DiploNews – Issue 266 – 16 December 2014

Upcoming Study Opportunities

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 23 February 2015. 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 their final research project in French. The application deadline is 12 January 2015. For more details and to apply, please visit the visit the course webpage.

February 2015 online diplomacy courses

Start the new year with one of our most popular online courses:

• Diplomatic Theory and Practice
• Public Diplomacy
• Introduction to Internet Governance

Apply by 12 January 2015 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 in 2015: a decisive year

The NETmundial meeting and the IANA transition process dominated most of the 2014 developments, bringing Internet governance (IG) to a crossroads. 2015 will be a decisive year in which stakeholders will agree on post-2015 agendas. What can we expect in the coming months, and which issues are likely to be a priority?

Join us online on 27 January, 2015 for the annual ‘crystal ball’ exercise with Diplo director Dr Jovan Kurbalija. If you’re in Geneva, join us in situ at 7 bis Avenue de la Paix, Geneva (WMO building, 2nd floor). Read more and register here.

Transparency and Human Rights in the Digital Age – event with Telecommunications Industry Dialogue and Global Network Initiative

The Global Network Initiative and the Telecommunications Industry Dialogue organised a Joint Learning Forum on Transparency and Human Rights in the Digital Age, hosted by the Geneva Internet Platform, on 1 December 2014, in Geneva, Switzerland. Event report is available at this link.

Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy Training Initiative:
face-to-face training in Kuala Lumpur

The Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy Training Initiative, a project supported by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Switzerland and the Asia-Europe Foundation, involves two online courses and two face-to-face training sessions on relations between Asia and Europe and public diplomacy tools. The last training option, a face-to-face training in Kuala Lumpur, will be issued soon. Please watch the project page for more updates. The call will be open for diplomats from countries of the Asia-Europe Meeting process.

What diplomats do

Sir Brian Barder’s book What Diplomats Do offers comprehensive insight into the life and work of diplomats. It deserves to be read by practitioners and aspiring practitioners of diplomacy, by students and teachers of diplomacy, and by anyone interested in what diplomats actually do. It crosses genres as easily as it addresses and holds the attention of a broad audience. The book’s location at the intersection between a textbook on diplomacy, memoirs of a former ambassador, and a fictionalised account of the life of a British diplomat at home and abroad gives it its unique character. This allows the book to fill a gap on the bookshelf between those books with a clear academic approach such as Geoff Berridge’s Diplomatic Theory and Practice, on the one hand, and books that are first and foremost diplomatic memoirs. Read Katharina Hone's review for more details.

 DiploFoundation Policy Brief: Promotion methods in foreign ministries

In Diplo’s second policy brief, Ambassador Kishan S. Rana looks at 'Promotion methods in foreign ministries’ and makes three crucial suggestions for improvement. Rana argues that many countries are yet to establish proper methods of promotion, a lack of which undermines professionalism and morale. He advocates for a shift from seniority-based promotions to performance-based promotions and stresses that while acknowledging the tradition and ethos of each country, ministries of foreign affairs need to look at and learn from best practices. In supporting these points, Rana draws on a wealth of examples from India, Brazil, China, Peru, Singapore, Mexico, China, Japan, Germany, Australia, the UK, and the USA. Read Kishan S. Rana’s policy brief for the full picture.

Discussing Internet governance

November has been described as a bubbling cauldron – a vivid metaphor highlighting the developments and discussions which took place throughout this time. These developments were the subject of last week’s Geneva Briefing on Internet Governance. If you missed the webinar, the recording and digest are available here.

In an update from the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency world, Diplo’s Simona Cioroiu reviews the impact of the digital currency on Black Friday sales. Is it e-participation or online participation? Remote is far, far way: online is inclusive collaboration, argues Diplo’s Virginia (Ginger) Paque. On Diplo’s IG community space, Kadian Davis writes about AfricaOverflow, a new website designed to promote freedom of expression and the free flow of ideas, while Rami AlHames writes about access to data and IG transparency in the MENA region. Virginia (Ginger) Paque shares the announcement on civil society nominations to the Coordination Council of the NETmundial Initiative, while in another blog post she calls on the community to participate in the discussions to select the IGF 2015 overarching theme and sub-themes. Follow more IG-related news and discussions on Diplo’s Internet governance channel, and on Diplo’s IG community blog roll.