DiploNews – Issue 257 – 1 August 2014

Upcoming study opportunities

New online course: Global Health Diplomacy. Last chance to apply

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 3 August.

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.

Migration and Development

Offered through cooperation between the Instituto Matías Romero of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and DiploFoundation, the online course on Migration and Development is offered simultaneously in English and Spanish. The course provides participants with a conceptual framework and analytical tools to address the relationship between international migration and economic and social development. It emphasises the legal and institutional framework for international migration, examines governments' recent changes in policies towards their diasporas, and focuses on different case studies to exemplify how the links between diasporas and their communities of origin have an impact on the conditions and policies for development. The course starts on 22 September. Read more and apply online by 1 September. Only ten places are available – apply early to reserve your enrollment.

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.

Autumn online diplomacy courses

We have a rich and varied set of diplomacy courses coming up this autumn:

• Consular and Diaspora Diplomacy
• CyberSecurity
• Development Diplomacy
• Economic Diplomacy
• Language and Diplomacy

Apply by 4 August for University of Malta accredited courses and by 1 September for Diplo certificate courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses webpage. Register now to reserve your place.

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

Internet governance highlights

Three years after our first IG webinar on net neutrality, we re-visited the topic again last month with net neutrality expert Vladimir Radunovic. Whereas initially the discussion focused on ‘defining network neutrality’, the focus is now on emerging challenges including new infrastructure, market and policy developments, and ‘specialised services’. Read the digest and listen to the recording here. Meanwhile, our monthly IG webinars will be back at the end of August.

On Diplo’s IG community space, Poncelet O. Ileleji shares his perspectives on the third African IGF, held last month in Abuja, Nigeria. Although largely successful, he believes it lacked the full participation of some of the key stakeholders from the region.

Robert Kikonyogo shares an open call for the Afrika Kommt! Fellowship Program 2014-2016 (application deadline is 7 September), while Stephanie Borg Psaila shares a call for applications for the Google Faculty Research Awards (application deadline is 15 October).

Follow more IG-related news and discussions on Diplo’s Internet governance channel, and on Diplo’s IG community blog roll.

What's been happening in Diplo's blogosphere

Muhammad Aslam works with the Canadian Red Cross Delegation in Pakistan, as a programme coordinator. He has 14 years of experience in humanitarian and development work in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In June 2014, he successfully completed the online diplomacy course in Humanitarian Diplomacy run by DiploFoundation and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). In Supporting humanitarian diplomacy work in Pakistan, he describes the value of the course in his environment, and how he faced the challenges of online learning.