DiploNews – Issue 265 – 2 December 2014

Geneva Internet Conference outcomes

The Geneva Internet Conference, held on 17-19 November, was attended by about 250 participants. It produced an outcome document Strengthening Internet Governance: the message from the Geneva Internet Conference. The Geneva Message is multi-layered:

1. Two-page document: provides a quick overview
2. Additional information: points from discussions, background information
3. Detailed information: video recordings and notes from the sessions

There is a also a time component to the Geneva Message:

• Pre-conference discussion (September-November)
• Conference discussion itself
• Post-conference discussion (we will build further discussion around the Geneva Message as Vladimir Radunović (GIP) did during the recent Pristina cyber-forum  and the Arab Internet Governance Forum). In this way, we will provide coherence, solidity, and sustainability to the conference process.

Please let us know if you need any additional information. It would also be great to get feedback from your communities and suggestions for the next steps in strengthening the Geneva Message. Contact us at gip@diplomacy.edu
 

Webinar briefing on IG: a bubbling cauldron

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. Join us for the December briefing at 13:00 CET on Tuesday 2 December – online or in situ in Geneva.

We will discuss, among other topics:

• Geneva Internet Conference: Highlights and outputs.
• US-China free trade in ICT: breakthrough on eliminating duties on ICT products and perspectives for new WTO dynamism.
• Battles over Net neutrality: Obama's message and US perspectives, Swiss telecom agreeement, and messages from ETNO.
• Cybersecurity developments: OSCE moves with confidence-building measures.
• IGF: the new members of the MAG and preparations for IGF2015.

Master and Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy graduation

During the University of Malta graduation ceremonies on 26 November and 2 December this year, some ten candidates graduated with the University of Malta/DiploFoundation Master in Contemporary Diplomacy or the Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy. The graduates were: Christian Faure, Lucy Mumbua Mulili, Reem Wahdan-Jarrar, Christopher Mark Anthony Darville, Szilvia Sommer, Fitina Patience Msiska, Veronica Cretu, Ibrahim Mustafa Mohamed, Setaita Tupua-Kalou, and Ekpenyong Ekereobong Reuben. Congratulations to all! You can read more on our website.
     

Upcoming Study Opportunities

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 19 January 2015; please apply by 10 December 2014.

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 23 February 2015. 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 12 January 2015. For more details and to apply, please visit the course webpage.

February 2015 online diplomacy courses

Start the new year with one of our most popular online courses:

• Diplomatic Theory and Practice
• Public Diplomacy
• Introduction to Internet Governance

Apply by 15 December 2014 for University of Malta accredited courses and by 12 January 2015 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.
 

Education Diplomacy – Towards a Common Understanding

In October this year, Diplo and the Center for Education Diplomacy at the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) organised Education Diplomacy Day in Geneva. We are now working towards elaborating the concept and developing an online course. For an overview of the discussion so far and ideas towards the concept, please see our most recent blog post, published by the Network for International Policies and Cooperation in Education and Training (NORRAG) which was also represented on Education Diplomacy Day.
   

Discussing Internet governance

October and November were busy months for IG. Vladimir Radunovic rounded up the main developments for October during last month’s Geneva Briefing – The dance of the Titans. The next Geneva Briefing takes place Tuesday, 2nd December.

The Geneva Internet Conference, which took place last month, opened with a workshop in which IG experts and novices met in preparation for the conference. Pete Cranston rounded up the discussions in summaries from Day One (The gift that goes on giving) and Day Two (Geneva IS a hub for IG). Meanwhile, Diplo is designing a new IG building illustration, which has served the community well as an IG awareness-building tool over the last 10 years. We invite you to help us with the new design: How different should the new 2014 IG building be? Should it be more solid and sophisticated? More updates, including the full text of the outcome document Strengthening Internet Governance: the message from the Geneva Internet Conference, are available on the conference webpage.

On Diplo’s Internet governance community, Virginia (Ginger) Paque shared an update on the decision taken by the Internet Governance Civil Society Coordination Group (CSCG) to engage in the process of selection of self-nominated civil society representatives for the Coordination Council of the Netmundial Initiative (NMI). More details here.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Borg Psaila shared the announcement of the newly composed IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group. The group is made up of 55 members, and includes Diplo’s Virginia (Ginger) Paque. Diplo’s community took an active part through this year’s endorsement process.