Thursday marked the first day of the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange Road show program, with a training organised in Sarajevo. The activities took place in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina from morning to midday. Participants joining the event came from different ministries and state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but surely had at least one thing in common: interest for the fast developing subject of digital diplomacy and enthusiasm to learn new skills through the sharing of best practices.
The event was opened with an introduction to the past work of the overall project. As mentioned by Ms Ingrid Omahna from the Centre for European Perspective, who has been closely involved with the project from the beginning, the aim of the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange is bringing different stakeholders, public affairs officers of state institutions, PR representatives of ministries and other decision makers to the same table, to work on the challenges and opportunities the digital world enables. The project has already included representatives from multiple countries and different institutions in past trainings, meanwhile the road show training will be composed of two day trainings for individual countries.
The sessions on Thursday were initially based on a historical overlook of the media space, it´s developments, opportunities/challenges and also a sneak peek to the future possibilities. Certainly technological developments, among which the rising popularity of social media platforms is only one piece of the puzzle, have brought a considerable change in the lives of people. The environment that enabled the public audiences to only be a listener in traditional media monologues in the past have grown into a dialogue, that enables active citizens. This positive change also brings a challenge for state institutions who need to actively deliver on their promise for active representation of their audiences, also through participation in social media platforms and other public sphere channels in order to contribute to a future that listens to audiences, and embraces a future closest to the interest of all the citizens.
The participants were also included in a workshop on rhetoric and polished their communication skills. Both the lectures were presented by Mr Matt Jacobs coming from the U.S. State Department, who has also worked on the project from the very beginning. Today´s programme was also spiced with the experience of Dr Jasmin Mujanović, from Elon University, who has gained the attention of the general public through his activism and participation on social media, and New media editor Mr Alexandar Brezar. Both speakers, who joined the discussion in a digital fashion, with an online conference call, presented their personal overview on the challenges, threats but also opportunities new digital trends have in store for the digital diplomacy of tomorrow.
The training on Friday marked the second and last day of the event in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The program of the day was composed of two discussions. The first was organized by Matt Jacobs on how to develop effective messaging campaigns. Effective communicating of anyone working in the digital realm is highly dependent on their skills and experience to understand how this fast evolving realm is developing. Some of the messages of the day were how to approach communication with a structured and conceptual way. The personnel working as PR officers or those, who are a digital ombudsman of their institution in another way should also strive to work on the long run and not only focus on the audiences engagement on particular messages that can be highly rewarding or disappointing. As Mr Jacobs stated, this is a constant balance between output (actual posts, number of engaging articles) and outcomes (the wished engagement of audiences and their feedback on a certain issue), that should be kept in balance. One thing is certain, many output does not necessarily correlate to massive outcome, but without output thinking of any outcome would be fruitless. Reaching the right balance therefore rests in the hands of each institution, to find a recipe that fits their needs and especially the needs of their audiences.
The second discussion tackled Digital disinformation, an elephant in the room of today’s reality and societies. As Mr Darjan Vujica said, on the base of his wide experience on this topic from his analytical work in the U.S. Department of State, disinformation is not new. It has been present in past timelines, only using different platforms. Today´s technically led world only enables much more opportunities for individuals who work with this type of false informing, making disinformation as easy as ever. The topic revolved on the experience of the speaker, sharing of good practices and the participation of the training participants that exposed the challenges they are experiencing. The participants reached out to the trainers during the overall training, touching upon topics from how to develop a more supportive environment for those working as digital diplomats within their institutions, to being very practical on how to build engagement and bring as much of their audiences to the table, to build transparency to the real extent of the name. The program that ended on this day left everyone, both trainers as participants, more informed about digital diplomacy and their work within this fascinating field, learning from one another to tackle the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow in a more constructive manner.
The European Digital Diplomacy Exchange project is proud to present the Western Balkan Road Show activities unfolding this March. The series of interlinked events occurring in different countries and cities are a continuation of a prosperous cooperation built in the Enhancing Digital Diplomacy Activities project, that was implemented in the years 2017 and 2018. The lather sought to bring together PR representatives, members of the private sector, members of academia and many other experts working in the field of digital diplomacy with the aim of composing a functioning community, that could share experience, learn from their best practices or mistakes and most importantly build a better and more inclusive future for all of the communities combined.
The project is organised as a joint cooperation between the U.S. Department of state, the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana and the Centre for European Perspective. The activities are only the beginning of a series of events that will take place in the year 2019, building on past experience and motivation to contribute to the rapidly changing field of digital diplomacy.
The Third Edition of the Enhancing Digital Diplomacy Activities training took place in Ljubljana and Bled between the 9th and 11th of September, bringing together 36 participants from different countries, but also representatives of the media, private sector and academia. The event is the success of a joint effort by the Centre of European Perspectives, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana aiming at the establishment of a digital diplomacy network, which will serve as a platform for best practice sharing and cooperation. Watch the teaser video on how the participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Ukraine worked as one big happy digital diplomacy family with the aim of learning from each other, and building a bright future for the project.
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.
Working with the US Department of state and the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana, the event “Enhancing Digital Diplomacy Activities” started today to tackle the challenges and opportunities present in the field of Digital Diplomacy. Participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine will interact with guest speakers from academia, governmental institutions, and the private sector. They will join forces, ideas and best practices to bridge challenges in the field and build a strong network for the future of the project.
The current training will be devoted to discover the potential and opportunities of Digital Diplomacy, trends in the field, promising tools like Facebook and other platforms, but also critically think of challenges and dangers, to find proper solutions. On Sunday morning the participants were addressed by Charge’ d’ Affaires Gautam Rana and Public Affairs Officer Jean B. Leedy from the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana. The training was then set of by Matt Jacobs from the U.S. Department of state and Centre for European Perspective’s very own Project leader Ingrid Omahna, who have been supporting and coordinating the project from the very beginning.
The first day of the training took place in Ljubljana. A discussion by Dr Corneliu Bjola on the value of Digital Diplomacy set a strong theoretical base for the day’s activities. The participants were working closely on developments and opportunities in the field of social media with guest speakers Mathisas Lufkens and Crystal Patterson. Hind Mohamed and Henry Collis from the UK Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office Communications also shared their good practices. The participants equipped their Digital Diplomat’s toolbox on how to analyse data more efficiently, and also got an insight on how to counter Digital Disinformation.
On Monday morning the participants were invited to look back on their experiences and gained knowledge from past trainings. As their workplace encompasses different fields, they also have a broad variety of good practices and ideas to bring to the table. Their final concepts will establish the future direction of the Enhancing Digital Diplomacy Activities project. Participants joined the 2018 edition of the Bled Strategic Forum named Bridging the Divide latter on in the afternoon. Fruitful discussions in the formal and informal environment offered a great opportunity to share knowledge, experience and opinions on multiple topics, certainly also about digital diplomacy.
The third day was also placed at Bled, where the Bled Strategic Forum activities continued. The morning panel discussion named Digital Bridge: Transformation for Institutional Resilience was organized by the Enhancing Digital Diplomacy project and with the support of the U.S. Department of State. Guest speakers from the private sector (Crystal Patterson as the Global Politics and Governmental Outreach Manager representing Facebook and Microsoft Director Corporate Affairs – CEE Dr. Matthias Sachs), academia (Dr. Corneliu Bjola) and media (Nataša Briški as the Co- Founder and editor of Meta’s list) engaged the audience in an open debate regarding technological developments, best practices and experience from their fields of expertise. As the future is digital and evolving rapidly, transformation, flexibility and the will to learn is an essential part of the recipe, that can strengthen Institutional Resilience. (The recorded panel can be accessed below)
The evening continued with the closing ceremony of the project. It was unique from the other trainings, as this time, the participants held a presentation of their ideas on how to expand and strengthen the network. The evening continued in good fashion, with the certificate ceremony, and was also joined by Charge’ d’ Affaires Gautam Rana and Public Affairs Officer Jean B. Leedy from the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana. Although the event came to a conclusion, it is only the beginning of a bright future for the Enhancing Digital Diplomacy Activities project.
The Centre for European Perspective, together with the U. S. Department of State, is organizinganother special event in the scope of the project“Enhancing Digital Diplomacy Activities in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe”. All activities will take place in two locations, our state capital Ljubljana and Bled, between September 9th and September 12th. The four day event will bring together participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Ukraine, as well as leading experts in the field of Digital Diplomacy from the U.S. Department of State, academia, private sector and media.
The initiative continues to serve as the hub for education and sharing of best practices in the field of Digital Diplomacy. After two trainings, organized in autumn 2017 and spring 2018, this event will focus on combining all the past and current ideas, knowledge and motivation to build a strong network for the project. It will be up to the old and new participants to BRIDGE different challenges in the field, and contribute to a fruitful program in the future.
The event is also special in two ways, as its activities are included in the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) and the Young Bled Strategic Forum (YBSF). Experts in the field of Digital Diplomacy will work side by side with the participants of the YBSF assisting them to properly deliver their messages to the target audience. Our project is moving to Bled for the last two days, where the participants will have an opportunity to join some interesting discussions, at one of the biggest international interdisciplinary conferences in Slovenia. Don´t miss our panel discussion titled Digital Bridge: Transformation for Institutional Resilience taking place on Tuesday. Our speakers and programme will remain a secret for now, but follow us on our social media to discover all about it in the next weeks.
