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Two years have passed since the Russian Federation initiated its illegal invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. This act shattered the peace that had prevailed on the European continent for seven decades, despite the resolute vows of "Never again" that followed the Second World War. But as the German philosopher Georg Hegel once said: “The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, it became our global community's duty to respond and demonstrate strong support for Ukraine. The Department of State’s Bureau of European and Eurasian [...]

The European Digital Diplomacy Exchange (EDDE) invites you to join us on Thursday, February 15, from 16:00 to 17:00 CET for a virtual lecture Do's and Don't's of Governmental Voice in Social Media, with Matt Navarra. Matt Navarra's twenty-year career spans from the public to the private sector. At the beginning of his career, the world of social media was still non-existent, but it has undergone a remarkable evolution in the last two decades. Social media has become our everyday, our new reality. The last twenty years have reshaped the way we connect, communicate and consume. It has influenced [...]

The European Digital Diplomacy Exchange (EDDE) invites you to join us on Thursday, January 18, 2024 from 15:00 – 16:00 CET for a virtual lecture Follow to be Followed: How Digital Becomes Diplomacy with Ilan Manor. Ilan Manor's work of the past couple of years explores the growing significance of social media in the world of diplomacy. In the first years of the 21st century, societies worldwide underwent an accelerated process of digitalisation. In order to remain relevant and influential, counter the proliferation of malign actors online, match the rising importance of journalists and bloggers and connect with foreign [...]

We are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking lecture that promises to unravel the world of digital diplomacy in the shape of short-video platforms. Join us for an insightful exploration led by Andreas Sandre, an esteemed author and researcher in this field. Date: 19 December, 2023 Time: 15:00 - 16:00 CET About Andreas Sandre: Andreas Sandre is the author of “Digital Diplomacy: Conversations on Innovation in Foreign Policy” (Rowman & Littlefield, January 2015) and “Twitter for Diplomats” (DiploFoundation, February 2013). His research on TikTok will be featured in the upcoming “Oxford Handbook on Digital Diplomacy” (Oxford University Press, 2023). Andreas is [...]

We mourn the loss of our friend, our member, a Man with a capital letter, a man of a good heart, a man with a beautiful soul, a man of calming presence and incredible charm. An immense void remains in the hearts of those who knew him. There are no words that can fill that empty space. Born in Skopje in 1982, he completed secondary economics school and the Faculty of Economics in Skopje, then earned a master's degree in information systems at Lund University in Sweden. Ilija played a pivotal role as a youth activist in founding and [...]

The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, in collaboration with the Centre for European Perspective (CEP), proudly introduced the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange (EDDE) in 2017. This groundbreaking initiative has been dedicated to empowering European governments to harness the potential of emerging technologies in their quest to promote democratic values, strengthen institutional foundations, and enrich societies. EDDE achieves these goals by developing and enhancing national-level digital strategic communication strategies and counter-disinformation policies, not only bolstering public trust in government communications but also combatting the influence of disinformation. Since its beginning, EDDE has successfully trained hundreds of mid- and high-level government communications [...]

The rapid development of digital communication technology impacts our lives in myriad ways. It does not seem so far ago when we were faxing long press releases to journalists to where we are now when 280 characters can do the same job, occasionally with an even more significant impact. Digital communications and social media are transforming pillars of a democratic society. It is more important than ever for governments to understand their responsibilities and roles in ensuring that their institutions are prepared to adapt and adopt new practices to cement their place within this new digital information economy. That is [...]

  More than ever, the unstable and uncertain times call for effective and trustworthy communication from governments and institutions. They are under enormous pressure to introduce and communicate policy initiatives under extraordinary circumstances while simultaneously competing with flooding of misinformation and disinformation. Digital capabilities and strategic thinking have undoubtedly become the core of governments’ communications and public affairs operations. Once again, European Digital Diplomacy Exchange will gather government communicators for a 4-day training, where they will be polishing their digital communication competencies. Participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, [...]

    For the first time, government communicators from Bulgaria are attending the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange (EDDE) digital strategic communication training, which will take place next week from the 30th to the 31st of January, 2023, in Sofia. The event will bring together communicators from various ministries, agencies, and other state institutions. The main focus of this in-country training is the conceptualization, development and implementation of digital strategic communication practices and campaigns that were identified as necessary together with the Diplomatic Institute to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. Besides that, individual consultations will be offered to the participants in the following days [...]

    On 28 and 29 November 2022, the Centre for European Perspective (CEP) in the scope of the project European Digital Diplomacy Exchange (EDDE) conducted a training in North Macedonia, aimed at bolstering capacities of their strategic government communication capacities. The training brought together government communicators, coming from different state institutions. Fully packed agenda aimed at strengthening their skills to be better prepared for the fast-paced and ever-changing digital communication environment. At the beginning of the training, we were addressed by H.E. Ms Angela Agler, U.S. Ambassador to North Macedonia and Mr Bojan Maricikj, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs [...]