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It’s been a while + survey

2020 presented a challenging year for everyone. As an organization dedicated to events, networking and in-person training, we opted to step aside and cancel our planned activities. Instead, we took the opportunity to aid members of our community to develop their own virtual programming and support their needs as a resource. In doing so, the Digital Diplomacy Coalition board decided to take a moment to reflect on our work over the past seven years, and rethink our path forward for the remainder of 2021 and into the future. However, no conversation on our future would be complete without gathering your views.

As someone who reads this blog, has attended a past event, joined our mailing list, partnered with us on events, or reached out to be a part of our community, we want to hear your thoughts. The Coalition is keen to refocus elements of our offer and programming, but we want to make sure we are meeting the needs of our community. We are inviting you to participate in a brief survey to better inform our future planning.

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Please share your views. This survey should take no more than 5-10 minutes. You may choose to provide your contact details or answer the form completely anonymously.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to assist us as we endeavour to support our community and build a stronger digital diplomacy network. If you require additional information or have questions, please contact us at team@digidiplomats.com.

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Embassies Are Still Showing People the World

With travel on hold, museums and cultural institutions closed, and traditional events canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many embassies in Washington, DC have taken to creative methods to engage the public and replace their annual public diplomacy festivities. 

Speaking to Molly McCluskey at Smithsonian Magazine, DDC board member Moira Whelan shared how her family has been using digital tools to stay connected to the world, and why it’s important embassies are a part of those virtual conversations.

“One of the things that has gotten us through the year is we’ve gone on ‘trips’. I picked Egypt, my daughter picked Paris, and my husband and son also picked places. We watched videos, we read books, we ate the food. It’s helpful to add the embassies into that conversation, because they specialize in making their countries and their culture accessible to Americans. There is a way to be able to explore the world just by going to their website and following them on social media, and learning and plotting where you want to go in the world.”

Read the full article here.

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#DiplomacyUnited for International Women’s Day 2020

For International Women’s Day 2020, a group of digital diplomats came together to share a single message through a joint Twitter thread

Building on past campaigns to mark International Human Rights Day 2019 and International Women’s Day 2019, 13 embassies in Washington, DC — @ItalyinUS, @SpainInTheUSA, @SwedeninUSA, @SwissEmbassyUSA, @ARGinUSA, @FinlandInUSA, @IsraelinUSA, @NLintheUSA, @franceintheus, @GermanyinUSA, @EmbamexEUA, @DenmarkinUSA, and @CanEmbUSA / @AmbCanEUA — together with the Digital Diplomacy Coalition (@digidiplomats), used their social media presence to bring attention to International Women’s Day 2020.

Working as a united diplomatic front, the group shared a single message divided among their accounts to highlight the importance of advancing a gender-equal and inclusive world, where all people are #EachForEqual and members of #GenerationEquality seeking to make a positive difference.

Like all digital conversations, we hope to see others share and join the thread, and take real world steps toward positive change.


 

#DiplomacyUnited is an informal community originating from the first international digital diplomacy conference held in Stockholm in 2014. The group has continued to collaborate over the years, and has also grown to include additional embassies and organizations.

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Takeaways: Digital Strategies for Crisis Communications

Last week, the Digital Diplomacy Coalition, in partnership with Digital Collective and Hill+Knowlton Strategies, came together for a discussion on crisis communications and planning for the unexpected in the digital age.

The discussion, moderated by Rajesh Mirchandani, UN Foundation Chief Communications Officer and former BBC journalist, featured experts Jessamyn Sarmiento, Vice President of Marketing & Communications at World Food Program USA; Maria Belovas, Head of Press & Public Diplomacy at the Delegation of the European Union to the United States; and Ron Hutcheson, Managing Director at Hill+Knowlton Strategies.

Here is what we learned. 

Be prepared. The key to good crisis communication is having a plan before the problem hits. Map out who is in charge in a crisis situation (including who sounds the alarm when a crisis hits) and who will be in the “war room.” Plan approval processes, roles, and have a bank of statements prepared so that everything can be executed quickly and effectively.

Directly address stakeholders. Don’t let gaps feed the rumor mill. Be quick and forthright in your communications to key stakeholders, including staff, partners, and champions. When they are equipped with directions and talking points they can be some of your best ambassadors. 

Sometimes no response is the best response. Otherwise known as “don’t feed the trolls,” this advice is often easier given than heeded. However, in the social media era, not every piece of negative feedback needs to be a “crisis.” Discuss with your team to develop guidelines for responses and evaluate whether your engagement will make the problem better or worse.

Overall, we learned that there is no clear one-size-fits-all approach for digital strategies in crisis communications. However, investing in planning, monitoring, and evaluation structures can go a long way when you need to design a response in a difficult situation.

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#DiplomacyUnited for Human Rights Day 2019

For Human Rights Day 2019, a group of digital diplomats and partners came together to share a Twitter thread, a coordinated campaign and a common objective.

IMG_20191210_091758On December 10th, 2019 nine embassies in Washington, DC (@SwissEmbassyUSA, @FranceInTheUS, @CanEmbUSA, @FinnEmbassyDC, @ItalyinUS, @NLintheUSA, @SwedeninUSA, @DenmarkinUSA, @SpainInTheUSA) together with the U.S. Department of State (@StateDRL) and the Digital Diplomacy Coalition (@digidiplomats), used their collective social media presence to send a message.

Building on efforts from International Women’s Day in 2019, the informal group — a legacy of the first international digital diplomacy conference held in Stockholm in 2014, collaborations by individual embassies and the Digital Diplomacy Coalition network — took to Twitter to bring attention to the 71st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and their collective goal of supporting human rights globally. Through bespoke tweets and a coordinated series of videos, each participating embassy or organization shared a unique message and highlighted one of the Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Like all digital threads, we hope to see this conversation grow, others to join in the cause and for new ideas to emerge from the effort.

 

 

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DDC Board Members Join Forces To Launch Digital Diplomacy Bootcamp

bootcampDeveloped for public sector and embassy personnel, the Digital Diplomacy Bootcamp from BlueDot Strategies is designed to provide hands-on training for creating and implementing digital strategies for foreign ministries, embassies and international institutions. Conducted by leading experts in the field, DDC Board Members Scott Nolan Smith and Moira Whelan, the Digital Diplomacy Bootcamp is a unique experience that will build the skills of communications and public diplomacy leaders, social media managers and policy officers, and sharpen the capabilities of project managers, and senior diplomats.

Over 2 days, participants will gain

  • Insights and tools necessary to create an original digital strategy
  • Effective techniques for communicating on behalf of their governments and institutions on social media platforms
  • Tool kits for developing digital projects and campaigns
  • Knowledge of digital best practices employed by embassies and institutions
  • Project management and resource allocation for digital campaigns
  • Crisis communications planning and management on digital platforms
  • Skills for managing official personal and institutional social media content


Training components will include

  • What is a digital diplomat?
  • Defining your role. Advancing diplomacy through digital tools
  • Identifying your audience
  • Developing a digital strategy
  • Planning your campaign
  • Multimedia 101
  • How to be awesome at Twitter (and other popular platforms)
  • Crisis on digital tools
  • Beyond Social Media: Blending with Other Tools of Diplomacy

 

Click here to learn more, including costs, dates and location details.

 



This is not an official DDC event. For more information contact inquiries@bluedotstrategies.com

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BlueDot Founder & DDC Board Member sits on Digital Diplomacy panel at French Embassy

By Maureen Couch 

Moira Whelan, BlueDot Founding Partner, was featured on a panel for the 2019 French Series hosted by the Embassy of France on Tuesday, May 21st. This year’s panel series, an annual event at the embassy, addressed the matter of failing diplomatic exclusivity of international communications.

The French Embassy promoted the panel series indicating that social media has become a major player in funneling information to – and from – the public, “allowing non-state actors to become involved in the communication between states.” Rather than avoiding the inevitable, the panel spoke on how foreign policy can welcome and, in turn, help shape the future of diplomacy as it evolves.

“One of the mistakes we are making is taking the antiquated rules and applying it to the current diplomacy. That people to people opportunity is huge and in the end will help salvage the relationship,” said Whelan on the panel series.

Including Whelan, the panel co-featured Priya Doshi, a professorial lecturer of Public Relations at American University School of Communication, and James Barbour, the Former Head of the Press and Public Diplomacy Section of the Delegation of the European Union. The panel was moderated by John Hudson, National Security Reporter at The Washington Post.

To learn more about the French Series, visit the French Embassy site or take a look at tweets by the Digital Diplomacy Coalition and the French Embassy.


 

This post originally appeared on the BlueDot website

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#DiplomacyUnited for International Women’s Day 2019

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For International Women’s Day in 2019, a group of digital diplomats and allies tried something new: they shared a Twitter thread, a coordinated campaign on Facebook and Instagram, and a common objective.

The informal group, a legacy of the first international digital diplomacy conference held in Stockholm in 2014, has long recognized the importance of fostering an environment in which issues of global importance could be discussed on-line. Over the years, the group has shared ideas, hashtags and best practices.

On March 8th, they decided to take their collaboration public. Eight embassies in Washington, DC (@ukinusa, @euintheus, @SwedeninUSA, @swissembassyUSA, @italyinUS, @spainintheUSA, @canembUSA) together with offices in the US government (@genderatstate), the Freedom Forum Institute’s NewseumED (@NewseumED), and the Digital Diplomacy Coalition (@digidiplomats), used their social media presence to bring attention to the harassment of women on-line. They started with a Twitter thread stating their common objective and sharing facts. They also shared the content on Facebook and Instagram.

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The effort was even turned into a Twitter Moment!

Discussion of global issues has grown more vibrant over the years and many of the the people with their fingers on the keyboard have been instrumental in shaping that environment. There is growing evidence that women are less and less safe participating in civil discourse online, so it is imperative that institutions do their part to keep them engaged. International Women’s Day is the perfect opportunity to send this unified message.

Like all digital conversations, digital diplomats hope to see it grow and for new ideas to emerge from the effort, and we urge others to join us!

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A peek inside day-to-day diplomacy

Diplomacy has often been seen as a behind-closed-doors practice taking place in stuffy meeting rooms and made up of discussions that often result in nebulous outcomes.

Enter public diplomacy — the practice of leveraging diplomatic encounters at the local public level to better engage with populations and inform larger audiences. Often synonymous with events or cultural activities, the aim is to offer tailored diplomatic efforts in addition to what is often seen as traditional state-to-state diplomacy.

Over time, this definition of public diplomacy has broadened. No longer does it operate almost parallel to traditional statecraft, instead it works in more direct support of diplomatic objectives. Public diplomacy still focuses on delivering a softer side of diplomacy — events, trade shows, press engagement and the like to more effectively leverage soft power.

The coining of the term ‘digital diplomacy’ however, has allowed public diplomacy to further expand in definition and intention. While not exclusive to public diplomacy, the adoption of digital diplomacy has changed the way diplomats and diplomatic actors engage with the world around them. More tools equate to more means of engagement, and technology has been a catalyst for change within foreign ministries and embassies.

Technology is enabling diplomacy to be more transparent, engaging and accessible. No longer does public diplomacy merely apply to cultural events, trade functions or promotional exercises. Today, diplomats are opening the doors on the diplomatic process by providing views into their day-to-day activities.

This began with ambassadors tweeting about their daily functions, or embassies posting details on policy views or sharing outcomes from discussions. This was a step towards openness and transparency, but many of the functions of daily diplomacy remain elusive. This is shifting yet again.

The public diplomacy team at the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC has recently been throwing the doors open on their diplomats’ daily lives. Leveraging Instagram stories, the embassy has been sharing what a week in the life of individual teams at the embassy looks like — and not just the public diplomacy or press teams. Instead, they have also focused on the political unit, the Ambassador’s staff and the defense/military teams.

The stories take viewers through the exciting and the mundane. Highlighting the work, not just the flash, and making the it accessible to an audience that typically would only see or hear about diplomatic events or outcomes but not have an eye on the process.

This ongoing shift in diplomacy has changed who participates in the overall process, giving more access to the public. Being more open enables diplomats and diplomatic posts to be more engaging. The added transparency not only allows citizens back at home to see what their diplomats are doing and for local audiences in host nations to experience what diplomats are bringing to their countries, but enables both audiences to comment, share and express their views. By nature, leveraging social digital tools creates the ability for two way conversations. I look forward to seeing others follow the Swiss’ lead.

The Swiss Embassy is merely one example, and this is not just a best practice for diplomacy. Transparent, engaging and accessible should increasingly be the mottos of corporate, philanthropic and broader government teams.

Opening the doors not only informs a greater number of people, but makes them more a part of the process; it humanizes principals and adds a new layer of accessibility, contributing to a stronger, more robust and trustworthy communications strategy.


Scott Nolan Smith is a founder and board member of the Digital Diplomacy Coalition. He is also a Vice President at Clyde Group and consultant to globally minded organizations and governments. He previously served as head of digital at the British Embassy in Washington.

This post originally appeared on the Clyde Group Medium publication.

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#SXSW18: Digital Diplomacy IRL

What is South by Southwest and why should the world care? Nearly 70,000 paid attendees flock to Austin to listen and learn from thousands of speakers. There’s a trade show and plenty of brand-hosted parties in and around Austin. All in, there’s more than 300,000 people interacting directly with SXSW activities. Among them, thought leadership entrepreneurs, whose minds are open and who are on the prowl for the next best thing in the digital space, in journalism and government or in music and comedy. You go to SXSW to see something new, or something new to you, and countries are taking advantage of that opportunity.

Three days into SXSW, the organizers announced this year’s theme: “Globally Connected”

The theme is no surprise. On and off the stage, and throughout Austin, SXSW has moved in a few short years from being a local music festival to a global event celebrating arts, innovation and ideas.

EU at SXSW

I was honored to participate in South By Southwest (known as SXSW) as part of a great line up presented by the European Union. Over a period of 3 days they held event after event on two stages touching all EU member countries and addressing a myriad of issues and of course, having fun. You can check out their line up here. And of course you can check out our panel. #EUatSXSW was a good representation of the opportunity countries see in SXSW: new and innovative people from around the world eager to learn.

Throughout my time at SXSW, I had the opportunity to check out the scene, but kept a special eye out for international presence at SXSW. Having served in the State Department at the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs for Digital Strategy, I had countless conversations convincing governments to start paying attention to how digital tools can transform their relationships with their own people and the world. Those conversations from long ago seem to have worked, and digital was just the beginning.

These are my take aways:

Brazil Went Big. If you went to SouthBy, you heard from Brazil. Their hashtag graced the bag given to every participant. They had a room in one of the main hotels and were featured prominently on the trade show floor. Everywhere you turned: Brazil.

Europe was front and center. In addition to the EU house, many European countries were represented. One of the earliest and stalwart participants in SXSW is the British Music Embassy who showed up again for the 11th year. But other countries like Poland were new this year and brought some cool businesses that are scalable and applicable to US markets.

Every Continent Was Represented. Sadly, I didn’t make it over to Africa House, and it looks like I missed out. Not only did they have great (women) entrepreneurs on stage, but they made it their mission to represent Wakanda at SXSW.

Otherwise, my passport was stamped on every continent, all within a few short blocks. I’m thankful for that because there were many cocktails to sample. SXSW is known for a good cocktail and generally each country stuck to their specialty. But in that spirit, the prize goes to Peru House with some truly fantastic pisco drinks at the bar.

Some Regions Were…Quiet. One of the most striking things about SXSW is that you’d sit down to have BBQ anywhere in town and hear multiple languages coming from every table. But where some countries went big, some regions were noticeably quiet. In particular, the Middle East was certainly represented on stage but the average SXSW participant would not have had the opportunity to run into something new and innovative from the region. It’s a shame because there are so many vibrant spots.

Two countries were conspicuously absent. As a former diplomat and someone who helped make sure President Obama blew the minds of SXSW in 2016, the lack of the US government at SXSW was disappointing. The U.S. Department of Transportation had a booth to address innovation in driverless cars, and several US officials participated on panels. What was missing were the approachable booths of NASA and the innovators hosted by USAID. In the same vein, I really expected India to be front and center. Perhaps India didn’t need to go to SXSW because everyone is coming to them.

Duty called, and I didn’t have time to stay at SXSW to see everything, hear every lecture or band, or see every activation. As a result, I know I need to go back.

So tell me…what did I miss at #SXSW2018? Which country did it best in your opinion?

 


Moira Whelan is a Partner at BlueDot Strategies and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Digital Strategy at the US State Department. She is also a member of the Digital Diplomacy Coalition Washington team.

This post originally appeared on Medium.

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