Last week I had the opportunity to interview a software analyst working for one of the world’s most popular search engines. The analyst is part of a crisis response unit whose main task is to offer answers to Covid related queries. To do so, the crisis response team must gather reliable information from all over... Continue Reading →
Increasing ROI in Digital Diplomacy
In recent years, digitalization has swept through diplomatic institutions altering diplomats’ working routines, norms, values and working procedures. In less than a decade, Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA) have migrated to social media, launched virtual embassies, written algorithms, created smartphone applications and conducted consular simulations. Some MFAs have been able to invest substantial resources in... Continue Reading →
Narrative Alignment as Public Diplomacy Evaluation
Despite the emergence of new technologies the task of evaluating public diplomacy activities remains a daunting one. While scholars and practitioners have offered numerous definitions for the term public diplomacy, they have yet to agree upon a method for measuring the impact of public diplomacy activities. Some have suggested that public diplomacy is a means... Continue Reading →
Preparing for the #Digital Future
Prof. Corenliu Bjola of the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group recently concluded that the first stage of digital diplomacy has been a resounding success. Although MFAs are risk averse organizations who value discretion and shun from the limelight, they have successfully migrated to social media and adopted new communication practices that centre on information sharing,... Continue Reading →
From Digital Tactics To Digital Strategies: Practicing Digital Public Diplomacy
Note: This post was co-written with Prof. Corneliu Bjola and first appeared on the USC Center for Public Diplomacy Blog On the 1st and 2nd of February 2017, the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group (DigDiploRox) took part in The Hague Digital Diplomacy Camp. Organized by the Dutch Foreign Ministry, the Camp sought to explore the... Continue Reading →
Whose Data Is It Anyway?
Several months ago, Israel's National Institute for Health Policy held an international workshop on the ethical dimensions of using big data in the formulation of public health policy. Israel, which offers its citizens universal healthcare, has four main healthcare providers. The digitalization of health services among all providers has created a vast big data database... Continue Reading →
Why is Public Diplomacy Data Driven? A Response to Bean & Comor
Note: A version of this post first appeared on the USC Center on Public Diplomacy's website Introduction: Data Driven Public Diplomacy Last month, All Azimuth published an article by Bean and Comor titled "Data Driven Public Diplomacy: A Critical and Reflexive Assessment". The article focuses on a report published by the US Advisory Commission on... Continue Reading →
Between Two Digital Divides
Recently, I published a post dealing with the potential use of digital diplomacy among African MFAs. It was my contention that African foreign ministries may use social media to improve their national brand, reach out and strengthen ties with Diasporas and practice network diplomacy. This post was predicated on the assumption that when it comes... Continue Reading →