DiploNews – Issue 244 – 17 January 2014

Application deadline extended – February online courses

Due to the high level of interest, we have extended the application deadline for our courses which start the week of 17 February:

• Diplomatic Theory and Practice
• Internet Governance
• Language and Diplomacy
• Public Diplomacy

The extended deadline for Diplo Certificate courses is 27 January 2014. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses website. Places are limited, so register now to avoid disappointment.

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

What's been happening in Diplo's blogosphere

Guest blogger Dr Shujaat Wasty from the Canadian Foreign Service Institute looks at social media tools like Twitter are affecting our communication. Check out what he as to say in his post 140 characters or fewer: simplifying the message. Continuing with the communication theme, Alexandra Oxborough reckons that Diplomats need to be able to talk to locals, not just leaders as she echoes the elder statesman of British Diplomacy, Ivor Roberts, who has spoken out about the need for diplomats to be able to speak the local language. Mary Murphy takes a look at the The New Media landscape  and points to a site that will be of interest to anyone curious to know what journalists are up to, and how social media and its accompanying tools are changing how we communicate.

In our post Sharing professional experience to enhance humanitarian diplomacy practice we interview Bente MacBeath, Senior Policy Advisor, International Department, Norwegian Red Cross, about her experiences attending our Humanitarian Diplomacy course last year.

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.

CD Pacific programme started

Twenty-four diplomats and officials from the Pacific Island States have embarked on an online course on multilateral diplomacy. Over the next five months they will engage in the programme to strengthen their capacity to follow developments in multilateral diplomacy conducted in International Geneva. In addition to the online course, they will  prepare policy research on the relevance of multilateral diplomacy for their countries. The ten most successful participants will visit Geneva where they will immerse themselves in diplomatic activities. CD Pacific is supported by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Civil society representatives for Brazil Internet Governance meeting planning committees announced

The chosen candidates to represent civil society on planning committees in preparation for the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on Internet Governance have just been announced. Jovan Kurbalija, Stephanie Perrin, and Louis Pouzin will represent Civil Society on the Multistakeholder High ­Level Committee (HLC), which will set the high ­level political tone and objectives of the conference, while Adam Peake and Marilia Maciel will sit on the Multistakeholder Executive Committee (EC), which will be responsible for the organisation of the event. The meeting will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, on 23-24 April 2014. The call for expressions of interest took place on Diplo’s IG community platform, Best Bits, the Internet Governance Caucus, the NCSG, and the larger CS community. The selection process was based on all nominations received by the the Civil Society Co-ordination Group. More details on the committees are available here.

Workshop on Modern Diplomacy for Small States

The 6th workshop on Modern Diplomacy for Small States will take place in Malta, 19-28 March 2014. It is being organised by DiploFoundation, and sponsored by the government of Malta and the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC).

You may find more information about the workshop, scholarships and how to apply by visiting the workshop website.