DiploNews – Issue 323 – 3 May 2017

Upcoming online courses

We’ve just opened applications for our summer courses session. The following courses start on 31 July 2017:

• 21st Century Diplomacy
• Diplomatic Law: Privileges and Immunities
• Internet Technology and Policy: Challenges and Solutions
• Multilateral Diplomacy
   

Apply by 22 May for University of Malta accredited courses and by 19 June for Diplo certificate courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses listed, or visit our courses webpage. Register now to reserve your place.

Thanks to support from the government of Malta, partial scholarships are available for applicants from developing countries to attend upcoming Diplo online courses. These scholarships cover 30-70% of course fees and can be applied to most online courses in 2017.

For more information on any of our courses and on partial scholarships, contact admissions@diplomacy.edu. You can also sign up for our courses mailing list to be informed about upcoming courses.

Reporting from UNCTAD’s E-commerce Week

The Geneva Internet Platform team reported from UNCTAD’s E-commerce Week, in Geneva, on 24-28 April. Held under the theme ‘Towards Inclusive E-Commerce’, issues discussed included: e-commerce and trade, digital rights, inclusive development, data flows, and cybercrime and cybersecurity. Read the reports on the GIP Digital Watch observatory. A thematic summary is available in Issue 20 of the Geneva Digital Watch newsletter (page 7).

Internet governance in April & May

What were the main Internet governance updates in April, and how are they expected to shape future developments? The digital developments of the month – including updates on cybersecurity, privacy, digital rights, sustainable development, net neutrality, and new technologies – were summarised during the briefing held on 25 April. If you missed the briefing, read the digest, listen to the recording:

and download the slides, and IG Barometer for April.

The monthly briefings, held on the last Tuesday of every month, round up the latest updates in digital policy in a convenient one-hour online briefing. Participants can also join in Geneva, or from any of the hubs. The next briefing will be held on 30 May; registrations are open.

April’s Geneva Digital Watch newsletter is out!

Issue 20 of the Geneva Digital Watch newsletter, published on 30 April, includes the digital policy trends and developments that took place in April; a look at Microsoft’s latest policy document in support of the proposed Geneva Digital Convention; an analysis of the European Parliament’s concerns over the Privacy Shield; and a thematic summary of UNCTAD’s E-commerce Week. To mark the 20th issue, we have included two digital policy posters for readers to download, print, and use freely. Download April’s issue.

A look back at our events

DiploFoundation participated in several diplomacy-related discussions in the past two weeks. On 27 April, we kick-started the Digital Commerce course with a session as part of UNCTAD’s E-commerce Week. Speaking at the special session, DiploFoundation director and Geneva Internet Platform head Dr Jovan Kurbalija explained the impetus for developing the course, which was in response to the need of policymakers to understand this increasingly complex topic. Also on 27 April, Ms Barbara Rosen Jacobson represented Diplo at the JDI Youth Dialogue 2017, during a workshop on Big Data and Humanitarian Affairs, in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

May’s WebDebate, on standardisation, asked whether standards offer practical solutions for strained negotiations or represent an arena for realpolitik. Dr Kurbalija, and Ms Rosen Jacobson shared the preliminary results of Diplo’s research project on data diplomacy, during a Data Diplomacy brown bag lunch, organised by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bern, on 2 May, while Dr Roxana Radu moderated a panel discussion on Internet Digitalisation and Youth Employment: Job Creator or Job Disruptor?, the theme for this year’s Interns with a Mission event.

Earlier this month, Diplo’s CreativeLab in Belgrade (photo) welcomed students from the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD), for a discussion – summarised by Diplo’s Ms Darija Medic – on the disciplines of digital art and digital policy which deal with the same issues from different perspectives using different methodologies. Diplo also organised a training workshop on public speaking, on 22-23 April in Belgrade, led by Ms Mary Murphy. Understanding the basics of good communication (message elements), alongside what it takes to be a good communicator (message delivery), is an intrinsic element of how we do business, of how we function in and relate to the world around us. Like to attend a workshop on public speaking in Belgrade, Geneva, or Malta? Register your interest.

What’s been happening in Diplo’s blogsphere

In A 12-step guide to implementing the SDGs, Michael Oghia reflects on his experience discussing the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their relationship to both development and the Internet on the sidelines of the 11th Internet Governance Forum. The 12 points that Oghia and his group developed stress communication and collaboration as well as community and youth empowerment. In HRC 34th session: digital rights in general, privacy in particular Aida Mahmutović takes a closer look at the recent publication of the second report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy. One of the key suggestions discussed by Mahmutović is the legal instrument to regulate surveillance.