The Enhancing Digital Diplomacy Activities project finished the third training of its kind on September 11th. A four day event brought together digital diplomacy experts from 16 countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Ukraine, and served as a platform where everyone could share their best practices, ideas and experience.
Organised with the cooperation of experts from academia, governmental institutions, the media and the private sector, this event allowed the participants to gain experience from different fields beneficial for their profession and workplace. The initial day on Sunday covered topics as determining the value of Digital Diplomacy, and exploring the vast possibilities, challenges and developments social media like Facebook and Twitter have to offer. The digital age brought immense opportunities to access information and make every bodies voice heard. In order to easier navigate in this sea of information, the participants also gained knowledge on Data and Analytics techniques, followed by a best practice on how to counter Digital Disinformation.
The participants were faced with the challenge of developing a vision and future step for the project on the second day. This was the red line of the event, that came to a conclusion on Tuesday evening with a presentation of ideas, also joined by Charge’ d’ Affaires Gautam Rana and Public Affairs Officer Jean B. Leedy from the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana. The gained inputs will be included in the construction of future activities.
A new wind for the project can also be seen in the synergies with the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) and Young Bled Strategic Forum (YBSF). Digital Diplomats worked with participants of the YBSF in a workshop on Building a Bridge to audiences. The project was also the organiser of a BSF Panel discussion named Transformation for Institutional Resilience.
The training follows a series of multiple events that focus on Enhancing Digital Diplomacy Activities. All of the trainings serve as a fruitful cooperation between The Centre for European Perspectives, the U.S. Department of state and U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana. It is the common goal of all the organising parties, to further expand the network and strengthen it, so that it may be best equipped for the Digital challenges future has in store.
