DiploNews – Issue 254 – 17 June 2014

Welcome to Laurence Pope, new Senior Fellow at Diplo

Diplo is very pleased to welcome a new Senior Fellow: former US Ambassador Laurence Pope. In the course of his career as a Foreign Service Office, he served as Ambassador to Chad and Political Advisor to the US Central Command. Following retirement from the Foreign Service, he took the posts of Staff Director, International Middle East Fact-Finding Committee (Mitchell Committee), Senior Advisor, US Mission to the UN, and most recently, US Chargé d’Affaires in Libya. His latest book, The Demilitarization of American Diplomacy: Two Cheers for Striped Pants is reviewed on Diplo’s book review page. Ambassador Pope brings a wealth of experience to Diplo, and we are eagerly anticipating his first blog posting, among other contributions.

Scholarships for Summer Study with Diplo

We are pleased to announce five scholarships for our summer online courses (Diplomatic Law: Privileges and Immunities, 21st Century Diplomacy, Multilateral Diplomacy, Infrastructure and Critical Internet Resources).

Scholarship applicants must be diplomats or other international relations professionals from South-East Asia or small Pacific Island States. To apply, please fill out the online application form for the course of your choice (accessible from the course webpages). Upload your CV and motivation letter (maximum one page) with the application and also send these documents by e-mail to admissions@diplomacy.edu with the subject heading 'Application for Scholarship Fund'. Please indicate clearly which course you are applying for. Each scholarship covers around 60% of course fees. The applicant will be asked to pay the remaining fee of €275. The application deadline is Monday, 23rd June at midnight GMT. If you have questions, please contact admissions@diplomacy.edu.

Crowdfunding success

Our first crowdfunding campaign raised scholarship funds for participants from small and developing states in our online courses. We surpassed our goal of $2400 on the final day of the campaign. Thank you to all who contributed and helped to spread the word.

Although this campaign has come to an end, our need for scholarship funding is ongoing. You can read more on our website and contribute any time using our direct credit card donation link. All donated funds will be used for scholarship for participants from small and developing states in our online courses.

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 6 October; please apply by 1 September.

New online course: Global Health Diplomacy

The Global Health Programme at the Graduate Institute Geneva and Diplo are pleased to announce a new interactive online course on Global Health Diplomacy. As health moves beyond its purely technical realm to become an ever more critical element in foreign policy, security policy, and trade agreements, new skills are needed to negotiate global regimes, international agreements and treaties, and to maintain relations with a wide range of stakeholders. This course focuses on health diplomacy as it relates to health issues that transcend national boundaries and are global in nature. It discusses the challenges facing health diplomacy and how they are being addressed by different groups and at different levels of governance. The first session starts on 15 September 2014. Read more about the course and apply online by 1 August.

Summer online courses

The summer is a great time to focus on professional development with our online courses starting the week of 21 July:

• Diplomatic Law: Privileges and Immunities
• Multilateral Diplomacy
• 21st Century Diplomacy
• Infrastructure and Critical Internet Resources

The application deadline for Diplo certificate courses has been extended to 30 June. 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.

2015 Master in Contemporary Diplomacy

We are now accepting applications for the 2015 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 on 2 February 2015. The deadline to apply for international applicants is 1 October 2014 and for Maltese applicants it is 15 November 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 8 September 2014. 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 the final research project in French. The application deadline is 28 July 2014. For more details and to apply, please visit the course webpage.

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

Internet governance for Geneva-based diplomats

This fully funded course offers a tailored and effective view of the fast-evolving landscape of Internet governance. This targeted training will benefit diplomats whose agenda includes Internet governance and other Internet-related policy fields (e.g. telecommunications, human rights, cybersecurity, trade). The course is organised within the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP), an initiative of the Swiss authorities operated by DiploFoundation. Read more and apply on the GIP website.

What's been happening in Diplo's blogosphere

One of the key moments of the NSA-affair from a German perspective was the revelation that the phone of German chancellor Angela Merkel had been tapped. She reacted by stating that ‘spying among friends, that cannot be’ and bemoaned a loss of trust.  Katharine Hoene looks at how International law leaves everyone vulnerable in cyberspace. Margarita Griffith, Learning Officer for the America Zone Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Panama, talks about Humanitarian diplomacy learning for the Americas. The cryptocurrency story is a continuation of the long-running saga of economics, markets, and commodity exchange in human society. Arvin Kamberi demystifies Cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. In a second blog post in a series looking at diplomatic law, privileges, and immunities, Diplo lecturer Alan Franklin asks: Does diplomatic law really protect? If Benjamin Franklin, the first diplomat to represent the USA, were able to time-travel his way here, he might choose to paraphrase himself: ‘either tweet something worth reading, or do something worth tweeting.’ Read more at Diplomats and social media: no silver bullets.

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.

Events in Geneva and Bern

The following events will take place in Geneva and Bern:

• Geneva, 18 June – Internet as a Critical resource for Pacific Island States
• Bern, 23 June – Development and Humanitarian Challenges for Small Island Developing States
• Geneva, 1 July – From the Telegraph to Twitter
• Geneva, 3 July – Asia in the eyes of Europe, Europe in the Eyes of Asia. The Challenges of Public Diplomacy.