DiploNews – Issue 320 – 15 March 2017
May 2017 online courses
Starting on 8 May 2017, we offer courses on diplomacy topics, both classic and contemporary:
Apply by 3 April for Diplo certificate courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses listed, or visit our courses webpage. Register now to reserve your place.
Thanks to support from the government of Malta, partial scholarships are available for applicants from developing countries to attend upcoming Diplo online courses. These scholarships cover 30-70% of course fees and can be applied to most online courses in 2017.
For more information on any of our courses and on partial scholarships, contact admissions@diplomacy.edu. You can also sign up for our courses mailing list to be informed about upcoming courses.

Internet L@w Summer School at the University of Geneva
The school will give students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the framework of an Internet law clinic and to discuss cutting edge Internet law and policy issues with academics, practitioners, representatives of global policy makers, international organisations, and leading institutions, including the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, the International Telecommunication Union, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the Geneva Internet Platform. Topics that will be covered include cybersecurity, e-commerce, consumer protection, legal issues of social media, Internet and telecom infrastructure, data protection, intellectual property, antitrust, etc. The summer school includes an exciting social programme, with excursions and social gatherings, and affords the fantastic opportunity to build a global network of new friends as well as of Internet law and policy experts. Students will receive a certificate for completing the summer school. The equivalent of 6 ECTS credits can be obtained (to be validated by the home university) upon submission of a paper. Interested individuals can apply until 1 May.
Call for applications: Join the team of assistant curators on the GIP Digital Watch observatory
The GIP Digital Watch observatory for Internet governance and digital policy is a comprehensive platform providing the latest developments, overviews and explanatory texts, events, resources, instruments, and stakeholders active in the field, related to 40+ digital policy issues and processes. The observatory is an initiative of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP), operated by DiploFoundation, in partnership with the Internet Society. A team of assistant curators helps develop content for the observatory, carrying out research and data analysis, and reporting from digital policy events. Assistant curators are based around the world. The GIP is now looking to expand the team of assistant curators. Become part of the team behind the GIP Digital Watch observatory! Learn more and apply by 24 March.
Diplomacy and the power of the unsaid
We are organising two events on language and diplomacy, with a special focus on implicit communication. The events take place in Geneva (without remote participation) and will be guided by Dr Biljana Scott, a linguist, Diplo lecturer, and Associate of the China Centre at the University of Oxford. On 29 and 30 March we will organise a 1.5-day workshop on Diplomacy and the power of the unsaid, which aims to make participants aware of the power and particularities of implicit communication, which plays an important role not only in diplomacy, but in every communication. The workshop is free of charge; view the programme. On 30 March from 16:00-17:30 CET (14:00-15:30 UTC), we will organise a discussion on Implicit communication in the digital era, which will discuss where misunderstandings generated by online communication are most likely to arise and what can be done to avoid them – or indeed, to capitalise upon them.
Diplo WebDebates on Diplomacy
In our last WebDebate on Diplomats as Writers: Marrying the Arts and Diplomacy, Dr Biljana Scott and Ambassador Stefano Baldi discussed diplomats as writers and the similarities between diplomatic and poetic language. Baldi introduced his project ‘Through the Diplomatic Looking Glass’, which was motivated by the desire to learn more about diplomats who are also writers. Scott reflected on the importance of and skilful use of language. She concluded that both diplomats and writers need to have a curiosity about the world and cultivate, in Primo Levi’s words, a cheerful energy. Read the digest, and watch the recording.
Roundtable on Data Diplomacy: Mapping the Field
Today, data science and big data have become common concepts, yet very little is known about the ways in which diplomacy could adjust to the emerging data-driven era. Commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, DiploFoundation is conducting the Data Diplomacy Project. This project will provide an overall analysis of the impact of statistics and big data on diplomacy and international relations, as well as survey the practical uses of data in diplomatic activities.
Making use of the expertise available in Geneva, as well as taking the opportunity to bring together diplomats, data scientists, and other professional communities, Diplo is organising a brainstorming event on Data Diplomacy: Mapping the Field on 5 April. Click here for more information on the event and on how to be involved.
Discussing Internet governance developments
Missed February’s round-up of Internet governance developments? Read the digest and view the briefing recording, presentation, and IG Barometer for February. The developments were also summarised in February’s issue of the Geneva Digital Watch newsletter. What are the main Internet governance updates in March, and how will they shape future developments? Join us for our next monthly briefing, on Tuesday, 28th March, for a round-up of the major global IG and digital policy developments.
Concerned about fake news? With the growth of social media, fake news has proliferated, as it has found a platform to disseminate stories to a massive audience. The GIP Digital Watch observatory is exploring the impact of fake news on digital policy, and tracking the latest developments on how stakeholders are tackling the issue of fake news. Visit the dedicated space. Follow more updates on the GIP Digital Watch observatory for Internet governance and digital policy.
SEEDIG – upcoming meeting and opportunities
The next SEEDIG meeting will take place in Ohrid, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 24 and 25 May 2017. DiploFoundation is actively involved in organisation committees for the programme tracks of Internet governance, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things. These efforts are complemented by the South-Eastern Europe IG hub, taking place together with our monthly briefings on Internet governance (see more). There are two opportunities for participation at SEEDIG:
- SEEDIG Meeting Fellowship
- SEEDIG Youth School
What’s been happening in Diplo’s blogsphere
In a blog titled Geneva Prenegotiations on Syria: Will Washington, diplomatically headless, let Russia take over, Diplo senior fellow Professor G R Berridge reflects on the proximity talks that took place in Geneva on 3 March, guided by UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura. He argues that Russia should take a more leading role in bringing about a settlement of the conflict. In her recent blog on fake news, Barbara Rosen Jacobson looks at multiple angles of the current debate and discusses key concerns, the novelty of the phenomenon, and possible responses. We also published an interview with designer and illustrator Professor Vladimir Veljasevic who is behind many of Diplo’s illustrations and designs. In the interview, Veljasevic shares his thoughts on the design for Diplo’s Geneva Engage Awards, the inspiration behind it, and, more generally, the function of art in relation to culture and social and political relationships.
New phone number Geneva office
Our Geneva phone number has changed, so please update your contacts. You can now reach our Geneva office at +41(0)22 730 86 25.
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