News

Members of the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange Steering Board were engaged in an Expert Study Visit, organised in Phoenix, Arizona, between April 15th and April 19th, 2024. This edition of partnership activities with Arizona State University included members of the Steering Board coming from countries of the Western Balkans, who actively cooperated with students and professors in an exchange of knowledge and good practices. Building on the foundation of shared work and research, the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange network has fostered a significant partnership with Arizona State University in 2023 and 2024, and this collaboration is set to expand further on synergies and [...]

The European Digital Diplomacy Exchange (EDDE) invites you to join us on Thursday, March 21, at 15:00 CET for a virtual lecture All you need to know about Threads with Matthias Lüfkens. Since Elon Musk took over, the situation at X has been chaotic, to say the least. There has been a rise in hate speech, technical problems due to the firing of the majority of its workforce, surveillance concerns, election violence, and an increase of users' security and privacy risks. Consequently, the number of users has dropped, and advertising has shrunk. Meta saw this as an opportunity and created [...]

We are thrilled to announce that we have another intensive four-day training coming up soon. This training, titled "Enhancing Digital Strategic Messaging," is scheduled to be held from February 27 to March 1, 2024, in the breathtaking setting of Bled, Slovenia. In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, effective communication is paramount. This training is tailor-made for government communicators seeking to enhance their skills in digital strategic messaging and persuasive techniques. Led by experts and practitioners in this field, the sessions will provide practical insights into navigating the complexities of digital communication, ensuring participants are well-equipped to tackle the challenges of [...]

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 [...]