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.
Lecturers
Dr Jovan Kurbalija
Executive Director
Dr Jovan Kurbalija is the Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP). He was a member of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (2004‒2005), special advisor to the Chairman of the UN Internet Governance Forum (2006‒2010), and a member of the High Level Multistakeholder Committee for NETmundial (2013‒2014). In 2018-2019, he served as co-Executive Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations (UN) High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.
A former diplomat, Jovan has a professional and academic background in international law, diplomacy, and information technology. He has been a pioneer in the field of cyber diplomacy since 1992 when he established the Unit for Information Technology and Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta, and later, DiploFoundation.
Since 1997, Jovan’s research and articles on cyber diplomacy have shaped research and policy discussion on the impact of the Internet on diplomacy and international relations. His book, An Introduction to Internet Governance, has been translated into 9 languages and is used as a textbook for academic courses worldwide. He lectures on e-diplomacy and Internet governance in academic and training institutions in many countries, including Austria (Diplomatic Academy of Vienna), Belgium (College of Europe), Switzerland (University of St Gallen), Malta (University of Malta), and the United States (University of Southern California).
His publishes regular articles on DiploFoundation's blog, and the Huffington Post.
Ms Virginia Paque
Internet Governance and E-diplomacy Programmes
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, with a specific focus on moving online 'observation' to online 'participation' for greater inclusion. 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 GIP Digital Watch observatory. Accessibility to support inclusion is a high priority, particularly through support for persons with disabilities and multilingual approaches.
Mr Vladimir Radunović
Cybersecurity and E-diplomacy Programmes Director
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 an expert with the Geneva Internet Platform. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) from 2016 to 2020, and a member of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) from 2012 to 2014. Vlada has been a lecturer, speaker, and resource person on a number of educational and training programmes and events worldwide, including within the WSIS and IGF processes. His professional and research focus is on Internet governance, broadband policy and net neutrality, cybersecurity and cyber-diplomacy, e-diplomacy, and capacity development. He holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Belgrade and a Master’s in Contemporary Diplomacy from the University of Malta. He is currently working on his PhD in cybersecurity. Vlada is currently member of the Board of Directors of Diplo US.
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.
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.
This course will benefit individuals 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. Applications will be processed based on date and time of receipt.
The course runs from 16 September to 8 November 2019, using a blended learning technique combining dynamic exchange in an online classroom with weekly lunchtime learning sessions at New America’s offices.
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.
Applicants for this course should be available to meet weekly in Washington, DC. We understand that work and travel schedules might hinder attendance for some specific dates. During these weeks, participants may still complete online course tasks in order to qualify for the course certificate.
The course fee is USD 999, due upon acceptance and no later than 6 September 2019. Scholarships requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Please apply online using our online application form by 19 August 2019. Late applications will be considered only if places remain in the course.
For questions, please contact Diplo US: diplous@diplomacy.edu, tel. (+1) 202-413-9233.