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OAS Trained Over 300 Officials from Foreign Ministries Across the Hemisphere in Digital Diplomacy

The Organization of American States (OAS) has trained this week more than 300 officials from foreign ministries throughout the Americas during the second edition of the course "Digital Diplomacy: The Role of Emerging Technologies in Strengthening Democracy." ”

The course, coordinated by the OAS Department for Effective Public Management ”, aims to provide a greater understanding of digital diplomacy and digital transformation concepts. It also helps increase knowledge among foreign ministry officials and international relations officers from public institutions about current trends in emerging technologies and their impact on strengthening democracy, and in regional negotiations on topics of digital government such as data governance and artificial intelligence.

The workshop, conducted in a hybrid format within the framework of the OAS Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, featured speakers including the Associate Professor in Diplomatic Studies and Director of the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group, Corneliu Bjola; Senior Director of AI, Technology and Innovation at the Tony Blair Institute, Barbara Ubaldi; Acting Ambassador for Technologies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Ditte Bjerregaard; Advisor for Hybrid Threats and Cybersecurity at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, Ricardo Añino; Director of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Viktoria Lialina; and experts Silvana Rodriguez and Laura Thornton.

Digital diplomacy has become a fundamental pillar of international relations in today's global environment, as it facilitates real-time information exchange, coordination of responses to global crises, and promotion of national values and interests beyond traditional channels, democratizing access to diplomatic information. It also allows for greater citizen participation in international affairs, transparency in negotiations, and accountability of diplomatic representatives, facilitating early identification of threats, coordination of strategies against terrorism, cyberattacks, and disinformation, and the establishment of shared norms in cyberspace.

The OAS Department for Effective Public Management promotes efficient, transparent public management with citizen participation mechanisms for the effective exercise of democracy and serves as the Secretariat of the Inter-American Network of Digital Government.

This course responds to the mandates established by the member states in the section on strengthening public management in the Americas of the OAS General Assembly's Resolution on Strengthening Democracy since 2023.

Pictures of the course can be seen here.

Reference: E-009/25