This course aims to assist professionals in Washington, DC to actively follow the increasingly relevant fields of digital policy and Internet governance (IG).
The course will benefit individuals directly working or engaging with Internet-related policy fields (e.g. telecommunications, human rights, cybersecurity, trade, development). In addition to building their knowledge of digital politics, course participants will gain in-demand practical skills for staying abreast of digital policy processes, ranging from global Internet governance architecture to privacy and data protection to cybersecurity. All course content is tailored to the DC policy environment.
The course is organised by Diplo US in co-operation with New America.
Due to the blended learning course format which includes weekly face-to-face meetings, registration for this course is open only to applicants available to meet weekly in Washington, DC.
| Open for applications: | Yes |
| Application deadline: | 19 August 2019 |
| Start date: | 16 September 2019 |
| Duration: | 8 weeks |
| Fees: | USD 999 |
| 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
Dr Stephanie Borg Psaila
Interim Director, DiploFoundation
Dr Stephanie Borg Psaila is the Interim Director of DiploFoundation and the Geneva Internet Platform, and the Editor of the GIP Digital Watchobservatory. She holds a Doctorate in Law (LL.D.), a Master’s in Contemporary Diplomacy and two law-related diplomas …
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 …
Mr Robert Morgus is a senior policy analyst with New America’s Cybersecurity Initiative and International Security program, and the deputy director of the FIU-New America C2B Partnership. His current research focuses …
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 …
Mr Ian Wallace is co-director of New America’s Cybersecurity Initiative, and a senior fellow in the International Security program. His research is mainly focused on the international security and military …
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.
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 course will benefit individuals directly working or engaging with Internet-related policy fields (e.g. telecommunications, human rights, cybersecurity, trade, development). In addition to building their knowledge of digital politics, course participants will gain in-demand practical skills for staying abreast of digital policy processes, ranging from global Internet governance architecture to privacy and data protection to cybersecurity. All course content is tailored to the DC policy environment.
The course is organised by Diplo US in co-operation with New America.
Due to the blended learning course format which includes weekly face-to-face meetings, registration for this course is open only to applicants available to meet weekly in Washington, DC.
The course covers the following issue areas of digital policy:
- Global Internet infrastructure: understanding how the Internet functions in order to deal with digital policy
- Cybersecurity: making the Internet safe and stable
- Legal issues: solving digital cases across national jurisdictions
- Economic issues: promoting digital commerce, investment, and innovation
- Development: ensuring that digital policies support implementation of the sustainable development goals and reduction of digital divides, including sociocultural issues of multilingualism and cultural diversity
- Human rights issues: implications for offline and online human rights, ensuring 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.
To ensure effective interaction, the class size is limited to 25 participants. Applications will be processed based on date and time of receipt.
Each week, participants will interact in an online classroom where they will find all reading materials and tools for online discussion. During the 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 weekly discussion will continue during group meetings scheduled for 1.00 pm to 2.15 pm each Friday at New America’s offices (740 15th St NW). During the informal sandwich lunch, the course faculty will clarify pending issues from the week’s online interaction, and discuss ongoing policy processes with participants. The first face-to-face meeting, an introductory/orientation meeting, is scheduled for Friday, 20 September.
This course requires a minimum of five hours of study time per week.
Participants who complete the course successfully will receive a course certificate issued by Diplo US and New America.
For questions, please contact Diplo US: diplous[at]diplomacy.edu, tel. (+1) 202-413-9233.