Geneva Internet Platform

Acronym: GIP

Established: 2014

Address: 7bis, Avenue de la Paix, CH-1202 Geneva

Website: https://www.giplatform.org/

Stakeholder group: NGOs and associations

The Geneva Internet Plaform (GIP) is a Swiss initiative operated by DiploFoundation that strives to engage digital actors, foster digital governance, and monitor digital policies.

It aims to provide a neutral and inclusive space for digital policy debates, strengthen the participation of small and developing countries in Geneva-based digital policy processes, support activities of Geneva-based Internet governance (IG) and ICT institutions and initiatives, facilitate research for an evidence-based, multidisciplinary digital policy, bridge various policy silos, and provide tools and methods for in situ and online engagement that could be used by other policy spaces in International Geneva and worldwide. The GIP’s activities are implemented based on three pillars: a physical platform in Geneva, an online platform and observatory, and a dialogue lab.

DiploFoundation

Acronym: Diplo

Established: 2002

Address: 7bis, Avenue de la Paix CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland

Website: https://www.diplomacy.edu

Stakeholder group: Academia & think tanks

DiploFoundation (Diplo) is a Swiss-Maltese non-governmental organisation that specialises in capacity development in the field of Internet governance and digital policy. Established in 2002, Diplo, among other things, works to improve the role of small and developing states in global diplomacy by:

  • training officials through online courses, workshops, and simulation exercises;
  • developing capacity on Internet governance, cybersecurity, data, artificial intelligence, and other emerging tech issues;
  • promoting and developing digital tools for inclusive and impactful governance and policy-making.

Diplo’s main activities:

Capacity Development

Diplo’s capacity development support begins with individuals, but through the activities of these individuals, its impact reaches into the larger systems of which they and their organisations are a part. Diplo’s approach includes online training, policy research, policy immersion, and the development of communities of practice, combined in various ways as appropriate to each policy context. Diplo’s capacity development activities center around education, online training, courses, workshops, as well as online events, webinars, and research on topics such as AI, big data, science diplomacy, and cybersecurity.

Events

To address pressing issues in global governance, Diplo’s events bring together people from different perspectives, including diplomats, business professionals, academics, members and staff of international organisations, members of civil society, and members of the technical community. Diplo works to make its events more accessible through e-tools that support remote participation. These events often evolve into teaching activities, publications, or online interactions.

Courses

Diplo offers postgraduate-level academic courses and training workshops on a variety of diplomacy-related topics for diplomats, civil servants, staff of international organisations and NGOs, and students of international relations. Combining a highly developed learning methodology with a unique online learning platform, Diplo’s courses are flexible, personal, interactive, and community-building. Courses are delivered online, face-to-face, and in a blended format.

Research

Diplo’s efforts on capacity development also include research on a variety of digital topics such as AI, big data, science diplomacy, and cybersecurity. This research has been conducted in collaboration with a number of partners, including swissnex and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Artificial Intelligence

In the area of AI, Diplo has established its AI Lab, a multifaceted initiative that includes research and analysis on AI policy, capacity development in the field of AI and related areas, reports from main events and discussions on AI, and analysis of the impact of AI on diplomacy.

At IGF 2019 in Berlin, Diplo launched its humAInism project as a response to calls for regulation and oversight of AI technologies. The project aims to anchor AI in the core values of humanity by understanding how AI functions and what reasonable policy trade-offs need to be made. It looks under the AI bonnet to understand the technology and analyses the policy, legal, and ethics-related impacts of algorithms and other AI tools.

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