unavoidable.

Last month, ten participants from the Capacity Development Programme in Multilateral Diplomacy for Pacific Islands States visited Geneva for 10 days where they had the chance to meet many of the International Organisations that make up International Geneva. In his welcoming remarks at the roundtable discussion convened in Bern 23 June on issues and challenges facing small island states, Ambassador Jürg Lauber described International Geneva as Switzerland’s contribution to the international community. Read more about the Visit to Bern and Presentation of policy research projects.

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.