Current Activities

Open Forum: IGF Bali, 2013

DiploFoundation

Contents

DiploFoundation Current Events

Introducing DiploFoundation

Our aim

Our main activities

Capacity development

Current and recent capacity development partnerships

Our partners

Our focus on Internet governance and ICT policy

Outreach to decision-makers – in situ workshops

Results of our Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme

DiploFoundation Current Activities

Background Information - Events

http://www.diplomacy.edu/calendar

Moderator: Mr Vladimir Radunovic

Emerging Language of Internet Diplomacy: The Language of IG using IGF as

corpus textus

http://www.diplomacy.edu/IGFLanguage/

Dr/Mr Jovan Kurbalija

E-participation as an area of intensive activities in 2013

http://www.diplomacy.edu/e-participation

http://www.diplomacy.edu/calendar/webinar-e-participation

Mr Guy Girardet or Ms Marilia Maciel

E-diplomacy and IG

http://www.diplomacy.edu/tags/ediplomacy

http://www.diplomacy.edu/e-diplomacy/mapping

http://www.diplomacy.edu/capacity/e-diplomacy

Mr Vladimir Radunovic

IG as a diplomatic priority, new MA in Contemporary Diplomacy with a focus on

Internet governance

http://www.diplomacy.edu/courses/MAPGD

Ms Ginger Paque/Ms Hannah Slavik

Introducing DiploFoundationIn 2009, DiploFoundation featured in the World e-Democracy Forum’s list of

‘Top 10 who are changing the world of Internet and Politics’.

DiploFoundation emerged from a project to introduce information and communication

technology (ICT) tools to the practice of diplomacy, initiated in 1993 at the Mediterranean

Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta. In November 2002, Diplo was established as an

independent non-profit foundation by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. In 2009,

DiploFoundation featured in the World e-Democracy Forum’s list of ‘Top 10 who are changing the

world of Internet and Politics’.

Today, Diplo works to address the gap between the limited capacities and the growing needs of

small and developing states, as well as marginalised groups, for meaningful participation in global

policy processes. Through online and in-situ training, online policy research and policy

immersion, Diplo has helped many developing countries, organisations, and individuals to

participate meaningfully in the global governance of the Internet.

We offer online training in diplomacy and Internet policy, alongside capacity development

programmes which combine high-quality online and face-to-face training, policy research in real

contexts, and policy immersion (e.g. on-the-job training). We have developed online tools for

distance learning, knowledge sharing, and e-participation, and customised in situ training

approaches for senior professionals. All our activities share a common focus: to support the

emergence of communities of practice in the developing world which deal with new and complex

policy issues, such as Internet governance. Strong communities of practice ensure the

sustainability of capacity development interventions.

Diplo staff and associates are a dynamic and diverse team. While we operate from three offices

(Geneva, Belgrade, and Malta), the majority of staff and associates work online, spread worldwide

from the Pacific islands via Africa and east Europe to the Caribbean and Latin America. Our

approach is multidisciplinary and each of our staff members is involved in a number of activities.

Since 1993, Diplo has been building online training and capacity development methodologies that

are proven to work; it has become a leading actor in this field. Diplo’s programmes respond to the

real needs of practitioners in developing countries and to a strong international demand. Diplo

has received wide recognition for its work, including consultative status with the United Nations

(UN).

Our Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme (IGCBP) has trained over 1000

professionals from over 140 states worldwide since its inception in 2003. Diplo’s contribution

through this programme to the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF; an outcome of the World

Summit on Information Society (WSIS) process) by extending the outreach of and involvement of

institutions and organisations from the developing world in global debates has been widely

acknowledged by many international actors – the UN, the International Telecommunication Union

(ITU), the Internet Society (ISOC), a number of national regulators and governments, etc.

Our aim

Diplo seeks to:

● increase the power of small and developing states to influence their own futures and

development;

● increase international accountability and inclusivity;

● increase the legitimacy of international policy-making; and

● improve global governance and international policy development.

We do this by:

● providing capacity development programmes in areas such as Internet governance and

ICT policy.

● using and developing tools for e-participation in global governance, including remote

participation in international meetings and social media for global negotiations;

● training officials (including regulators, parliamentarians, diplomats and others involved in

international relations) from small and developing countries;

● providing specialised and effective academic programmes – accredited with the

University of Malta – for professional diplomats seeking cost-effective but high-quality

training in both traditional and contemporary diplomacy topics; and

● strengthening participation of non-state actors – including those from academia and civil

society - in international relations and policy processes.

 

Our main activities

Our flagship publication, An Introduction to Internet Governance, is now in its

fourth edition and has been translated into many languages including Russian,

Serbian, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese, and French.

Capacity development. Diplo’s capacity development support begins with individuals, but

through the activities of these individuals, our impact reaches into the larger systems of which

they and their organisations are a part. Our approach includes online training, policy research,

policy immersion, and the development of communities of practice, combined in various ways, as

appropriate to each policy context. As an example, or IG/ICT Policy community has over 1000

members worldwide, including former students, interested institutions, and partners. Our active,

every increasing social media presence ensures that close contact is maintained within this

community and a two-way flow of information is promoted.

Events. In order to deal with pressing issues in global governance, our events bring people

together from different perspectives, including diplomats and civil servants, business

professionals, and members of civil society. Our events often have an 'afterlife', evolving into

teaching activity, publication, or online interaction.

Courses. We offer postgraduate level academic courses and training workshops on a variety of

diplomacy-related topics for diplomats, civil servants, staff of international organisations and

NGOs, and students of international relations. Combining a highly developed learning

methodology with our unique online learning platform, our diplomatic training courses are

flexible, personal, interactive and community-building. Courses are delivered online,

face-to-face and in blended format.

Research. We are addressing the limitations of existing policy research through internet-based

techniques including crowd-sourcing, trend analysis and collaborative research. Topics include

Internet governance and ICT policy, diplomacy of small states, virtual diplomacy, health

diplomacy, and environmental diplomacy.

Publications. Our publications range from examination of contemporary developments in

diplomacy to new analyses of traditional aspects of diplomacy. Many of our publications are

available online as well as in traditional print format and some have been translated into several

languages. Our flagship publication, An Introduction to Internet Governance, is now in its fourth

edition and has been translated into many languages including Russian, Serbian, Chinese, Arabic,

Portuguese, and French. We also publish DiploNews, a biweekly e-mail newsletter distributed to

a mailing list of over 5000 recipients.

Capacity developmentMost small and developing states do not participate equally in global policy

processes. By starting with the empowerment of individuals, our capacity

development has strengthened NGOs, government institutions, and global

policy processes themselves.

We believe that good capacity development

● goes far beyond training;

● needs both traditional and emotional intelligence;

● acknowledges that what is learned on courses may be difficult to implement on the

ground; and

● requires a large component of communication and follow-up.

Therefore, our long-term programmes combine:

● practice-oriented learning activities adapted to the context;

● collaborative policy research and immersion;

● facilitation and support for communities of practice;

● support for partner and beneficiary initiatives, projects and interventions; and

● inclusion of programme participants as partners and co-designers in future capacity

development.

Our capacity development has the following specific features:

● context-sensitive implementation (adjusted to specific national, organisational, and

professional needs);

● multiple target groups, from individual to organisation, network and system;

● support for international processes and preparations for important international summits

and conferences;

● multiple levels of delivery, from the general public through visibility materials and

awareness building, via students and practitioners through long online trainings, to

policy-shapers and high-level decision-makers through short, in situ training workshops;

● promotion of sector-wide coherence by involving various government departments and

professionals; and

● a multistakeholder approach involving governments, civil society, business, academia,

and other actors.

Current and recent capacity development

partnershipsDiplo is constantly forging new partnerships with organisations worldwide to

address pressing issues in global governance. Some of these projects will

become the capacity development programmes of the future.

Policy Area Description Scope/Results Time-frame

Internet

Governance and

ICT Policy

Comprehensive programme

encompassing analysis of context,

online training at beginning and

advanced levels, policy research,

policy immersion, and support for

emerging community of practice.

●National (Serbia &

Montenegro)

● Regional (Europe, other

major UN regions)

●Global

● < 1000 participants

Has been running

on an annual basis

since 2004

Climate Change After analysis of the policy context, an

introductory online course on climate

change diplomacy was developed and

has been offered over the last three

years. Potential to develop into a more

comprehensive programme.

●Global

● 130 participants over 3

years

Pilot course ran in

2008, 2 courses per

year in 2009 and

2010

Migration

Policy

Diplo worked with the Mexican MFA to

develop an online learning module on

Migration and Development in

preparation for the 2010 Global

Migration Forum held in Mexico.

Potential to develop into a more

comprehensive programme.

Mexico and global

30 Mexican participants,

12 international

participants

2010

‘Public

Diplomacy’ for

Roma

Aiming to create a group of Roma

‘public diplomats’, this project

included practical skills building and

knowledge sharing, online learning,

policy research, policy immersion and

support for emerging communities of

practice.

Combining national and

regional level

- 25 participants from

central and eastern

Europe

June 2005 – April

2006

Human rights Capacity development to monitor the Serbia & Montenegro March – May 2005

(HR) domestic compliance of laws and

practices with the UN HR treaties, and

participate in reporting procedures

before the HR Treaty bodies.

- 26 participants

including judges,

government officials,

lawyers, civil society

activists

Policy Area Description Scope Time-frame

Health

Diplomacy

Capacity development for participation in

global health initiatives; focus on coordinating

Serbian health priorities with global initiatives

Serbia & Montenegro

- 25 participants,

including government

officials, medical

doctors, academics,

civil society activists

May – September

2006

Public

Diplomacy

This capacity development programme

consists of online training, policy research,

policy immersion and practical exercises for

parliamentarians, high government officials

and diplomats. The programme focuses on

public diplomacy in the context of South Africa

hosting the next Climate Change Summit (end of

2011).

South Africa

- 80 participants,

including junior

diplomats, senior

ministers and

parliamentarians

2011

International

Cooperation

to Combat

Terrorism

Diplo worked with the United Nations Office on

Drugs and Crime to develop and offer an online

capacity development programme aimed and

government, legal and law enforcement

officials in developing countries worldwide.

2008/2009

Our partners

● In June 2006, Diplo was granted Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social

Council (ECOSOC).

● Diplo plays an important role in a number of global networks, including the Internet

Governance Forum (IGF) and the Information & Knowledge Management (IKM) Emergent

Research Programme.

● Diplo has been involved with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) since

the Society’s inception in 2002, contributing courses, publications, and awareness-building

activities. A number of Diplo’s representatives and alumni have been selected for key

consultative and managing bodies of WSIS and the IGF.

● Diplo has conducted joint capacity building programmes in Internet governance, ICT policy

and Diplomacy with the support of and in partnership with the European Union, Secretariat

of ACP Group of States, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth Secretariat, national

regulatory authorities such as Swiss OFCOM and ministries such as those of Egypt and India,

the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, the ITU, the Internet Corporation for Assigned

Names and Numbers (ICANN), ISOC, and others.

● Diplo’s academic programmes are run in cooperation with the University of Malta, which is

also our accrediting institution. In Malta, we also cooperate in various international

initiatives with our sister institution, the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies.

● Diplo is a member of the International Forum on Diplomatic Training, a group of around 80

diplomatic training academies and institutions worldwide. Diplo hosts the Forum’s website.

● In Geneva, Diplo cooperates extensively with the Graduate Institute of International

Studies and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy in educational and other activities.

● Diplo is a member of European Association of Development Research and Training

Institutes

● Diplo is one of the founding members of the European Diplomatic Training Initiative, which

brings together leading European institutions delivering training in diplomacy, European,

and International Studies.

● Working with a tripartite agreement signed in 2009 by the governments of Mexico, Malta,

and Switzerland, Diplo provides online training for Mexican diplomats and works together

with the Instituto Matias Romero (the Mexican Diplomatic Academy) in developing and

running new online training course in Spanish and English.

● Diplo works with the training institutions of national governments (including South Africa,

Bahrain, and Azerbaijan) to offer customized online and face-to-face diplomacy training

programmes.

Our focus on Internet governance and ICT policyAt Google.com, which can be considered an informal global relevance list,

DiploFoundation features among the top ten search results for the term

‘Internet governance’.

One of the main problems at the beginning of the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was

how to identify and include stakeholders, especially from the Global South and particularly small

and least developed countries, who could contribute to the IGF and bring benefits in terms of

developments back home. In 2005, recognising this gap in the participation of many stakeholders

in the global Internet debate, Diplo launched our annual Internet Governance Capacity Building

Programme (IGCBP). This programme is based on a 12-week online foundation online course, an

8-week online advanced course, followed by an 8-week online policy research phase with an

optional 3-month supervised research-writing period. The programme also includes the

possibility of policy immersion fellowships, the fourth of four distinctive, yet interrelated,

elements. As a direct follow-up activity, a community of participants is maintained through a

facilitated online environment long after the programme ends. An added multiplier effect

consists of the various spin-off activities that have arisen out of the online training and research

activities. One of the most substantial outcomes of the programme has been the building of

communities and the sharing of experiences among participants.

After the successful project application with the European Commission funding programme for

the capacity development programme for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states, Diplo’s

capacity building approach in Internet governance has been extended in two directions:

1. Topics – the development of new course materials such as ICT Policy and Strategic

Planning, Broadband and Critical Internet Resources but also the development of

in-depth materials covering issues of intellectual property rights (IPR), privacy and

personal data protection, security and child protection, e-voting, and e-participation.

2. Activities – the introduction of short face-to-face workshops for mid- and high-level

professionals; the strengthening of the research phase by splitting it into a learning stage

and a practicing stage; the organisation of training-for-trainers programmes to enlarge

the pool of certified online tutors worldwide; and reinforcement of outreach and

awareness building through visualisations (illustrations, comics, videos, animations) and

publications.

The internal organising team has been enlarged and strengthened to allow Diplo to follow several

programmes and to work with more partners simultaneously, thereby extending the annual

IGCBP with stronger ACP and European components. For example, in 2009 and 2010, with support

from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and OFCOM, we organised a

European IG capacity building programme for participants from south-eastern and eastern

Europe, alongside fee-paying participants from developed European countries.

Since 2005, the number of participants in the IGCBP has grown considerably. More importantly,

the level of interaction, as indicated through the volume of hypertext annotations, links, and blog

postings throughout the course, has increased dramatically over the last five years. This

interaction and dialogue among the participants, tutors, experts, and facilitators marks the real

success of the programme, and the building of a community that has continued to thrive and

grow.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

COURSE Number of participants 52 77 138 167 129 211

Number of countries 46 62 69 64 58 76

Number of annotations/links 1823 4662 11121 11857 11884 15227

Number of blogs and forum entries

(group interaction)

n/a n/a 4866 5847 3905 5821

Duration (weeks) 13 13 16 17 19 20

RESEARCH Number of participants 25 51 90 63 74 95

Number of countries 10 41 55 34 33 57

Number of research projects 6 9 11 5 8

Type of research tool brief

case

briefc

ase

wiki wiki wiki Research

proposal

Number of

annotations/links/research entries

(for briefcase) i.e. of pages (for wiki)

n/a 931 n/a 147

pages

493

Pages

in

9

Wikis

Duration (weeks) 12 13 13 10 10 8

POLICY

IMMERSION

Number of fellowships 8 17 24 19 34 38

Number of countries awarded 8 16 18 15 29 30

fellowships

Outreach to decision-makers – in situ workshops

These workshops were held in conjunction with major ICT-related

conferences and run collaboratively with partners, experts, and other

interested organisations. Through this collaboration, Diplo’s pool of practising

experts was further enlarged.

Following the approved action plan of the capacity building programme for ACP states

(www.diplomacy.edu/acp), with the financial support of the European Commission and the

Secretariat of the ACP Group of states, set of face-to-face workshops was organised in various ACP

countries for IG/ICT policy officials and decision-makers:

● 11/12 March 2010, Nairobi, Kenya: Held during the 37th ICANN meeting with the

assistance of ICT African specialists, IG experts and ICANN officials

● 13–14 May 2010, Accra, Ghana: Held as part of the pre-conference training programme of

the Fourth African Conference on FOSS and the Digital Commons, IDLELO 4 Conference

17–21 May 2010

● 30 June–1 July 2010, Kingston, Jamaica: Held in conjunction with project partner institution

ICT4D Jamaica

● 25 August 2010, Rarotonga, Cook Islands: Held in conjunction with the Pacific Islands

Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC) and ITU's Numbering and Licensing Workshops

● 1–2 September 2010, Suva, Fiji: The two workshops were held with the support from the

Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)

● 13 September 2010, Vilnius, Lithuania: Held in conjunction with the 5th global Internet

Governance Forum

● 19–20 October 2010, Gaborone, Botswana: Organised in cooperation with the project

partner Botswana Information Technology Society

● 15–16 November 2010, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago: Organised in cooperation with the

Caribbean Telecommunications Union and the government of Trinidad and Tobago

● 6–8 April 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Organised in cooperation with the UN Economic

Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union.

● 12–14 April 2011, Pretoria, South Africa: Organised in cooperation with NEPAD

Commission of Africa.

Results of our Internet Governance CapacityBuilding Programme

One hundred and thirty-six (136) countries – mostly developing ones, including 25 Small Island

Developing States (SIDS) and 25 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – have gained skills,

involvement or initial representation, including at the IGF, ICANN and regional negotiations.

Communities of practice have developed in the field of IG with over 1000 active online

participants at the beginning of 2011.

Country representation:

Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Barbados,

Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria,

Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo DR, Congo

RC, Cook Islands, Croatia, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji,

France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea,

Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy,

Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia,

Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, México,

Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand,

Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru,

Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra

Leone, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Kitts, St Lucia,

St Vincent & the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria,

Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, The Netherlands, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia,

Turkey, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan,

Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Key: Small Island Developing States / Least Developed Countries / Both