DiploNews – Issue 373 – 17 June 2019

Unpacking the High-Level Panel Report: Contributions from Geneva

One of the main mandates of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, launched in July 2018, was to recommend improvements to the current digital policy architecture.

The Panel’s report, which was launched in New York on 10 June, and is being released in Geneva today, has identified existing gaps and proposed three models and respective functions. The need for agility in digital cooperation is clear. With such a diverse landscape of mechanisms, the report invites digital policy actors to discuss how the recommendations and models can be implemented in the coming months. International Geneva can contribute substantially to the report’s implementation.

The Geneva Internet Platform, the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN, and the State of Geneva, together with other partners, will hold an expert discussion on Monday, 24th June, which will kick-start the global discussion on the recommendations made by the Panel in their Final Report.

Register to join us for the event in Geneva. Registration closes on Friday, 21st June.

*Note: The event will not be live-streamed.

Upcoming study opportunities

Applications open for the 2020 Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy

Diplo is now accepting applications for the 2020 Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy, and the Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy with a specialisation in Internet Governance. These unique postgraduate programmes, offered in co-operation with the University of Malta, include a 10-day residential workshop in Malta followed by 16–20 months of online learning. Visit the Master in Contemporary Diplomacy webpage to read more. Scholarships covering 20%–50% of the Postgraduate Diploma fee are available for applicants from small and developing states. The programme starts on 3 February 2020. The application deadline is 15 October 2019.

Summer diplomacy courses

Is summer a quiet time at your office? Then it is the perfect opportunity to take an online course. Have a look at our courses on diplomacy and Internet technology starting on 22 July:

• 21st Century Diplomacy
• Diplomatic Law: Privileges and Immunities
• Multilateral Diplomacy
• Internet Technology and Policy

Apply by 17 June for Diplo certificate courses (late applications will be accepted as long as places remain in the 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.

Diploma in Humanitarian Diplomacy

We are now accepting applications for the next session of the online diploma course Humanitarian Diplomacy offered in co-operation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). This highly interactive 13-week course, led by Ambassador Christopher Lamb and a team of experienced practitioners, extends the knowledge base and develops the practical skills of current and future practitioners in humanitarian diplomacy and policy. The course familiarises participants with basic definitions, concepts, actors, and institutions in the field of humanitarian diplomacy; introduces international humanitarian law; hones advocacy and negotiation skills; develops participants’ research skills, and increases their understanding of national and regional humanitarian diplomacy activities.
 The course is offered in English; however, participants have the option to write and submit major course assignments and the final research paper in French or Spanish.
 The next session starts on 16 September 2019 and the application deadline is 5 August 2019. Please visit the course webpage to read more and apply.

Malta scholarships

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%–60% of course fees and can be applied to most online courses in 2019. Browse our course catalogue and contact us at admissions@diplomacy.edu for further information. You can also sign up for our courses mailing list to be informed about upcoming courses.


A global innovation hub: Science, tech, and diplomacy in Boston

Join Diplo and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for the launch of a joint study on science, tech, and diplomacy in Boston. The events will take place at swissnex Boston on 25 June and at AAAS in Washington, DC on 27 June and will offer exclusive insight into how countries can activate their presence in Boston’s unique ecosystem to harness the benefits of this cradle of research and innovation and its bustling startup scene.

How countries interact with global innovation hubs: A look at Boston

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and DiploFoundation will hold a discussion on science diplomacy in practice in the United States on 27 June, at the AAAS Headquarters in Washington, DC. The event will discuss a recent joint study and report on how diplomatic outposts can utilise science and technology representatives to conduct activities in Washington, DC, and in global innovation hubs, with a particular focus on the Boston innovation ecosystem. Find out more on our event page.

What’s been happening in Diplo’s blogosphere

In From digital independence to digital interdependence, Stephanie Borg Psaila gives us an analytical summary of the Final Report of the UN High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation. The blog post New York Introduction to Digital Policy and Diplomacy course comes to a successful conclusion takes a look at the Introduction to Digital Policy and Diplomacy course, which ran from 25 March to 15 May 2019, in New York, and was attended and successfully completed by 28 participants from 25 countries around the world. This was the second session of this interactive blended learning course offered by the Geneva Internet Platform and DiploFoundation in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in New York. Andrijana Gavrilovic gives us her monthly summary of the developments, trends, and regional updates that were covered in May’s just-in-time briefing on Internet governance in Internet Governance in May 2019. In [WebDebate summary] AI for peacemaking: New tools Gavrilovic sums up our June WebDebate, in which we explored the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for peacemaking: the opportunities AI tools offer for mediation, the feasibility of these tools, and how they fit into the role and work of the mediator. Finally, read Natasa Perucica’s report UNIDIR Cyber Stability Conference: Strengthening Global Engagement in which she brings you some of the main points from the conference.

The May issue of the Geneva Digital Watch newsletter is out!

The latest issue of the GIP Digital Watch newsletter covering May 2019 contains:

• An overview of trends in May: the Huawei controversy rages on, the fight against violent extremism is in the spotlight, and facial recognition technology raises alarms.
• A review of the main digital policy developments in May, which show that security, e-commerce and the Internet economy, digital rights, and new technologies were prominent issues in May.
• An analysis of how the latest US Executive Order has added new dimensions to the Huawei controversy.
• A feature on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics as a potential solution to the ageing world.
• A data analysis section on court cases relating to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) since it entered into force a year ago.
• The calendar of upcoming events in June.

But first, privacy!

DiploFoundation, the Youth Indonesia Internet Governance Forum (Youth ID IGF), Google Indonesia, and ICT Watch, in co-operation with Bina Nusantara University, conducted a workshop on privacy at the Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday, 14th June 2019. The workshop was attended by 40 participants from the region and discussed the overall concept of personal data and privacy by looking at case studies, mostly related to young people’s activities on the web.

[Briefing] Internet governance in June 2019

What were the main Internet governance updates in June? How will recent updates influence the developments in the upcoming months? Join us for our next monthly briefing, on Tuesday, 25th June, for a round-up of the major global IG and digital policy developments. Register for the briefing.