DiploNews – Issue 235 – 3 September 2013
Autumn 2013 online courses – a few places left
Apply now for one of the few remaining places in our autumn 2013 diplomacy courses, which start the first week of October:
Application deadlines have been extended to 17 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.
2014 Master in Contemporary Diplomacy
Just four weeks left to apply 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. 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 happening in Diplo's blogosphere?
On the Diplomacy channel, Paramjit Sahai takes a look at the extradition case of Edward Snowden and draws from it a lesson in consular diplomacy. Kishan Rana explores diaspora issues in international affairs. And in his post cyber espionage and the case for the genetically modified state, Nicholas Dynon comments on Professor John Naughton's (Open University) argument that the biggest story to come out of the Snowden NSA revelations is that the days of the Internet as a truly global network are numbered.
Over on E-diplomacy, Mary Murphy wonders whether, in the aftermath of a leaked recording of a phone call between two Lithuanian diplomats, the threat of exposure on social media could really be used as coercive tool. In another post Facebook: a refuge for the lonely, she comments on a recent study that says while Facebook might be ‘an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection’, rather than ‘enhancing well-being […] Facebook may undermine it.’
Curating and vetting information have become essential skills in a world of ‘over-information’. Guest blogger Shujaat Wasty takes a look at what they mean for us in his post Social media, over-information, and curating.
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
One may think that ‘open government’ is a term which only governments should worry about. Veronica Cretu, our special guest during July’s IG webinar, explained how our needs as citizens lie at the core of open government. If you missed the webinar, read the digest and listen to the recording here.
Is there such a thing as remote in the Internet world? Darlene Thompson, from Nunavut in Canada, shares her experience about what it’s like for communities in Canada's Arctic to be connected electronically to the rest of the world they cannot reach by road. Part One of her three-part series describes the history of wireless communications in the region; Part Two focuses on the technology used. Part Three, on the impact of the technology on people and their lives, will publish soon.
On our community page, Narine Khachatryan asks whether emphasis should be placed on ICTs and Internet access in countries experiencing problems with electricity, food, water supplies, and medical attention. How do we that ensure ICTs and the Internet drive the development of these countries? What strategies should be apllied to effectively reduce the existing gaps with the post-industrial world? Read her new post, Technology: a blessing or a curse?
Learning about ICT policy formulation and development has been of great benefit to community member Ndapewa Hangula, from Namibia, whose work includes advising the ministry on ICT policy. Ndapewa shares her personal experience. If ICT were to be likened to the human body, which organs would each of these stakeholders be? Who would be the brain… or the'blood? Read Gameli Adzaho's blog post, Rethinking the ICT Sector as the Human Body. And in Privacy vs Copyright, Zhou Hui asks whether privacy has to give way to copyright, especially in cases of copyright infringement. How does one balance the right to privacy with the authors’ rights?
Follow more IG-related news and discussions on Diplo’s Internet governance channel, and on Diplo’s IG community blog roll.
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