DiploNews – Issue 345 – 17 April 2018

The rise of techplomacy in the Bay Area

At an event at swissnex San Francisco last week, DiploFoundation launched a report mapping how countries interact with the tech sector in the Bay Area. The tech sector in the Bay Area is of vital importance for all countries in the world. Apart from being the centre of technological development and home to many hi-tech corporations, the area also has a significant impact on society; what takes place there affects people worldwide, including the environment and the context in which diplomacy operates. Read the report and learn more about the project at https://www.diplomacy.edu/bayarea

Diplo and the GIP at the 2018 UNCTAD e-commerce week

The GIP Digital Watch observatory is providing just-in-time reporting from most sessions at the UNCTAD e-commerce week 2018 and from the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on E-commerce and the Digital Economy (18 to 20 April), with the aim of enabling the community to keep track of discussions happening simultaneously. Session reports are available within a few hours from each session. Read the reports at dig.watch/unctad2018 or follow us on @genevagip for links to reports. Diplo and the GIP will also be hosting two sessions at the e-Commerce Week:

• Monday, 16th March, Platform-based E-commerce: What is at stake for MSMEs?, from 11:30 to 13:00, in room XXVII, Palais des Nations
• Wednesday, 18th March, Introduction to the course on digital commerce and emerging technologies, from 08:30 to 10:00, Room XXV (Palais des Nations). The session is based on the curriculum of the online course on digital commerce, jointly delivered by DiploFoundation, CUTS International Geneva, the International Trade Centre (ITC), UNCTAD, and the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) in 2017 and 2018. The publication –Digital commerce capacity development: Preparing trade professionals for the challenges of the digital economy – will be officially launched during this session.

Upcoming study opportunities

May 2018 online diplomacy courses – last call to apply

Starting on 7 May 2018, we offer courses on diplomacy topics, both classic and contemporary:

• Bilateral Diplomacy
• Diplomacy of Small States
• E-Diplomacy

Apply by 23 April 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.

Summer online diplomacy courses

Is summer a quiet time at your office? Then it is the perfect opportunity to take an online course. Have a look at our courses on diplomacy and Internet technology starting on 23 July:

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

Apply by 21 May for University of Malta accredited courses and by 18 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. 

Malta scholarships

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%–60% of course fees and can be applied to most online courses in 2018. Browse our course catalogue and contact us at admissions@diplomacy.edu for further information. You can also sign up for our courses mailing list to be informed about upcoming courses.


What’s been happening in Diplo’s blogsphere

In How a US tax amendment is bringing Apple’s profits back home, Diplo’s Robert Aquilina sheds light on a recent change in US tax rules. Internet companies based in the USA are earning billions in revenue in other jurisdictions. But the US government has a strong interest in the repatriation of these funds back to the USA. The new tax rules make this easier. Apple has already reacted to the change and, as Aquilina argues, other companies will follow suit. In Uber car crash: limits of autonomy and questions of responsibility. guest blogger Frank Kosarek looks at a fatal crash involving a prototype self-driving Uber car and a pedestrian which made headlines around the world. Kosarek points out that this raises questions of responsibility that are difficult to answer and argues that there still exists a desperate need to adjust the legal and social context around autonomous driving.