6. 5. 2022 | European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, PR
In 2019 one of the first European Digital Diplomacy Exchange training was held in Bled, Slovenia. Now, three years later the training will once again take place at the same location. From 10 to 13 May 2022 a new generation of EDDE participants will get a chance to improve their knowledge and skills in the field of digital communication. The training is organized by the Centre for European Perspective together with the U.S. Department of State.
Since 2017 the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange has grown into a wide intragovernmental network of government communicators. The aim of the network and the overall project is to increase the collective capacities of its members in order for them to effectively operate within the digital information space.
Over four days of training 35 participants from 16 countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine) will gain theoretical as well as practical knowledge on digital communication. The topics covered at the workshops will range from the advance of digital technologies and their impact on communication and public diplomacy, digital rhetoric, and working with influencers to smartphone photography and videography.
29. 3. 2021 | European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, PR
We are back in action. This time we will organize training for the Diplomatic Academy of the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Slovenia and abroad, we were forced to move the training to virtual space – the ZOOM platform. The training will take place on Tuesday, March 30, and Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
The fully packed two-day training will cover a variety of topics such as the digital media information landscape, visual essentials, messaging campaigns, crisis communication, countering disinformation and propaganda, influencer marketing, lessons learned from the last decade, etc.
The training will be organized by the Centre for European Perspective, together with the U.S. Department of State.
28. 9. 2020 | European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, PR
European Digital Diplomacy Exchange Steering Board and Symposium on Government Communication during COVID-19 Pandemic begins virtually
Click here to read more about the project in Slovenian language. 
The Centre for European Perspective, together with the U.S. Department of State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia organized a Steering Board meeting and Symposium on Government Communication during COVID-19 pandemic. The event has been hosted via Zoom, taking place from Monday, 28 September to Friday, 2 October 2020.
DAY 1
At the beginning, participants were addressed by Matt Jacobs from the U.S. Department of State and Project Coordinator Ingrid Omahna from the Centre for European Perspective.
The day commenced after the introductory remarks, with a lecture by Tom Fletcher, Former British Ambassador and Downing Street Foreign Policy Advisor and author of the book “The Naked Diplomat: Understanding Power and Politics in the Digital Age”. He presented a lecture about the state of diplomacy before and after 2020, explained current trends, and pointed out 10 crucial questions to consider in order to survive as a diplomat in the future.
Ivana Boštjančič Pulko from Information Security Administration of the Republic of Slovenia continued with a session about “Essentials for Trainers”. The sharing of experience and knowledge is at the very core of the EDDE network, and as participants openly discussed with Mrs. Pulko, there is a dividing line between a good and bad trainer. Mrs. Pulko covered the theoretical essentials of a good trainer, tips and tricks that can help trainers be more confident and advise on how to engage their audience. Guest participants were engaged in an open discussion, that included their questions, challenges and a topic very close to the overall Steering board and Symposium subject, namely how can trainers adapt to the new COVID reality.
The day concluded with the EDDE Steering Board meeting where the next steps of the project were discussed.
DAY 2
The second day started with a lecture by prof. Corneliu Bjola, Associate Professor of Diplomatic Studies from the University of Oxford. Participants dived deep into The Digital “Dark Side” of the COVID-19 Pandemic with a focus on 5G conspiracy theory. The participants learnt the basics of conspiracy theories, how to detect and counter them effectively and what kind of impact they have on the public health system during the current pandemic.
The second session of the second day focused on the Cases of Disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic. A lecture was given by Veronika Krátka Špalková, Analyst of the Kremlin Watch Program from European Values Center for Security Policy. She focused on the Czech disinformation environment and held a detailed presentation of the context, waves and cases of disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The third and last session of the day included a presentation by Jakub Kalensky and Andy Carvin, both working at the capacity of Senior Fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab within the Atlantic Council. They presented an overview of Disinformation in the new COVID reality. As they suggested, times of crisis have always presented an opportunity/void in which disinformation can flourish, with the current pandemic being no different. The Atlantic Council is working closely from the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and has researched, analyzed, and exposed various harmful narratives worldwide.
DAY 3
The third day of the event started with a session by Bernd Spainer from Communications Policy & Public Diplomacy Division of the European External Action Service. Lecture focused on Strategic Communication during COVID-19 at the EU level. The next presenter was Elina Lange- Ionatamišviili, from NATO StratCom Centre of Excelence, who presented the role of StratComs during COVID-19 emergency, the issue of “infodemic” and its impact on the society in a broader sense. Last but not least, Christ Smith from EUR Stratcom Team of U.S. Department of State, talked about the role of StratCom during the COVID-19 Emergency from the U.S. Perspective.
DAY 4
The fourth day was dedicated to social media and their active role in digital diplomacy. The first session was held by Matthias Lüfkens, Author of Twiplomacy and Managing Director at Burson Cohn & Wolfe. Matthias explained how governments and world leaders reacted to COVID-19 on Twitter. The day closed with a group activity session about the next steps of the EDDE project.
On the last day, the Steering Board members provided an overview of how different governments have responded in relation to COVID-19.
This valuable event would not have been possible without the support of the U.S. Department of State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia within the Official Development Cooperation instrument.
21. 9. 2020 | European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, PR
Click here to read more about the project in Slovenian language.
The Centre for European Perspective, together with the U.S. Department of State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia is organizing a Steering Board meeting and Symposium on Government Communication during COVID-19. The Steering Board Meeting & Symposium, hosted via Zoom, will start on Monday, 28. September, and will finish on Friday, 2. October 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the world in the grip of a crisis that stands unprecedented in living memory. Challenged with uncertainty about the development of the virus and its impact on society, governments and other institutions are under enormous pressure to communicate and introduce policy initiatives under extraordinary circumstances, accompanied by an “infodemic”, with flooding misinformation and disinformation.
This symposium aims to provide an overview of how governments have responded in relation to COVID-19 and to reveal the digital dark side of the pandemic. The event will consist of several engaging sessions with different stakeholders, ranging from government structures to non-government organizations, think-tanks, academia, and tech companies.
The project is a result of a joint cooperation between the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia in the scope of the International Development Cooperation and the Centre for European Perspective.
10. 12. 2019 | European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, PR
The Centre for European Perspective, together with the U.S. Department of State is organizing a three-day training that is tailor made for government communicators, public officers and digital diplomats alike. The training will take place between Tuesday 10th of December and Thursday 12th of December at Bled, Slovenia.
The modern information and media sphere form an information highway, that has unveiled both opportunities and pressing challenges for all the stakeholders that work to protect information integrity. Technological advancement and innovation have made it significantly easier for individuals to participate in the information flow, a significant contribution to the democratic dialogue. The same opportunities are unfortunately also available to harmful narratives, that may use amplification tools to mis- and dis-inform. Governments are therefore uniquely challenged, to proactively and re-actively inform their citizens and cooperate with their audience in a dialogue of equal voices. Government communicators, who effectively safeguard information integrity through their every day work as a result need to poses an unique skillet of abilities and knowledge to be effective and address the challenges with a stronger voice.
For this purpose, a fifth iteration of the training, taking place between 10th and 12st June 2019 at Bled, Slovenia, will join the forces of government communicators from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine. The training will cover a range of topics from public relations and public diplomacy theory to practical application of digital tools. Participants will also gain valuable knowledge on the practical application of smartphones, technology, that presents a world of opportunities at the touch of our fingertips.
The project is a result of a joint cooperation between the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana and the Centre for European Perspective.
