The Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) and DiploFoundation, in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN, are offering a course for diplomats posted at permanent missions to the UN. The course aims to help participants understand and follow the digital policy aspects of many UN discussions and negotiations. This dynamic, blended learning course combines online learning with weekly face-to-face meetings and will run from 28 March to 15 May 2019.
The course is designed to 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 policy, participants will also gain the practical skills and knowledge required to follow current IG processes such as the global IG architecture, privacy and data protection, and cybersecurity. The course focuses in particular on diplomatic and policy processes in the UN in New York, while also looking at the relevance of these issues in Geneva.
The course is organised by Diplo with support of Government of Switzerland. You may also read the course leaflet.
Course participants will engage in a combination of dynamic online classroom exchanges and in-person lunchtime learning sessions. In-person sessions will take place at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in New York. Due to the blended learning course format which includes weekly face-to-face meetings, registration for this course is open only to applicants based in New York.
| Open for applications: | Yes |
| Application deadline: | 10 March 2019 |
| Start date: | 28 March 2019 |
| Duration: | 7 weeks |
| Mode(s) of study: | Certificate |
Contact Admissions
Diplo US
740 15th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005 USA
Tel: (+1) 202 413 9233; diplous[at]diplomacy.edu
Lecturers
Ms Melinda Clem is Vice President Strategy for Afilias, the world’s second largest domain name registry. She has worked in corporate development, strategy, and marketing positions in the domain name registry industry since 2000, and with Afilias …
Melissa Hathaway is a leading expert in cyberspace policy and cybersecurity. She served in two U.S. presidential administrations, spearheading the Cyberspace Policy Review for President Barack Obama and leading the Comprehensive National …
Originally from the Czech Republic, Dr Tereza Horejsova is currently based in Washington DC. Joining Diplo in 2012, Tereza has had an international career in academia and the non-governmental sector in the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates …
Ms Pavlina Ittelson
Ms Shane Tews is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), managing the Global Internet Strategy programme, which focuses on cybersecurity and Internet governance. In addition to her work at the AEI, Shane is the president …
Melissa Hathaway is a leading expert in cyberspace policy and cybersecurity. She served in two U.S. presidential administrations, spearheading the Cyberspace Policy Review for President Barack Obama and leading the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) for President George W. Bush. She is President of Hathaway Global Strategies LLC and she is also a Senior Advisor at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, a Senior Fellow and member of the Board of Regents at Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Canada, and a non-resident Research Fellow at the Kosciuszko Institute in Poland. Having served on the board of directors for two public companies and three non-profit organizations, and as a strategic advisor to a number of public and private companies, Melissa brings a unique combination of policy and technical expertise, as well as board room experience to help others better understand the intersection of government policy, developing technological and industry trends, and economic drivers that impact acquisition and business development strategy in this field. She publishes regularly on cybersecurity matters affecting companies and countries. Most of her articles can be found at the following website: 
Originally from the Czech Republic, Dr Tereza Horejsova is currently based in Washington DC. Joining Diplo in 2012, Tereza has had an international career in academia and the non-governmental sector in the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland. During her stay in Geneva (2012‒2016), she coordinated the activities of the Geneva Internet Platform. She holds an MA in International Area Studies and a PhD in European Studies, both from the Charles University in Prague.
As Executive Director Government Affairs and Public Policy, Anne-Rachel Inné serves as the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)’s primary link to Governments of US, Canada and 26 Caribbean Economies. Immediately prior to working for ARIN, Anne-Rachel was ICANN’s Vice President Government Engagement in Geneva, Switzerland. She also worked as the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the Africa Regional Registry, AFRINIC, taking care of operations and Governments’ engagement in the Registry’s public policies process. Anne-Rachel worked at the IICD in The Hague, Netherlands (1998-2001) as several countries Programme Manager directing multi sector social development projects that were early adopters of ICT/Internet. She produced and publicized Learning by Doing: Lessons emerging from the ICT Stories Projects for the benefits of the projects and the wider community. She was a member of the Bureau of the African Group at WSIS as a representative of the African Private Sector and a Member of the Gender Coalition during WSIS. Anne-Rachel was an entrepreneur and consultant in the ICT4D sector and a founding member of the African Enterprise Network(AEN) in 1997.Anne-Rachel is featured as ICT Expert in the ILO/IOM book for the AUC: African Women at the Service of the Union. She is the recipient of several awards for her demonstrated immense commitment and continued engagement with African communities. Anne-Rachel currently serves as the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Diplo US.
Ms Pavlina Ittelson joined Diplo in 2017 and currently serves as a Program Officer at Diplo US. She also monitors the topics of jurisdiction and alternative dispute resolution for the GIP Digital Watch Observatory. Prior to joining Diplo, Pavlina was a legal project manager in the fields of international business, science, and technology. She previously worked as an Attorney in Slovakia and the Czech Republic specialising in international business transactions. Pavlina received her degree in Law from Comenius University, Bratislava, and her LL.M. in International Business Law from Central European University, Budapest. A native of Slovakia, Pavlina now resides in the Washington, DC area.
Brazilian-born Ms Marília Maciel is currently based in Strasbourg, France. She is involved in several Internet- governance-related projects, notably on the fields of digital economy, e-commerce, and cybersecurity. She also curates the topics of e-commerce, Access and Digital Divide for the GIP Digital Watch Observatory and represents Diplo at various meetings.
Born (and currently residing) in the United States, Ms Virginia (Ginger) Paque lived in Venezuela for more than 35 years. An educator and administrator by profession, she has 25 years’ experience in business and manufacturing systems consulting. As a board member of the United Nations Association of Venezuela, her work as the Venezuelan member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations Task Force on WSIS marked her entry to the world of Internet governance (IG) during the Geneva PrepComs. Active in Civil Society discussions on IG, Ginger served as IG Caucus co-coordinator for two years. She was a member of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) from 2015 to 2017. Having completed a Master in Contemporary Diplomacy with a thesis focusing on the importance of IG as a new diplomatic priority, Ginger currently lectures on IG for Diplo and curates human rights topics for the 
Serbian-born Mr Vladimir (Vlada) Radunović is a lecturer in cybersecurity policy, Internet governance, and e-diplomacy on postgraduate and professional courses. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the 
Ms Shane Tews is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), managing the Global Internet Strategy programme, which focuses on cybersecurity and Internet governance. In addition to her work at the AEI, Shane is the president of Logan Circle Strategies, working with her clients to create a coordinated public policy approach to information communications and technology policies, cybersecurity and cyber governance strategies on a global scale. Additionally, Shane manages Logan Circle Strategies’ relationships with Congress, administration, foreign governments, think-tanks and trade associations. Shane was formerly vice president of Global Public Policy and Government Relations for Verisign, Inc. Shane represented Verisign’s interests before United States and international government officials in the ICT sector, where she participated in the development of e-commerce policies with international governing bodies, national and state legislators, international, national and regional trade associations and IT coalitions. Shane is vice-chair of the Board of Directors for the Internet Education Foundation, and vice-chair of the Internet Governance Forum USA. She is also a board member of TechFreedom and GlobalWIN.Course details
The Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) and DiploFoundation, in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN, are offering a course for diplomats posted at permanent missions to the UN. The course aims to help participants understand and follow the digital policy aspects of many UN discussions and negotiations. This dynamic, blended learning course combines online learning with weekly face-to-face meetings and will run from 28 March to 15 May 2019.
The course is designed to 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 policy, participants will also gain the practical skills and knowledge required to follow current IG processes such as the global IG architecture, privacy and data protection, and cybersecurity. The course focuses in particular on diplomatic and policy processes in the UN in New York, while also looking at the relevance of these issues in Geneva.
The course is organised by Diplo with support of Government of Switzerland. You may also read the course leaflet.
Course participants will engage in a combination of dynamic online classroom exchanges and in-person lunchtime learning sessions. In-person sessions will take place at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in New York. Due to the blended learning course format which includes weekly face-to-face meetings, registration for this course is open only to applicants based in New York.
The course covers the following areas of digital policy, necessary to understand and address the underlying issues:
- Global Internet infrastructure: understanding how the Internet functions;
- Cybersecurity: making the Internet secure, safe, and stable;
- Legal issues: digital applications and cases across jurisdictions;
- Economic issues: understanding the global issues and their applications to digital commerce, investment, and innovation;
- Development: the importance of digital policies that support implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and reduction of digital divides, including the sociocultural issues of multilingualism and cultural diversity;
- Human rights issues: implications for offline and online human rights, including protection of privacy, freedom of expression and other important issues.
For each digital policy issue, participants will learn about the main actors and policy processes. In particular, participants will address policy aspects of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data. Special attention will be given to the SDG agenda.
This course will benefit diplomats at permanent missions to the UN in New York directly working in or engaging with Internet related policy fields (e.g. telecommunications, human rights, cybersecurity, trade, development).
To ensure effective interaction, the class size is limited to 25 participants. Please note that due to the expected high number of applications, participant selection will be based on criteria such as regional balance of countries represented, preference to small and developing countries, and responsibility for digital policy issues at the mission.
The course runs from 28 March to 15 May 2019, using a blended learning technique combining dynamic exchange in an online classroom with weekly lunchtime learning sessions at the offices of the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in New York.
Each week, participants will interact in an online classroom where they will find all reading materials and tools for online discussion. During the learning week (which starts on Thursday and extends over the weekend to Wednesday of the following week) participants read the lecture texts, adding comments, references, and questions in the form of hypertext entries. The course faculty and other participants read and respond to these entries, creating interaction based on the lecture text. During the week, participants also complete short quizzes to test their understanding of the course materials.
The learing week ends with the lunchtime learning session, scheduled from 1.00 to 2.15 pm each Wednesday at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN. During the informal lunch, the course faculty will clarify any pending issues from the week’s online interaction, and discuss ongoing policy processes with participants. The first face-to-face meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 3rd April 2019.
This course requires a minimum of five hours of study time per week.
Participants who complete the course successfully will receive a course certificate.
Applicants must be diplomats at permanent missions to the UN in New York. They should be following Internet governance or digital policy issues at their mission.
Full scholarships are available to all selected candidates thanks to the generous support of the government of Switzerland.
Please note that due to the expected high number of applications, participant selection will be based on criteria such as regional balance of countries represented, preference to small and developing countries, and responsibility for digital policy issues at the mission.
Please apply online using our online application form by 10 March 2019. Please apply for this course only if you are based in New York. Applications from other locations cannot be considered for this session.
Late applications will be considered only if places remain in the course.
Decisions on acceptance will be communicated by 15 March.
For questions, please contact Ms Tereza Horejsova: terezah[at]diplomacy.edu, tel. +1 202 413 9233.