A just-in-time online course for Geneva-based diplomats is being offered by the Geneva Internet Platform and delivered by DiploFoundation. The aim of the course, which runs from 27 April to 22 June, is to assist permanent missions in actively following the increasingly relevant field of digital politics.
The course will benefit diplomats who follow Internet governance (IG) and other Internet-related policy fields (e.g. telecommunications, human rights, cybersecurity, trade). While improving their knowledge of digital politics, participants will also gain the practical skills and knowledge required to follow actual IG processes (namely the main issues in 2015, such as the IANA transition, the WSIS+10 Review Process, privacy and data protection). The course will focus in particular on diplomatic and policy processes in International Geneva.
The course will cover the following issue areas:
- Introduction to Internet Governance and Digital Politics (Digital Geopolitics, Basic Terminology, Main Approaches and Policy Framing)
- Infrastructure and Standardisation Basket (Internet Infrastructure, Internet Names and Numbers, Network Neutrality, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things)
- Security Basket (Cybersecurity, Cybercrime, Cyberconflict, Critical Information Infrastructure, Child Safety Online, Encryption, Spam, Digital Signatures)
- Human Rights Basket (Freedom of Expression, Online Privacy, Rights of People with Disabilities, Women’s Rights, Internet Bill of Rights Proposals)
- Legal Basket (Legal Instruments, Online Jurisdiction, Arbitration, Intellectual Property Rights, Cybercrime, Privacy and Data Protection)
- Economic Basket (E-Commerce, Consumer Protection, Taxation, E-Banking, Digital Money)
- Development Basket (Economic Models for Interconnectivity, Strategies for Overcoming the Digital Divide)
- Sociocultural Basket (Content Policy, Cultural Diversity, Multilingualism, Online Learning)
- IG Processes (e.g. WSIS, IGF, ICANN)
- Main IG actors (ICANN, RIR, ISOC, UN, ITU, Regional Organisations, Governments, optionally: Business Sector, Other Stakeholders)
More details about the course are available on the course brochure.