Note: This article is a part of the publication ‘Science diplomacy capacity development: Reflections on Diplo’s 2021 course and the road ahead’
Economics is a social science which concerns how an individual or a group makes decisions and improvements. I work in an economic research institute, and I address internet governance, compliance, and human rights-related issues in my job. The fundamental dimension of those issues is how people or governments make decisions and govern the internet and communication.
Disinformation and rumors are critical issues in internet governance and related areas. Those issues also relate to fair competition in the market. My job concerns how to educate and encourage people to have awareness and discern which evidence can be trusted, and to understand where and how to find accountable evidence from a trustworthy organization via the internet. I also help people and organisations in the private sector to stop disinformation by building a healthy and competitive market.
In the Science Diplomacy course, attendees discussed science literacy. Science literacy should be built with evidence-based concepts. Without science literacy, people may not know how and where to find the evidence to support information. For example, many people like to eat supplement food and believe in folklore therapies or herbal medicine.
They don’t believe doctors with medical training, but they trust messages in their SMS apps. Some people die or get diseases because they would rather eat unknown herbal prescriptions and refuse to accept medical help from doctors. We can also talk about digital and media literacy capacity building for general internet users. We should encourage science literacy so that people will know how to identify disinformation on the internet.
The internet can spread rumors and disinformation quickly. Because of a lack of science literacy, people believe in misleading information easily. People may take some supplement foods on the basis of the brand and marketing by pharmaceutical companies. Consumers don’t know how to assess advertisements and marketing videos. They may listen to a friend or relatives and take too many pills in their daily life. They may search for a document to support their perspective without assessing the evidence.
The internet governance forum is similar to the diplomacy area. When I attended the meeting, I listened to people present their theories. Their statements were full of passion but they need more evidence to support their argument. As in statistics, we need to understand whether the sample is representative. Also, we need evidence to support the statement, not only information from your friends or some other untrustworthy internet media. It would help if you had a trustworthy diplomatic strategy in negotiation.
I read the G7 meeting report in the United Kingdom in 2021. They believed data localization would be a barrier to free data flow, but they need to collect evidence to prove that. They will discuss building a framework for cross-data transmission to help to grow the data economy. I had used endogenous growth theory to explain that data interoperability is essential to the internet and the digital economy and may bring a positive network externality to the prosperity of the internet economy. The experience taught me a correct and influential theory. I think that this is a ‘science for diplomacy’ issue in internet governance. So, the concepts discussed in the Science Diplomacy courses are already in real life.
The Science Diplomacy course proves how important it is to know the concept, to have trustworthy information resources, and to be careful to make evidence-based statements.
You may also be interested in
Knowledge management: experience from international organisations
In this chapter, John Pace decribes the three-phase evolution of knowledge management in the human rights program of the United Nations. The realisation that knowledge management is a necessity came during the third phase. The author also describes the complex system of monitoring bodies and ad hoc mechanisms, and the developments that took place following four decisions taken in the mid-eighties.
How do you know what you think you know?
In his paper, J. Thomas Converse focuses on four records-related areas where the issues of knowledge management and diplomacy come together and provide the greatest challenges to archivists, diplomats, historians and technology providers: validation, trustworthiness, context and longevity. He also explores some of the changes and challenges brought about by technology, and urges for a continued embrace of technology, while at the same time demanding the validating and relational functions which give archives their trustworthiness.
Knowledge management and diplomacy
In this paper we aim to provide a comprehensive introduction to the topic of knowledge management in diplomacy. First we provide working definitions of knowledge and knowledge management, and examine the evolution of the concepts. Next, we consider specific features of diplomacy that affect and limit the way knowledge management can be implemented. Then we look at specific techniques which diplomacy can adapt from the business sector in the field of knowledge management. Finally, we consider some important questions related to human resources and knowledge management.
DiploDialogue – Metaphors for Diplomats
On Diplo’s blog, in Diplo’s classrooms, and at Diplo’s events, dialogues stretch over a series of entries, comments, and exchanges and may even linger. DiploDialogue summarises. It’s like in sports events: DiploDialogue aims to bring focus by deleting what, in hindsight, is less relevant. In this first DiploDialogue, Katharina Höne and Aldo Matteucci discuss the usefulness of analogies and metaphors for understanding international relations and diplomacy.
Knowledge management in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta
In this paper, Maltese diplomat Gaetan Naudi explains how the Maltese MFA embraced the changes introduced by the informatics era. He looks at such changes from a business management perspective, to show how ICTs were introduced to such a fairly large organisation, the concerns raised by the changes, and the progress on computerised knowledge management. He concludes that despite the positive changes introduced thanks to ICTs, this would not have been possible without human involvement.
Knowledge management and international development – the role of diplomacy
In this chapter, Walter Fust talks about the role of knowledge management, and knowledge for development, in diplomacy. He describes various methods to assess what knowledge should be stocked, and explains the need for managers who are assigned the task of deciding what should be stocked. These decisions need to be guided by principles, or guidelines - referred to as value management.
The role of knowledge in the cyber-age of globalisation
In his paper, Richard Falk reflects on the application of information technology on diplomacy, and discusses the challenge of converting information technology to ‘knowledge technology’, and subsequently to ‘wisdom technology’. Yet, the ‘crossroads in human experience’ brings many challenges and dangers which the author analyses.
Knowledge and Diplomacy – Alex Sceberras Trigona
In his paper, Alex Sceberras Trigona stresses the importance of the diplomatic document as a primary source of diplomatic knowledge, in the light of the distinction between ‘information’ (can be recorded) and knowledge (not easily recorded), the flow of knowledge as information. He then explains the need for dissecting diplomatic documents, and the various level of analysis which are possible, and the effects of digitalisation on knowledge, information and diplomacy.
Knowledge management and change in international organisations: Learning from the private sector
In this paper, John Harper and Jennifer Cassingena Harper talk about knowledge as a vital resource, and the necessity of building competencies and establishing new skills. Analysing the theories by Ernst B. Haas in When Knowledge is Power: Three Models of Change in International Organisation, the authors trace the development of knowledge-oriented activities in the private sector, and its implications for organisations in the public and international domain.
Knowledge and Diplomacy
Knowledge and Diplomacy presents papers on knowledge and knowledge management from the January 1999 Conference on Knowledge and Diplomacy in Malta. The papers in this book, examining the topic from a variety of backgrounds, academic interests and orientations, reflect the multidisciplinary character of knowledge management. This publication is only available online.
Beyond diplomatic – the unravelling of history
In his paper, Robert Alston travels through time to rekindle an important highlight – as well as a personal highlight – in the history of knowledge management. His journey takes him back to the 1850s, which saw Antonio Panizzi’s efforts in creating a universal repository of knowledge in the British Museum; and to the 1990s, a time in which he acquired first-hand experience at the same museum, drawing conclusions on the various available ways of navigating large bibliographical and archival databases.
Science & Diplomacy: How countries interact with the Boston innovation ecosystem
Crucial global topics are becoming increasingly dependent on the world’s rapidly changing scientific knowledge and technological capabilities: from global health to digital society, sustainability to development, and beyond. To tackle this growing complexity, countries increasingly seek to engage with international science and technology hubs like Boston, so as to accelerate their ability to innovate and spark collaborative efforts with other nations.
Science diplomacy capacity development
Diplo has a track record of more than 20 years of capacity development in diplomacy. Given the increasing relevance of science diplomacy, expanding our program to include aspects of its theory and practice felt like an organic development. We offered our ten-week Science Diplomacy course for the first time in October 2021.
Knowledge management and diplomatic training – new approaches for training institutions
Dietrich Kappeler analyses the new approaches for training institutions in knowledge management and diplomatic training, departing from the premise that a distinction is important between personal characteristics and qualities of the diplomat on one hand, and the knowledge and skills he needs to do his job on the other.
